SoFi Blog

Our 20s can be such a wonderful time to learn about ourselves, bond with friends, and earn our first “real” paychecks. That said, our 20s do not come and go without their fair set of challenges. If you’re like most 20-somethings, you have plenty of mistakes under your belt—financial and otherwise.

And though it may not always seem so, that’s a good thing. Luckily, mistakes and missteps are often followed by learning and expansion.

Early in adulthood, trial and error is usually the name of the game when putting together a financial education. And while that’s great as an introduction to learning about money, there comes a time when everyone must be proactive with their money. Your mid to late 20s might be a great time for this.

While it is possible to create some guidelines on what to achieve by 30, keep in mind that everyone’s goals are going to be a little bit different because everyone’s personal financial situation is different.

For example, someone who has student loans will likely have financial goals that are different from someone who doesn’t. Therefore, you could pull from this list what makes sense for you, and amend as needed. (And none of this should be considered financial advice.)

Here are eight financial goals you might reach for before you turn 30.

On March 21, the floor of the New York Stock Exchange was full of traders wearing denim jackets and blue jeans. No, it wasn’t casual Friday (in fact, it was a Thursday). The occasion for breaking their strict dress code? Levi Strauss, the iconic jeans maker, was going public after a 30-year hiatus from the markets.

In a season of roller coaster initial public offerings (IPOs) for upstarts, like Lyft and Uber, the 165 year-old brand had a more streamlined debut. Levi Strauss shares soared 30% in the first day of trading, increasing from $17 to more than $22 per share.

(The company’s bankers had initially advised Levi to price its shares even lower, between $14 and $16, apparently underestimating Wall Street’s demand.) The company’s valuation surged from $6.6 billion to $8.7 billion as a result.

In all, the company offered 36.7 million shares , raising $623.3 million, in the offering. Fittingly, it is trading under the ticker symbol “LEVI.” As of mid-June 2019 , the share price was at $21.49 with a market capitalization of $8.4 billion.

The Levi’s brand has stood the test of time (who doesn’t love a pair of 501 jeans?). Here’s a bit of background about this company’s colorful history and why it went public, then private—then public again.

As the American student debt crisis looms, more and more families are being burdened. For 2018 graduates, the average student loan debt was $28,500 . So, while it may seem like you’re alone in dealing with your debt and you may feel like you are facing a lifetime of anxiety, know that 60% of student loan borrowers expect to pay off their student loan debt in their forties .

As with any difficult situation, it is important to have people to talk to. Financial advisors are helpful, but family and friends can also provide crucial support and guidance.

In our efforts to bring you the latest updates on things that might impact your financial life, we may occasionally enter the political fray, covering candidates, bills, laws and more.
Please note: SoFi does not endorse or take official positions on any candidates and the bills they may be sponsoring or proposing. We may occasionally support legislation that we believe would be beneficial to our members, and will make sure to call it out when we do. Our reporting otherwise is for informational purposes only, and shouldn’t be construed as an endorsement.

If you’ve followed Congress even casually over the past few years, you’re probably aware that there isn’t much that flows through the House of Representatives or the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support.

On Thursday, May 16 the House defied expectations, and their recent track record, by passing the SECURE act by an overwhelming 417-3 . True to form, though, the SECURE act stands for the “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019”.

If the Senate and House agree on the bill as it stands now, it could end up being a big deal that changes the way lots of people save for retirement, invest in 401(k)s, IRAs, and other retirement accounts, and even the way they tackle student loan debt.

In our efforts to bring you the latest updates on things that might impact your financial life, we may occasionally enter the political fray, covering candidates, bills, laws and more. Please note: SoFi does not endorse or take official positions on any candidates and the bills they may be sponsoring or proposing. We may occasionally support legislation that we believe would be beneficial to our members, and will make sure to call it out when we do. Our reporting otherwise is for informational purposes only, and shouldn’t be construed as an endorsement.

Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is taking charge of the heated national conversation regarding out-of-control college tuition costs. In April 2019, she released a $1.25 trillion proposal that addresses increasing college expenses and the widening student debt crisis.

“Higher education opened a million doors for me,” the senator wrote when she introduced the plan in a post on Medium . “It’s how the daughter of a janitor in a small town in Oklahoma got to become a teacher, a law school professor, a U.S. Senator, and eventually, a candidate for President of the United States. Today, it’s virtually impossible for a young person to find that kind of opportunity.”