SoFi Blog

There’s an old rumor floating around out there about how much to spend on an engagement ring, and it goes like this: When you’re ready to propose, you should spend the equivalent of two months’ gross salary on the engagement ring.

Two months? That’s a lot of money.

Well, we have good news: it’s simply not true. The two-month “standard” holds no weight or authority from any expert. In fact, it’s nothing more than an old marketing campaign that fed its way into the lexicon via catchy slogans and peer pressure. What’s more, the digital age has allowed us to grow into savvy shoppers who understand that making a large purchase based on hearsay isn’t the way to go.

If you’re already planning a destination wedding, or just starting to daydream about tying the knot under the stars on a beach in Bali, you’re not alone. Destination weddings are on the rise as couples look to make their big day an unforgettable experience, not only for each other but for family and guests. In fact, more couples than ever are choosing unique weddings over traditional black tie affairs, and a whopping 25% of couples chose destination weddings last year.

Destination weddings, which are technically any wedding held more than 100 miles or so from your home, are increasing in popularity for a few reasons. On one hand, more and more families are spread out, which means that you might pick a wedding venue that is an equidistant trip for most guests out of convenience.

On the other hand, many couples see destinations weddings as a chance to create the ultimate wedding experience for them and their guests, whether that means coming from California for a blow-out wedding at the New York Public Library, or meeting your friends for a weekend on the Riviera Maya for an oceanside ceremony.

With the rise of millennials and Generation Z grads, the workforce is rapidly changing. Young, educated professionals bring a lot to employers for sure—like energy, enthusiasm, and a thirst for innovation. But these days, they also come with some financial baggage: high levels of student loan debt. That debt can be crippling and distracting, and on top of that, it’s also an obstruction to both short- and long-term financial goals.

It’s no secret that organizations directly feel the impact of the hardship. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) 2016 Employee Financial Wellness Report, 28% of 1,600 full-time U.S. employees surveyed admit that personal finances cause them to be distracted at work—up from 20% in 2015. Among those workers, 46% spend three or more hours a week, while at work, dealing with or thinking about their financial situations, compared to 37% in the previous year. Yet few HR teams are taking steps to address the problem effectively and help their employees—and their company’s ROI.

In this first part of our new series on employee wellness, recruitment, and engagement, we at SoFi want to provide actionable insights on how to better understand the financial burden of student loan debt that these employees face, and what to do to help ease the pressure through financial assistance, education, training, and support.

One of the scariest things about taking on a large student debt load is the fear of what might happen if you suddenly lose your job.  Not only would you have to deal with the stress of finding another one, but you’d have to figure out how to pay that big loan bill each month with no income.

You’ve been offered a fantastic new job with the company of your dreams—and, on top of that, it’s thousands of miles away. Along with the excitement and anticipation that comes from uprooting your life and starting over, you’ve got to think about how this will affect you financially.

Should you accept the position, you’ll need to make some major financial decisions and changes. So you can breathe easy while working on the other aspects of the move that will keep you busy—like packing away your whole kitchen into a few boxes—try these four money moves to help you avoid any financial bumps on your road to relocation.