SoFi Blog

You completed your courses. You walked across the stage in your cap and gown. You graduated! Now what? Leaving the comforts of college life behind for official adulthood is an uncertain time, and those last few months of school come with a long list of question marks: Where do I want to live? How much will it cost me to get there? What should my first job out of college be, and how do I find it? How much am I going to get paid?

When you add the stress of living expenses and the impending end of your student loan grace period, succeeding as an entry-level professional can seem like an insurmountable task. But as the saying goes, “Work smarter, not harder.” To help you make a smart post-grad start, we put together a list of considerations, to-dos, and tips, because landing the right first job after college is more important than you might think.

So, how familiar does the following scenario sound? Spring has sprung, and you’re eager to throw open your windows and doors and start to spring clean. However, once you get started, you find that you really want to go for a walk and then you find yourself focusing on yard work instead—and, oh! Is that really a flower starting to bloom? and then—well, and then you don’t ever really get back to spring cleaning.

The reality is that winter is an ideal time to spring clean, as odd as that may sound. And, in this post, we’ll share four reasons that make the coldest season the best one to roll up your sleeves and give your home a good, old-fashioned cleaning, along with a fifth tip that suggests a totally different approach.

Winter is also a perfect time to do some spring cleaning on your personal finances, so we’ll offer some of those winter cleaning tips, as well. And the beauty of that sort of spring cleaning is that it can continue to pay dividends throughout the year—year after year.

The holidays are over. You’re back at work, the pecan pie leftovers are long gone, and all the festive lights have been packed up and put away.

Now what?

The parties, travel, and extra vacation days are 12 long months away, so it’s understandable that you may feel a little drab after the holidays. All that merriness is so fun, but the next thing you know, you’re back into your normal routine.

We promise, we’re not here to make you feel down, we have a point! And that point is, we know a way to brighten up the post-holiday slump. How? Why with all those handy gift cards you were given during the holidays, of course.

The new year is the perfect time to plan and think about all of the possibilities for the upcoming year. It is a time to celebrate, as well as to set new goals for health, personal improvement…and wealth.

“Doing better with money” almost always tops the New Year’s resolutions charts , along with eating healthy and getting more exercise. It’s a great goal, in theory, but there’s a problem—it isn’t specific and action-oriented.

Someone who wants to be better about managing their money can start with small, actionable goals that they can work toward in increments. One great way to start is to get your debt organized.

While you may or may not be the type to enjoy New Year’s resolutions, setting financial goals for the new year is a very different kind of ambition than losing weight or making your bed every day.

Yes, it may be important to cut down on carbohydrates or increase the number of trips you make to the gym each week (of course, you can still do those things), but harnessing the power of focused financial discipline can provide you with practical habits that can serve you for a lifetime. Here are eight straightforward and achievable practices for helping to improve your financial future.