SoFi Blog

Name: Elien Blue Becque

Age: 30

Location: New York, New York

Business: RoomZoom

Business Goal: To help young urbanites find roommates they’ll love sharing space with

Alma mater: Graduated in 2008 with a degree in International Relations with a minor in English from Tufts

Student loan debt: $85,000

SoFi Solution: Student loan refinancing

Entrepreneur member since: 2016

Elien Blue Becque is the founder of RoomZoom, a platform that does for co-living what OkCupid and Tinder do for dating. RoomZoom asks members questions about their lifestyle, personal habits, and general conduct, and grinds those answers through an algorithmic scoring system. The scores are then used to pair up compatible people who will make awesome roommates.

So you want to be a millionaire. And with your killer drive and professional achievements, there’s no doubt you’ll get there in due time. Up first: Aim to save $500,000. Cutting your goal in half will put you in the right mindset and allow you time to ace the habits and skills you need to join the millionaire’s club.

Here are seven tips to help pave the way:

Discussing finances with your life partner can easily stir emotions, especially when autonomy is thought to be threatened or when one partner makes significantly more money than the other. Financial conversations require finesse and, of course, respect and understanding. And because emotions surrounding money are often tied to fear and can illicit strong reactions, those important conversations are sometimes avoided.

Let’s get the ugly truth out of the way up front: A lot of Americans don’t have great financial planning skills. More than half (56%) have saved less than $10,000 for retirement, according to a March 2016 GoBankingRates survey. And 49% of U.S. adults with a self-directed retirement account, such as an IRA or 401(k), lack the confidence to invest iwt properly, according to a Federal Reserve Board report published in May. To add insult to injury, that same report reveals that 46% couldn’t cover an unexpected $400 emergency expense with ready cash or savings.

While there’s plenty of saving and investment advice available to help us all increase our financial smarts, the lion’s share of it is built around the idea that we should invest and save for other people in our lives. We’re told to save up for a wedding, a down payment on a house to enjoy with a life partner, a couple of cars, and for children and their educations. But where’s the financial planning advice for singles? It’s unfair to be left out just because your life milestones differ from those of others.

You’re ambitious and focused on your profession —and so is your significant other. But unless you both have the amazing ability to clone yourselves, juggling demanding careers and personal pursuits can prove extremely challenging. Creating a work-life balance that truly serves your goals and passions can feel impossible.

But there are couples who are proof positive it can be done.