President Biden’s recent announcement proposes to forgive up to $20,000 for borrowers earning less than $125,000 a year.
For people who don't qualify for Biden's loan forgiveness program or may still have student loan balances left even after forgiveness, there are still options available to reduce student loan obligations. Please note that each of these programs have been available for some time and have stringent limitations. You should contact your servicer or https://studentaid.gov for more information.
Working for the Federal Government
People who work for the federal government could have a government agency repay their ...
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Buy Now Pay Later Could Lead to the Financial Downfall of a Generation
For the past 60 years, Americans have been impacted by the vicious cycle of credit cards. Now there is a new kid on the block.
"Buy Now, Pay Later" (“BNPL”) has taken the personal finance arena by storm. The number of Americans who have used the lending model, which is highly popular in Australia, has increased 300% every year since 2018, according to Bloomberg.
BNPL companies like Afterpay, Klarna and Affirm claim that the model is financially inclusive to people who can't access traditional forms of credit. Consumer Finance Advocates argue the model is under-regulated and poses risks to consumers. If this sector continues to grow, ...
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Three Suggestions to Move Forward After Bankruptcy
There is life after bankruptcy. Try these three suggestions to develop new financial habits:
First: Change how you talk about money
To truly know your “money self,” pay attention to what you say and hear about it on the job, at home, while out with friends. There is often a tendency to focus on the negative. Change your language if you want to change your money attitudes, which is the first step in improving money’s place in our lives.
Start by using positive language around money today. Begin saying “I choose not to” buy this item or “That is not a financial priority.” This demonstrates that you are making conscious choices. ...
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Biden Admin Reinstates Forgiveness of Student Loans Caused by Fraud
Tens of thousands of borrowers who attended for-profit schools like Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institute that defrauded students will have their student loan debts eliminated after the Education Department rescinded some changes made during the Trump administration that gutted a relief program, the New York Times reported. “Borrowers deserve a simplified and fair path to relief when they have been harmed by their institution’s misconduct,” said Miguel Cardona, the education secretary. “We will grant them a fresh start from their debt.” The change will eliminate around $1 billion in student loan debt owed by around 72,000 borrowers, ...
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Mortgage Forbearances Will Be Ending Soon – Then What??
Mortgage forbearance won't last forever. Here's what to do if it's coming to a close.
Mortgage forbearance has been a lifeline for many borrowers during the coronavirus pandemic. Under normal circumstances, forbearance lets you pause your monthly mortgage payments for a period of time that's determined by your mortgage lender. But under the CARES Act, all borrowers are entitled to up to 15 months of forbearance.
If you put your mortgage into forbearance early on in the pandemic, then you may be required to start making payments on your loan again in the coming months. In addition, and more importantly, there is no guarantee that your ...
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Six Million FFELP Borrowers Left In Limbo
When the U.S. government bailed out student loan lenders during the Great Recession, legislators unintentionally set off a series of cascading events that has left more than 6 million student loan borrowers locked out of a crucial benefit more than 10 years later amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Two consumer advocacy groups are pressing the Biden administration to change that.
"The Trump administration exercised executive authority to cancel student loan interest charges and pause loan payments for over 40 million federal student loan borrowers," a joint letter from the Student Borrower Protection Center and the National Consumer Law ...
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Unemployment Benefits Have Tax Consequences
With tens of millions of Americans relying on unemployment benefits during the pandemic, many may face a tax bill — or smaller refund — this season if they haven't withheld enough during the year.
Unemployment benefits are taxable and have to be reported on your 2020 taxes, both on federal and on state returns. They are considered earned income and are taxed the same way.
"People receiving unemployment benefits are hard on cash and don't put aside the money for the unemployment income,” Lewis Taub, a certified public accountant and New York director of tax services at Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors, told Yahoo Money. “They do get hit ...
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Five Credit Mistakes Older Americans Make
Seniors are getting squeezed in so many ways. Healthcare and other basic expenses are rising. Fewer have pensions to supplement their Social Security income in retirement. Low interest rates mean what savings they do have isn’t growing quickly — unless they are willing to invest in higher-risk financial products.
And then there’s the other side of the equation: credit. debt, credit report mistakes and identity theft can quickly bring down credit scores older Americans have carefully built over several decades. Here are five major credit mistakes older Americans make, and what to do about them.
1. Using Too Much Credit
Older Americans ...
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Forum Shopping May Backfire for NRA
Forum Shopping in Bankruptcy can backfire.
The NRA’s former advertising agency, Ackerman McQueen Inc., has said it thinks the gun group’s Chapter 11 case will be thrown out of Bankruptcy Court on the grounds it was filed in bad faith, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy recently reported.
The comments came in papers Ackerman McQueen filed in Texas, where it is embroiled in litigation with the NRA in a multipronged dispute stemming from the acrimonious end in 2019 of the agency’s decades long relationship with the gun-rights group.
“The objectives of the reorganization plan are to utilize the bankruptcy code to continue streamlining costs and ...
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Six Common Fraud Schemes and How To Avoid Them
Our hunkering down during the Covid crisis has made us a sitting target to scams. Here are a couple of common ones and tips on how to handle them
Tech support scam
You may get a call alerting you to a problem with your computer, or a message may pop up on the screen saying your computer is infected with a virus. If you follow the instructions of the caller or the screen message, your computer may be taken hostage and your personal information stolen. You are then asked to pay a fee to restore access to your computer or data.
What to do:
Prevention is the best medicine. Don't click pop-up ads or attachments from unknown senders. ...
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