SoFi Blog

For borrowers who are eligible, the decision to refinance student loans is typically a no-brainer. Not only does refinancing allow you to choose between lower monthly payments and a shorter payment term, but it also lets you consolidate your monthly bill and – most importantly – save a significant amount of money over the life of the loan.

But even if you’re excited about the idea of sticking it to your student loans, you may be concerned about how much work will be involved in the refinancing process. Which is understandable, given that most important financial transactions involve a mountain of paperwork and multiple calls to an unhelpful customer service center.

When it comes to negotiating and owning your career, Nicole Lapin has been around the block. She was one of the youngest anchors to ever join CNN, and went on to be business and finance correspondent for Morning Joe on MSNBC and The Today Show on NBC and Bloomberg Television. More recently, she’s published two New York Times bestsellers all about how she got to where she is today—Rich Bitch and Boss Bitch.

As part of Raise Week, which was launched to empower career professionals to promote themselves and negotiate for what they’re worth (more on that here), Lapin stepped in to offer her career advice to Twitter users during a Twitter chat hosted earlier this week. Here’s Nicole Lapin’s advice on how to step up and claim your raise as you navigate your career.

U.S. stocks are strong; developed world stocks are rallying, but still uncertain; and despite some investors’ fears, emerging markets are still appealing. Here’s what’s been happening in the market over the past few weeks.

The ability to help people who really need it may be the main reason you’ve decided to become a nurse. But let’s face it—money is usually a factor in job choice. That comes into play in two distinct ways: in terms of the salary you’ll be able to earn as a nurse, and the loans you’ll have to repay.

Becoming an entrepreneur is one of the most rewarding—and terrifying—things you’ll ever do. I started my own business, a business-planning software company initially based in Palo Alto, California, three years after graduating from business school. I’ve succeeded through several decades, but it wasn’t always easy given that I struggled with student loan and mortgage payments, and took care of my family at the same time. But today, I’m financially secure, my business is healthy, and I employ more than 60 people at our new location in Eugene, Oregon. Because I’ve dealt with startups and entrepreneurs for a long time, I’m well equipped to outline what you can expect if you’re planning to start your own business.

B-school has given other entrepreneurs exactly what it gave me: business fundamentals, including basic finance, marketing, and administration. An MBA program also teaches you how to plan and, most importantly, how to understand cash flow. But what school doesn’t teach you is how to wade through the entrepreneur clichés to get to the unvarnished truth.