SoFi Blog

Your child’s transition to college can be a time of great excitement. From the moment that he or she begins to apply to colleges, new horizons are opening up. Next come the acceptance letters, and then there’s choosing the right college for your child’s goals, moving him or her to college housing, and so forth.

Your child will likely make new friends, perhaps join clubs or other organizations, discover new interests, and so much more. But, what happens when you discover that your child’s grades are slipping?

How to deal with bad grades, of course, depends upon numerous factors, including how your child performed academically in high school, your child’s personality, reasons why grades are falling, and much more.

Fortunately, no matter why the grades are slipping (reasons may be immediately clear or they may take some investigating), this post will share helpful tips and strategies about what to do when your child gets bad grades in college.

Remember back on December 31, when you vowed this would be your year to get financially fit? How’s that working out for you, now that it’s mid-year?

If you’re like many Americans, it might not be going so great. Turns out, many folks forget or give up on their New Year’s resolutions by January 17 —and by spring, those good intentions are a tiny speck in the rearview mirror of life.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t get back on track. Financial resolutions are among the most popular each new year because we really do want to feel more secure about the future. The problem is, we tend to go too broad.

We say we’ll “save money” or “get rid of debt” or “stop spending so much.” But according to fans of the goal-setting acronym SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound), those resolutions aren’t the most effective.

So let’s talk specifics. Here are six tips that can help you do a reset and give your old financial resolutions new meaning.

When you first got to college, becoming an RA may not have been on the top of your to-do list. You probably imagined yourself heading out to fun parties with your friends on a Saturday night, not doing rounds in the dorm.

Now that you’re a full-time college student, the idea of becoming a resident advisor seems slightly more appealing. Sure, you’d have to deal with some negatives, but the job does come with its perks. Before you jump into life as an RA, it’s a good idea to think through some of the benefits and downsides to determine if it’s the right decision for you. Here are a few common starting points.

What do you call it when someone buys a house and is responsibly paying off their mortgage every month? You could call it “adulting.” But what if there was a way to be even more responsible and pay less? Or what if there was a way to take advantage of all that value in your new home? That would truly be adulting. Well it’s possible there could be a way—through a mortgage refinance.

When you refinance your mortgage, you’re essentially paying off your existing loan and taking out a new loan at new terms. Generally, there are two types of refinances – No Cash Out Refinance: to get a lower interest rate or a different repayment period, or Cash Out Refinance: to take advantage of the equity in their home. If you refinance with a lower interest rate or term, it could save you thousands.

For example, using an online amortization calculator, if you pay on a $300,000 mortgage loan at a 5% fixed interest rate over 30 years, you’ll end up paying $279,767. With a 4% interest rate, you’d pay only $215,608 in total interest over the life of the loan.

Bad habits are hard to break, but good habits might be even harder to develop. And that’s especially true when it comes to personal finances. Growing your financial confidence takes time, like learning to care for a whole garden, not just a window succulent. But if you can develop good money habits now, you might thank yourself later.

For money-saving habits to take hold, you can work to develop good practices with your finances early on, and remain as consistent as possible in order to help avoid not-so-hot money habits down the road.

Establishing small, healthy habits now is a smart way to get your money organized. If you are able to incorporate at least some of these tips, you may be able to gain more confidence in your financial life.