SoFi Blog

Interest in cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin, has taken off like a rocket in the last 30 days, spurred largely by the precipitous spike in Bitcoin’s price. While the interest is driving conversation, we feel there hasn’t been enough advice offered to individual investors of how to both make sense of the cryptocurrency boom and to make a decision on whether buying any is a good idea.

Bitcoin is network software that facilitates the secure exchange of digital tokens–called Bitcoins–among anonymous users of the network, anywhere in the world. This New York Times article explains how it works. Other cryptocurrencies work much the same way.

Cryptocurrencies act in some ways like actual currency and can be used to buy a limited number of things, but they are not created by or backed by any government. The full faith and credit of the US government stands behind the dollar. Bitcoin is not backed by anyone. It is hard to create more of most cryptocurrencies, so the interest in them has created demand that is difficult to match, and this has driven up their prices.

It seems like everyone’s talking about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act these days. Whether you’re refilling your glass at the water cooler or going out with friends for craft beer after work, you’re likely worriedly discussing its impacts—especially if you’re currently a student or recent grad with student loans. That’s because the bill might have a significant effect on the bottom line of those with student debt.

No one likes to pay more in taxes, but if you have vivid memories of how the refund you received because of the student loan interest tax deduction helped you fix your car when it broke down last May, you likely feel passionate about the potential elimination of this deduction.

But are the issues you’re worrying about guaranteed if the bill is passed? Not necessarily. Confused? Here’s some things to know about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

by Joanne Bradford

‘Fifty percent off’. ‘Buy one get one free’. ‘Twenty four hour sales’. Yes, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are all about the deals, as well as the associated frenzy that comes with them every year.

But while we’re rushing stores and frantically going online to fill our carts, we often don’t think about the hidden prices that can come with those discounted items. If we took a moment to consider that swiping a credit card on all those bargain purchases comes with the added cost of APR fees, we’d probably be less excited to camp outside a store for the evening, or actually fight over a TV. Point blank: With credit card interest bills over time, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale items actually cost more than those crazy deals suggest.

It’s well documented that student loans are a big source of stress among graduates. For those carrying the 1.34 trillion dollars in student loan debt currently totaled in the U.S., the burden causes strain in ways you might be able to predict—loss of sleep, anxiety—and in some ways that are surprising.

According to a recent SoFi member survey of over 1,200 respondents with student loan debt, the lion’s share of respondents confirmed how student loan stress impacts mental health. Eighty three percent shared that they’ve felt like they couldn’t relax due to the burden of the debt, and a full fifty percent felt that dealing with student loan debt has caused them to feel depressed. Over a third of respondents have reported actually losing sleep due to student loan debt, and a large number noted that it’s caused them to miss out on opportunities to travel, promote self care, and make major life decisions.

Data insights provided by the Analytics Team at SoFi

Today’s post is all about how men and women* compare in our student loan refinancing data set. What we found? Both men and women have high student debt loads. (Not a revelation.) Men also get paid more than women on average. (Also not a revelation.)

But here’s what’s interesting: Despite the fact that women have as much student debt and make less money than men, women in the SoFi data set pay their debt off more quickly than men—by nearly 10% (9.3% exactly).