Student Loans

IBR and PAYE Payment Caps Explained: Protecting High-Income Borrowers

Income-driven repayment (IDR) plans help federal student loan borrowers avoid unmanageable payments. Generally, as your income increases, so does your monthly payment. However, IDR plans like Income-Based Repayment (IBR) and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) offer a safeguard by capping payments at a level comparable to the 10-Year Standard Repayment... Read more

Published on: 2025-11-30

Source: Student Loan Planner

Nurses Could Be Hit Hard by Major Student Loan Changes

The Trump administration is moving forward with major changes to federal student loans. And one profession could be hit particularly hard by the reforms — nurses. The Department of Education is taking steps to transform the federal student loan system on several fronts. First, the department is working to implement... Read more

Published on: 2025-11-26

Source: Student Loan Planner

Our Family’s Transparent Finances for October 2025

Years ago, before we started budgeting, I was always stressed out about money. Every transaction had me on edge. While we didn’t carry any credit card debt, we used credit cards. I felt like my mind was always bogged down with thinking about how much the credit card bill would... Read more

Published on: 2025-11-21

Source: Six Figures Under

Create a Christmas Book Countdown that Your Kids Will Love Every Year

One of the most anticipated Christmas activities at our house is our Christmas book countdown. All of our kids, currently ranging from 6 to 17, enjoy this nightly tradition to count down the days in December until Christmas. Even though most of the books are the same every year, there... Read more

Published on: 2025-11-18

Source: Six Figures Under

Student Loan Forgiveness Taxes: Smart Strategies vs. Expensive Mistakes

Lender and Bonus disclosure THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT. YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO MAKE ANY PAYMENT OR TAKE ANY OTHER ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS OFFER. Earnest: $1,000 for $100K or more, $200 for $50K to $99.999.99. For Earnest, if you refinance $100,000 or more through this site, $500 of the... Read more

Published on: 2025-11-17

Source: Student Loan Planner

The Self-Employed Borrower’s Guide to Student Loan Refinancing

Being self-employed has a lot of perks — control over your schedule, the ability to pick clients (or fire them) and maybe even the joy of wearing sweatpants to work. But when it comes to student loan refinancing, being your own boss can make the process a little more tricky.... Read more

Published on: 2025-11-11

Source: Student Loan Planner

Two Legal Challenges Filed Over Trump’s Efforts to Restrict PSLF

Published on: 2025-11-04

Source: Student Loan Planner

Complete Cost of Demolishing a Double-Wide Mobile Home on Our Own

Some of you might think we are crazy after I shared our new financial adventure. We were making great progress on paying off our home extra fast when my husband had the idea to invest in another property. It wasn’t a turn-key property either. We knew it was going to... Read more

Published on: 2025-10-31

Source: Six Figures Under

Final Rules Restricting Public Service Loan Forgiveness Released by Trump Administration

Published on: 2025-10-31

Source: Student Loan Planner

Don’t Bank on PSLF Buyback: Why It’s a Bonus, Not a Plan

A lot of borrowers are stressed about whether PSLF Buyback will still exist by the time they qualify. It makes sense — when you’ve spent years working toward forgiveness, the thought of losing credit for past payments can feel like a punch in the gut. The PSLF Buyback program was... Read more

Published on: 2025-10-28

Source: Student Loan Planner

Student Loan Forgiveness Is Back — Here’s What it Means for Borrowers

The Trump administration has agreed to resume processing student loan forgiveness across multiple programs, in a major victory for millions of borrowers. The agreement, first announced last Friday, is intended to resolve a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), one of the nation’s largest teachers’ unions, earlier... Read more

Published on: 2025-10-23

Source: Student Loan Planner

September 2025 Family Budget Update

I went a few months without sharing a budget update, but I’m back at it. We were still managing our money with YNAB as we always do, I just didn’t write a blog post to share all of our details for the past few months. Why do I share my... Read more

Published on: 2025-10-21

Source: Six Figures Under

Why you should identify your financial non-priorities

It’s commonly said that you can afford anything but you can’t afford everything. That might not be entirely true. There are certainly some things that I (and probably you) couldn’t buy even if we used every dollar we had. But the sentiment is so true. We all make choices daily... Read more

Published on: 2025-10-14

Source: Six Figures Under

We Bought an Investment Property

I alluded to some budget surprises in our June 2025 Family Budget Update, but I wasn’t quite ready to talk about how our finances would be changing yet. I was still alternating between shock, fear, excitement, and dread. Frankly, I wasn’t sure how to tell you all that we chose... Read more

Published on: 2025-10-06

Source: Six Figures Under

Frugal Feats, Flops, and Funnies from the Summer

As a family of eight with financial goals, we are all about saving money on the things that don’t matter to us so that we can be free to spend on the things that are our priorities. My husband and I were both raised in frugal families, so we aren’t... Read more

Published on: 2025-09-24

Source: Six Figures Under

June 2025 Transparent Family Budget Update

I love budgeting because it makes so many things possible that otherwise wouldn’t be. When I first saw that our law school debt added up to six figures, I felt physically ill. I couldn’t envision the crushing weight of that debt ever going away, especially when our take-home pay was... Read more

Published on: 2025-07-22

Source: Six Figures Under

South Florida Anniversary Trip – Complete Cost Breakdown and Budget

Mike and I are coming up on our 20th wedding anniversary this year, so I decided to plan a surprise trip to celebrate! Mike knew that I was taking him on a trip, but he didn’t know where we going or what we were doing. He didn’t have a clue... Read more

Published on: 2025-07-15

Source: Six Figures Under

May 2025 Transparent Family Budget Update

Do you like living by a budget? Some people associate budgeting with being poor or feeling restricted, but that’s far from the way I see it. Living by a budget is for everyone, no matter your means. Budgeting allows you to be in control of your money (whatever amount that... Read more

Published on: 2025-06-18

Source: Six Figures Under