The income-driven repayment application system for federal student loans remains a mess, as borrowers struggle to navigate programs that have been plagued by legal challenges and processing pauses. Now, one major student loan servicer has thrown an additional wrench into the system by announcing that some borrowers who have already submitted an income-driven repayment application may need to reapply. Income-driven repayment (or IDR) plans offer borrowers affordable monthly student loan payments based on their income and family size. IDR is a category of repayment plans that encompasses several specific programs including Income-Contingent Repayment, Income-Based Repayment, Pay As You Earn, and…

If becoming a multi-millionaire were easy, everyone would be doing it. There are over 22 million millionaires in the US, and likely many more on the path to reaching this level of wealth. The numbers get smaller as you move up the net worth scale. I want to share with you 12 hurdles you will need to overcome if you wish to become a multi-millionaire yourself. I recently helped a couple reach their financial freedom, a number of $10 million of liquid net worth that they could use to fund their lifestyle if they quit working. They are celebrating by…

Nearly two in three Americans (64%) are more worried about running out of money in retirement than they are about death, according to the 2025 Annual Retirement Study from the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement. As one might expect, exhausting funds without the recourse of youth or the remedy of an income-driven career can generate anxiety. However, knowledge can be a useful tool, and the more individuals understand about their retirement needs, the less intimidating the prospect may become. A simple yet powerful method for estimating how much money one requires to retire with peace of mind and…

It’s never fun to think about death, especially your own, but estate planning is extremely important. It’s unpleasant but by planning ahead and getting your affairs in order, it makes it much easier for your loved ones to move on. The worst thing you can do is avoid it completely. Having no plan means you default to how your state handles probate, which means the judicial process makes decisions for you. Here are the ten estate planning tasks you need to perform before you die: 1. Create a Will This is the cornerstone of every estate plan. By creating a…

As a founder, investor, or early employee at a startup or small business, qualified small business stock is perhaps the best tax break you never heard of. When criteria is met, qualified small business stock (also called QSBS or referred to as IRC Code Section 1202) enables individuals to sell their shares tax free. Yet even with qualifying stock, hurdles remain. First, taxpayers may not know about QSBS! And second, mergers and acquisitions can threaten shareholders’ ability to sell shares tax-free. Here are tips and strategies from a financial and tax advisor on ways to maximize the benefits of qualified…

Student loan borrower advocacy organizations are warning that the Trump administration is taking concrete steps to try to limit student loan forgiveness for public servants under a popular debt relief program. And the groups are increasingly raising the alarm. Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or PSLF, allows borrowers to receive a complete discharge of their federal student loans after making the equivalent of 10 years of qualifying payments. These payments must be made under certain repayment plans while the borrower works full-time in eligible nonprofit or government employment. To date, more than a million borrowers have received student loan forgiveness through…

You’ve probably heard of the adage, “Time is money.” A quick internet search attributes this line to Benjamin Franklin in a 1748 essay titled Advice to a Young Tradesman, though there are also sources that say it has been used by others earlier. Whatever its provenance, people typically use it to emphasize the importance of doing things right away, to not waste time since it is limited. Nonetheless, time can literally make you money if you know how to use it. Time can build wealth, reduce risk, promote discipline, and help achieve long-term goals. The key is knowing how to…

Associated Press Article Released It has been nearly 5 years since Associated Press journalists Michael Balsamo and Michael Sisak reported on the number of Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employees who had been arrested for criminal acts. The charges ranged from a warden indicted for sexual abuse, an associate warden charged with murder, guards taking cash to smuggle drugs and weapons, and supervisors stealing property such as tires and tractors. Even with that widely read piece and the subsequent congressional hearings, the BOP still has rogue employees who are hurting the agency. As of May 4, 2024, the Federal Bureau…

Since taking office, the Trump administration has taken a number of actions to reduce investigations of white collar crime including directing the Justice Department to stop prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act which outlaws bribery and corruption in foreign countries, disbanding the Justice Department’s Cryptocurrency Enforcement Unit and reducing the size and support of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section which prosecutes public officials accused of corruption and the IRS’ Criminal Investigation Unit. In addition, a number of white collar crime prosecutions begun under the previous administration have been dropped including an action by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau…

The Uniform Public Express Protection Act (UPEPA) in just a few years has become the most ubiquitous body of Anti-SLAPP law in the world. Like most other Anti-SLAPP laws, the UPEPA provides for a special motion to cause the dismissal at an early stage of meritless litigation which infringes upon a person’s free speech and related rights. If the defendant in such a case wins the special motion and the offending cause of action is dismissed, then the defendant who brought the special motion must be awarded their attorney fees, expenses and costs in relation to the special motion. This…