Student Loans
Major changes are in store for student loan borrowers this year, as the Education Department takes steps to implement the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that congressional Republicans passed last summer. The OBBBA will make massive changes to federal student loan programs, directly impacting repayment options as well as...
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Published on: 2026-02-11
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Student Loan Planner
If you've been relying on Parent PLUS loans to help fund your child's education, the rules are about to change in a major way. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) introduces strict new borrowing limits that will fundamentally reshape how families pay for college — and the clock is...
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Published on: 2026-02-10
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Student Loan Planner
There are several programs available to federal student loan borrowers looking for help with repayment. It’s important to know how each option stacks up against the others. Popular student loan income-driven repayment plans (IDR) with the U.S. Department of Education include Income-Based Repayment (IBR) and Pay As You Earn (PAYE)....
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Published on: 2026-02-10
Source:
Student Loan Planner
Income-driven repayment is a huge benefit of the federal student loan system. Unfortunately, it’s confusing to know which plan to choose. It can be even more confusing if you have drastic income changes during your career that can impact how your income-based repayment is calculated. When you graduate, your federal loans...
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Published on: 2026-02-10
Source:
Student Loan Planner
Lender and Bonus disclosure SoFi®: Fixed rates range from 4.24% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Variable rates range from 5.99% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with...
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Published on: 2026-02-09
Source:
Student Loan Planner
Lender and Bonus disclosure SoFi®: Fixed rates range from 4.24% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Variable rates range from 5.99% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with...
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Published on: 2026-02-06
Source:
Student Loan Planner
Lender and Bonus disclosure SoFi®: Fixed rates range from 4.24% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Variable rates range from 5.99% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with...
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Published on: 2026-02-04
Source:
Student Loan Planner
Lender and Bonus disclosure SoFi®: Fixed rates range from 4.24% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Variable rates range from 5.99% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with...
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Published on: 2026-02-04
Source:
Student Loan Planner
Lender and Bonus disclosure SoFi®: Fixed rates range from 4.24% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Variable rates range from 5.99% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with...
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Published on: 2026-02-02
Source:
Student Loan Planner
Should you take out private student loans for physical therapy school? What’s the return on investment (ROI) of the degree, and can you trust the numbers your prospective program is sharing with you? After consulting for hundreds of physical therapists on six-figure PT school loans over the past 10 years,...
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Published on: 2026-01-26
Source:
Student Loan Planner
For over thirteen years I have shared our family finances with you. That’s a long time to be transparent and consistent with budgeting! So much has changed since I first started sharing our income and spending publicly. We have twice as many kids as we did back then. Our income...
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Published on: 2026-01-26
Source:
Six Figures Under
With college costs continuously rising, many parents are footing the bill to help pay for their child's education. As of 2025 Q5, 3.6 million parents turned to Parent PLUS Loans, with $116 billion currently outstanding. Parent PLUS Loans are the only federal student loan option available for parents, but they aren't the...
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Published on: 2026-01-23
Source:
Student Loan Planner
You had the best intentions by helping your kids pay for college using Parent PLUS Loans. But now that you’re nearing retirement age, the Parent PLUS Loan debt is a heavy burden and source of anxiety. So, what can you do? Are there any other repayment options? Can Parent PLUS...
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Published on: 2026-01-23
Source:
Student Loan Planner
Maybe this isn’t normal, but I really enjoy going through our spending after a trip and seeing how it compares to our plan (and yes, “plan” is just a nice word for “budget”!). For some people this post-trip reckoning is the worst, most-stressful part of travel. “How much damage did...
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Published on: 2026-01-19
Source:
Six Figures Under
The next step on our investment property journey was to make an RV pad on the property so we could rent the space to someone who needs somewhere to park their RV. Renting space for parking an RV sounds pretty basic, but there’s a little more to it. These costs...
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Published on: 2026-01-12
Source:
Six Figures Under
It’s that time of year when people decide to give budgeting another try! A fresh start at improving your finances is a popular plan for the new year. And I wholly approve! Of all the goals you could make at the new year, budgeting is one of the best! So many...
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Published on: 2026-01-05
Source:
Six Figures Under
There’s no shame in being frugal! I actually really love being frugal! As a big family with big financial goals, we focus on saving money on the things that don’t matter to us so that we can spend on the things that do matter to us. Of course our financial...
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Published on: 2025-12-29
Source:
Six Figures Under
I enjoy budgeting because I love the peace that it brings. Knowing that our needs are covered and that we are working toward our goals greatly reduces my overall stress. While no one likes expensive budget curve balls, they’re so much less stressful to manage when you’re on top of...
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Published on: 2025-12-22
Source:
Six Figures Under
After planning the surprise Florida trip for our anniversary, I was eager to dig into planning another trip for the two of us. I wanted to take advantage of my Southwest Companion Pass, so I looked through all of the destinations with Mike. I told him that in addition,...
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Published on: 2025-12-08
Source:
Six Figures Under
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...
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Published on: 2025-11-21
Source:
Six Figures Under
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...
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Published on: 2025-11-18
Source:
Six Figures Under