Student Loans
A group of Democratic senators blasted the Trump administration this month for its plan to transfer oversight of the federal student loan system from the Education Department (ED) to the Treasury Department. The senators, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, argued that the proposed transition of student loan operations...
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Published on: 2026-04-16
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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: 2026-04-15
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Student Loan Planner
Key Takeaways: Ascent has a variety of options for student loan borrowers, including traditional cosigned loans, non-cosigned loans, and outcomes-based loans. Eligible juniors and seniors in college might qualify without a cosigner or credit history. Loan products include a 1% cash back incentive when you graduate, and generous autopay discounts....
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Published on: 2026-04-15
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Student Loan Planner
When thinking about medical school and what it takes to be a physician, you should be aware of the costs and how to minimize the expense of medical school. According to Education Data Initiative, the average medical school debt is $216,659, not including pre-medical school debt. Although it’s alarming at...
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Published on: 2026-04-15
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Student Loan Planner
What you need to know: Earnest private student loans come with flexible in-school repayment options and a wide range of loan terms, including Rate Match1 of competitors' interest rates. Customers have access to unique borrower benefits, like an extended grace period2 and the option to skip a payment3 once per...
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Published on: 2026-04-14
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Student Loan Planner
If you’re looking for financial aid, the first place to start is by submitting your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You might be awarded grants, scholarships, and federal loans. But even with your financial aid award package, you might still not have enough to cover the cost of...
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Published on: 2026-04-14
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Student Loan Planner
You have big dreams of going to law school to fight for justice and help others. But law school can come at a high price — 90% of students took on student loan debt for their law degree, according to the American Bar Association (ABA) report “Student Debt: The Holistic...
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Published on: 2026-04-14
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: 2026-04-14
Source:
Student Loan Planner
Refinancing is a common strategy for paying off medical school debt. Whether you’re a doctor in residency, an attending physician or a fellow, you need to know your medical school loan refinance options and how they affect your finances. When refinancing student loans, a new loan is created with a private...
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Published on: 2026-04-13
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Student Loan Planner
A proposed new rule that would give the Education Department the power to cut off employers from being eligible for student loan forgiveness under the PSLF program is facing multiple legal challenges. And those challenges are about to come to a head. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) offers borrowers a...
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Published on: 2026-04-09
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Student Loan Planner
The Department of Education's first batch of One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) regulations clarifies some borrower questions and creates new ones. Parent PLUS borrowers only need to consolidate before July 1, 2026, not make a payment, as previously directed. Any new student loan after that date locks you out...
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Published on: 2026-04-08
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Student Loan Planner
Editor's note: This testimonial was originally published in 2018. Income-driven repayment (IDR) plans have changed since then, and borrower circumstances may have as well. Current options include IBR, PAYE, and ICR, though PAYE and ICR are scheduled to be eliminated by June 30, 2028. A new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) is...
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Published on: 2026-04-08
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Student Loan Planner
I’m always eager to wrap up the month’s budget and move on to budgeting for the next month. The eagerness most often comes because we have a financial goal that we’re working on. Having a goal brings greater purpose to things that might feel mundane or tedious (apparently not everyone...
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Published on: 2026-03-18
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Six Figures Under
Last year I shared how my husband and I planned our budget for our first trip to Cuba. We followed up with our actual spending and how it compared with what we had planned. Here’s the next chapter: we’re planning to bring the whole family (including all six kids) for...
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Published on: 2026-03-10
Source:
Six Figures Under
Curious to see what a family of 8 in California spends on groceries for a whole year? I’m pretty sure we’re not your average family, but I’m happy to share our family’s annual spending on groceries last year. One of the side benefits of keeping meticulous financial records is all...
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Published on: 2026-03-03
Source:
Six Figures Under
Here’s to another year of sharing our family’s budget details with the world in hopes of helping as you work on getting a handle on your own family finances. I had planned on making changes to the way we share our budget with you, but when it came down to...
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Published on: 2026-02-27
Source:
Six Figures Under
Some people are shocked to hear that, even after paying off six figures of debt, we still use credit cards. For us, credit cards were never the problem. Our debt was law school student loans. But credit cards are so often misused, causing debt problems or making them worse, that...
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Published on: 2026-02-18
Source:
Six Figures Under
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
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