SoFi Blog

For many Americans, the beginning of a new year is a time for self-reflection and personal goal-setting — losing those holiday pounds, learning a new language, or maybe getting to a better place with their finances.

As a personal finance company devoted to helping a new generation achieve prosperity, we decided we’d dive into the financial aspect of these resolutions, especially among younger Americans. We also wanted to see how recent events might have shaped those resolutions. So we surveyed more than 500 college-educated Americans ages 25-34 — the older cohort of U.S. Millennials — to find out their attitudes on a variety of forward-looking finance topics.

If you’ve been thinking about buying your first home, now could be a great time to take the plunge. With interest rates expected to rise, locking in a rate on your mortgage early can be a cost-saving move. Also, as rents continue to climb, you might be ready to invest that monthly check in something that can appreciate in value—not to mention something that gives you a tax break come next April.

With markets quiet heading into year-end, it seems a good time to set out what we will look for in 2017. No one knows the future, but we can prepare for developments that are likely to drive markets over the next year.

U.S. Equity markets were down slightly last week, shrugging off a bond market selloff in China, increased geopolitical uncertainty, and the expected increase in the federal funds rate. Ten-year Treasury yields were higher on the week and the dollar continued to rally against the euro and yen, hurting dollar returns in global equity indices.