SoFi Blog

Do you remember your 2019 New Year’s resolutions? How did those turn out for you?

It’s a circumstance so common it’s basically a meme: every year, we all start out on January 1st with the very best intentions, only to find ourselves lapsing into old habits before Valentine’s Day has passed.

And after the ubiquitous promises to eat better and exercise more often, financial resolutions typically top the list of well-meant (but quickly forgotten) New Year’s goals.

Even when we know getting our finances in order could make for much smoother sailing down the line, it’s all too easy to get overzealous while making our annual lists of oaths.

What’s more, we frequently forget one of the most important parts of setting a goal you can actually get to: making it specific.

Social media makes it easy for us to share our lives with friends and family. Your dog is looking particularly cute today? Snap a pic and add it to your Instagram story. Selling a few items before a big move? Share the news on Facebook so your friends have first dibs on the goods.

While social media seems like a fun addition to your day to day activity, it can come with some unexpected dangers. Even if you don’t think you’re sharing impactful details, it’s important to think of how to keep information secure on the internet.

So you thought your mac and cheese and ramen days were over? Well, maybe not quite yet.

If you’re overwhelmed by the thought of managing student loan payments for years or even decades to come, there are strategies that can help you dump that debt faster. Unfortunately, many require cutting back on your spending or finding ways to make more money.

That might not seem fair if you were thinking graduation would mark the start of a sweeter lifestyle—not more austerity. But the thing to keep in mind is that if you can pay off your loans faster, you’ll typically save money down the road.

Potentially a lot of money: trip-to-Europe, house-down-payment, let’s-get-married kind of money. And knocking down your student debt is a goal worth working toward if you like the idea of financial freedom. Here are some ways to get after it.

When searching for a new job, it is common to look for a position that offers a competitive pay rate, an opportunity for inter-company growth, a comprehensive health-care package, and a generous time-off policy. Additional factors such as a short commute time, specific perks for working parents, and stock options could also be enticing.

Recently, however, more and more companies seem to be modernizing and innovating their employee benefits program beyond the norm to attract and retain new workers.

While these more unusual offerings could at first seem like trivial bonuses rather than significant aid, they often result in positive impacts on an employee’s life.

According to a 2019 survey conducted by The Harris Poll, 80 percent of respondents claimed they would take a job that had benefits over a job that made 30% more in salary but did not offer benefits. When determining if accepting a job with unusual benefits is worthwhile to you, it is important to keep your individual and/or family needs, lifestyle, and budget in mind.

If you’re on the hunt for a new role, keep an eye out for the following left-of-center benefits that could help you improve your physical and emotional health, better manage your time, grow your wealth, or save money.

Getting new appliances or updating the plumbing in your home doesn’t need to be a pipe dream, but starting home remodels without a budget in mind can quickly become a nightmare.

Instead of ignoring your bank account and blindly charging your unexpected Home Depot runs, consider how much you can get in home renovations and updates for the money you’ve budgeted. With an idea of how much you can spend, you can get a better idea of where to spend it to maximize value, savings, and future return on investment (ROI).