Student loan payments have been deferred again, meaning federal student loan borrowers can postpone their payments—interest-free—for a while longer. Payments are now due beginning Aug. 31, 2022. If you have outstanding federal student loans, here is what that means for you: Prepare to Resume Student Loan Payments It’s been a couple years since borrowers were required to make their student loan Continue Reading
Should You Save for Retirement or Pay Off Student Loans?
If you’ve got student loans outstanding, it’s a common predicament - should you pay off those loans as quickly as possible first, or save for retirement? The short answer is this: save for retirement, usually. You can't use a loan to pay for your retirement. But I’ll break that down and explain why that’s important, and when you might want to focus on paying off debt instead: Save for Continue Reading
Will the Student Loan Forgiveness Program Help You?
A couple months ago, President Trump signed a spending bill into law that includes a $350 million Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. There are student loan debt forgiveness programs available to help relieve the debts of borrowers in public service careers. These include teachers, nurses, doctors and police officers. The problem is that many of these borrowers are ineligible for Continue Reading
Interest Rate Increase: How it Affects You
In case you missed it, the Federal Reserve increased interest rates a quarter point last week, making this its second increase in 2017. This is an indicator of some changes on the horizon, so you may need to adjust your goals and plans accordingly. Here is how the increase could affect you: Student Loans and Interest Rates An increase in interest rates is typically an indicator that the central Continue Reading
Refinancing Student Loans: Five Things to Know
If you're still paying off student loan debt, refinancing student loans can be a smart way to shave thousands off your total payoff amount. It can allow you to consolidate your debt, pay your loans off faster and take advantage of lower interest rates. If you're a more visual learner, jump to the bottom of this blog post to watch our video on refinancing student loans. But refinancing Continue Reading
8 Money Books for New Grads
Graduation season is here! If you've got a student - or know one - who is graduating this spring, now is the perfect time to get them thinking about saving, budgeting and planning for their financial future. Here are some money books that would make great gifts for the grad in your life as they prepare the years ahead: 1. Work Your Wealth: 9 Steps to Making Smarter Choices With Your Money Continue Reading
Choosing the Best Financial Planner for You
Whether you're a recent graduate or a seasoned professional, a single person living in the big city or a family living in the suburbs, you could most likely use the advice of a financial planner. A big misconception is that financial planners only manage the big bucks of the country's wealthiest people, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. The trick is to find the best financial planner Continue Reading
A Millennial’s Guide to Balancing Multiple Money Goals
With student loans that need to be paid off, savings that have to be started and retirement goals that need to be planned, millennials may become overwhelmed with all the choices they have on how to spend their money. After entering the workforce full time, millennials need to make sure they’re making the most of their money. So herein lies the question -- what should millennials do with their Continue Reading
3 Steps to Tackling Your Student Loans
Your education got you to where you are now, so it was probably a great investment in your future! If you graduated with student loan debt, you may feel like the financial odds are stacked against you, but the truth is student loans don't have to be painful. In fact, paying off student loan debt can help set the tone of good financial behavior. My advice as a financial coach is don't ignore Continue Reading