Over the weekend I spoke to a friend who graduated from physical therapy school earlier this year. He didn’t have any help with school expenses and graduated with $160,000 in student loans. To his benefit, he’s pretty frugal and has a good natural sense about money. However, $160,000 is a really big number and it has him worried. He’s been asking himself if he’s going to be able to be okay with that amount of debt and whether the right decision is to pay down the debt as quickly as possible or if he should save for retirement as well.
Debt
Federal Student Loan Payment Pause Extended Through January 31, 2022
3 minute read
Federal student loan payments have been paused since March 2020. As of August 6, that pause has been extended “one final time” through January 31, 2022. What this means is that Federal student loan payments will not be required until February 2022 and that interest on these loans will not accrue during that time.
Should I Refinance My Student Loans?
4 minute read
Similar to mortgage interest rates, student loan interest rates have been dropping this year. That decrease in rates, along with the pause in payments and interest accrual under the CARES Act, has led many to wonder whether they should be doing something with their student loans. One of those options is whether or not to refinance them.
Day 17 Of 30 Days Of Stay-At-Home Personal Finance Wins: Transfer Your Credit Card Balance
3 minute read
What if you were able to come out of this time of social distancing and economic crisis with a stronger and healthier financial life? What if you looked at this as an opportunity to take a little bit of your extra time each day to work on your finances?
Day 16 Of 30 Days Of Stay-At-Home Personal Finance Wins: Create A Debt Pay Down Strategy
3 minute read
What if you were able to come out of this time of social distancing and economic crisis with a stronger and healthier financial life? What if you looked at this as an opportunity to take a little bit of your extra time each day to work on your finances?
Day 3 Of 30 Days Of Stay-At-Home Personal Finance Wins: Request Forbearance
3 minute read
What if you were able to come out of this time of social distancing and economic crisis with a stronger and healthier financial life? What if you looked at this as an opportunity to take a little bit of your extra time each day to work on your finances?
Personal Finance Systems
7 minute read
Every day, the first thing that I do when I get home from work is unpack my gym bag and put the dirty clothes in the clothes basket, hang up the clothes that aren’t dirty and get into something more comfortable, and get everything that I need ready for the next day. Why? Because it makes my life easier.
Paying Down Debt in 2020
5 minute read
A couple of weeks ago, Amanda told me that she wants to be able to hold up one of those debt free signs that you see on social media which shows that you paid off $XX debt in XX months after she graduates. While this may not be the exact route that we go, I think it’s a common theme among those who set goals to improve their personal finances in the new year.
Back to School: Student Loan Edition
4 minute read
Last week, Amanda was faced with a significant financial decision that millions of others have had to face as well without ever having any education or guidance on what they should do: take out student loans for the next year of college or figure out how to pay for it out-of-pocket? From the perspective of a financial planner, this process was completely not transparent. Luckily, Amanda knows a guy.
Student Loan Deferment
2 minute read
The college class of 2019 has graduated and now is off to the real world. Many of these former students have loads of student debt that most of them aren’t contemplating how to deal with yet. Undoubtedly, most of these graduates will also elect to take the 6-month allowable deferment (grace period) on Federal Stafford student loan payments and (pretend to) forget about them until judgement day comes in the form of a bill.
