SoFi Blog

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.

This post is the second in a series discussing the ins and outs of life insurance. You can read part I here.

The previous post in this series discussed some of the key differences between term and whole life insurance. My personal belief is that buying term and investing the difference is a superior decision for an overwhelming majority of people. There are a few cases in which purchasing whole life might make more sense for some people. To see a full breakdown of these hypotheticals, check out this blog post.

The post will delve into the reasons many life insurance salespeople promote when selling insurance. Hopefully, this information can help make you aware of the full spectrum of information so you’re better able to make an informed decision.

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.

Is there anything better than a bargain? Splurging can be fun and all, but scoring an amazing product at a fantastic price? Well, that sounds even better. For some holiday shoppers, holding out for a competitive price is worth it. According to one survey by RetailMeNot , Americans are willing to wait 57 days, on average, in order to find a good deal on a product.

So, if you’re on the hunt for a discount this season, the promise of getting money back on a purchase can be enticing. Retailers and manufacturers looking to make a sale may offer some sort of rebate in order to sweeten the deal.

Some are upfront discounts, others are more conditional like buy-one-get-one sales, while others may require a bit of work on the customer’s behalf. For some, the promise of 15% off a luxury purchase could be alluring enough to go through the process of submitting a mail-in rebate.

But success can sometimes be difficult to achieve when it comes to mail-in rebates. If you’re new to the whole idea, you may be googling “How to do a mail in rebate?” While the process may vary slightly depending on the manufacturer, here are a few guidelines that could help you navigate the mail-in rebate process this holiday season.

College might seem like a marathon, but each semester or quarter can feel more like a sprint, with the syllabus as the starting block and finals week as the finish.

The good news is that you learn a tremendous amount of new information during those weeks. The bad news is that, before you can ride off into the sunset of class break, you have to Remember. It. All.

Finals week is when the library is aglow 24 hours a day, full of students with their noses in books or laptops, possibly on the verge of a freak-out. It’s exhausting to be sure, and the stakes can be high, especially for students whose financial aid require that they maintain a minimum GPA.

But while finals week can be taxing, it doesn’t have to be chaotic. These study tips for finals can help you plan, prepare and tackle each test with confidence.