Republican lawmakers took a key step last week to officially abolish the U.S. Department of Education, reintroducing a bill that would eliminate the federal agency. The bill is just the latest step Republicans in Washington have taken to try to dismantle the department. Meanwhile, the Trump administration seems poised to further disrupt department staffing and operations by placing some employees on leave. It may not be easy for the department, which oversees the nation’s education system and manages a federal student loan program that exceeds $1 trillion, to be completely dismantled. But major staffing changes, funding cuts, and the potential…

Bankruptcy is a legal process that allows individuals or businesses to discharge or reorganize their debts under court supervision. It is typically seen as a last resort since bankruptcy can severely damage credit scores, lead to asset loss, and carry a social stigma that impacts future financial opportunities. This article explores various debt relief alternatives to bankruptcy, including credit counseling, settlement, consolidation, creditor negotiations, hardship programs, and asset liquidation. 1. Credit Counseling Credit counseling provides professional financial guidance to individuals struggling with debt. Available through both non-profit and for-profit organizations, credit counselors help assess your financial situation, develop personalized repayment…

House Proposal to Eliminate the Lifetime Learning Credit: What It Means for Graduate Students The Trump administration has issued a barrage of announcements in its first days in office. The onslaught of directives and proposals makes it challenging to quickly unpack each one’s potential impact. Specifically, a 50-page proposal floated by top Republicans has significant implications for graduate students. In addition to a potential idea to make graduate student scholarships and fellowships fully taxable, the GOP manifesto suggests eliminating the Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC). This key education tax benefit has helped offset the costs of graduate school and continuing education…

You may be reading this non-spouse inherited Roth 401(k) article because your parent passed away or a favorite aunt or uncle. Condolences. Clearly you may have mixed emotions regarding your inheritance. The IRS rules are intended to have you use remove the tax advantages of these accounts within ten years. That said, with strategic planning, you can benefit for a lifetime. What Are Roth 401(k)s? Roth 401(k)s combine the features of traditional 401(k)s (pre-tax) and Roth IRAs (post-tax). You essentially are inheriting two different accounts. I address handling the traditional 401(k)s (pre-tax savings in Avoid Making Costly Moves With A…

Donald Trump, as promised, has wasted no time implementing changes throughout the federal government. Nowhere have these changes been more dramatic than at the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). For years, the BOP has struggled with chronic understaffing, deteriorating infrastructure, and frequent leadership turnover. While the federal prison population has declined from a peak of over 220,000 in 2013 to just over 150,000 today, the agency’s budget has continued to grow. In 2024, the BOP operated with an $8.3 billion budget—one of the largest within the Department of Justice—yet continued to claim a need for additional funding. Under the Trump…

Fortunately, we’re in one of those seasons when we get headlines about new market highs pretty regularly as one or the other index surpasses a new, never-before-seen threshold. These benchmark superlatives tend to inspire a moment of celebration—only to be soon followed by hours of anxiety, as investors ponder when their new all-time high will inevitably become a low. Well, I’ve got some good news: Assets with historically positive rates of return should regularly, if not indefinitely, be hitting new all-time highs. And personally, you should, too—that is, if you’re measuring success correctly. Entrepreneur, investor, and author Sahil Bloom explores…

In January of 2024, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Citibank accusing it of neglecting to protect its customers from email phishing and smishing (phishing done through text messages) scams where Citibank customers were lured into providing access to their accounts resulting in scammers being able to wire funds from the accounts to accounts controlled by the scammers. In the lawsuit, Attorney General James describes a number of specific instances where Citibank’s security was alleged to be woefully inadequate. In one incident a Citibank customer lost $40,000 from her retirement savings account. The scam started with…

Much is going on with Donald Trump’s second administration. Many people are delighted with its actions — including the start of tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada slated to start tomorrow — and many are displeased But forget about individual opinions for a moment. There is one collective response that will have significant consequences for the country and even the world. Not the stock market, although the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrials, and Nasdaq all took hits on Friday. Not consumers, who will see higher prices — also known as higher inflation in the form of oil, pharmaceuticals, and…

We often hear buzz phrases like “building a legacy” and “generational wealth.” , but lets talk about what establishing a successful blue print to successfully pass not only wealth, but wisdom , to the next generation actually looks like! For generations, many in the black community have faced systemic barriers that have made wealth-building an uphill battle. We’ve seen firsthand how financial discrimination, lack of access to resources, and predatory financial practices have impacted Black families, preventing the smooth transfer of wealth from one generation to the next. That’s why it’s so important to talk about estate planning, not just…

Tax filing season opened on January 27. But, as a result of a slew of Trump Administration initiatives, the IRS must try to manage what it anticipates will be 140 million individual returns under severe new constraints. A short-staffed agency may struggle to process returns in a timely way. Taxpayers may find it harder to get advice or filing assistance. And the potential loss of expertise in information technology and cybersecurity could put both agency efficiency and taxpayer information at risk. To start, the IRS is operating with a temporary acting commissioner. Former agency chief Daniel Werfel resigned on inauguration…