Millions of borrowers are in student loan forgiveness limbo, as key Biden administration initiatives remain bogged down in court and administrative delays are impacting broad swaths of the federal student aid system. But making the wrong move now could have costly consequences. The SAVE plan, President Joe Biden’s signature income-driven repayment program, was blocked by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals this past summer in response to a legal challenge filed by a group of Republican-led states. SAVE lowers payments, cancels excess interest, and gets borrowers on track for eventual student loan forgiveness, typically after 2o 0r 25 years. But…

A Republican congressman has introduced a bill to eliminate the Department of Education, which was one of President Trump’s campaign promises. The bill aims to end the Department of Education, and redistribute Federal programs to other existing Departments. But the biggest change would be allocating K-12 education money directly to the states via block grants. The bill, Returning Education to Our States Act, was introduced by Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota. In a press release, he said “The federal Department of Education has never educated a single student, and it’s long past time to end this bureaucratic Department that…

In a significant antitrust development, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has proposed sweeping remedies against Google. Their 23-page proposal demands several major structural and behavioral changes: requiring Google to sell its Chrome browser; either divesting Android entirely or implementing strict oversight to prevent Google from using Android to favor its search services; prohibiting Google from making payments to third parties that exclude rivals; banning Google from bundling its search engine with other Google products; requiring Google to license its search index data to rivals; and preventing Google from owning interests in search rivals or potential entrants. The proposed changes,…

Donald Trump has been pushing the idea of relying on tariffs during the recent campaign as he did in his first term. Now his plans are getting more definite as he announced that, on day one of returning to office, he would by executive order institute a 25% tariff on both Mexico and Canada — the first and second largest U.S. trade partners — until the countries somehow stopped cross-border movement of drugs and migrants. This could be a serious economic problem. “This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens…

As you shop Black Friday deals, you may notice certain retailers offering layaway as a payment option. Layaway allows you to pay for an item over time, which can make the purchase easier to manage alongside other expenses in your budget. However, you won’t get the item until it’s completely paid off, and you may be responsible for fees. Here’s what to know about layaway and whether this option is the right choice for your holiday purchases.What is layaway?“Layaway is a really cool old-school approach to buying something that you can’t pay for all at once,” says Lisa Gill, a…

While becoming a millionaire may seem impossible, the good news is anyone can become a 401(k) millionaire if given enough time. According to Fidelity, almost 500,000 401(k) millionaires are on its platform alone. That figure doesn’t include all 401(k) millionaires (those combining assets in retirement accounts). Keep reading as we share the reasonably easy steps to put yourself on the path to becoming a 401(k) millionaire. 1) Set Up Your 401(k) Account It is often said that the most challenging part of anything is getting started. The first step to becoming a 401(k) millionaire is opening your 401(k) account. Don’t…

A Republican congressman has introduced a student loan reform bill that, if enacted, could benefit millions of borrowers through lower interest rates. Rather than provide immediate relief via student loan forgiveness of a borrower’s principal balance, the Affordable Loans For Students Act would significantly reduce federal student loan interest rates going forward. The legislation would also give borrowers a pathway to refinancing their loans within the federal student loan system — an option that is not available to borrowers today. “Nowhere have costs skyrocketed more than in higher education,” said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) in a statement last week. “And…

Time has seen changing conditions and types of work, according to the latest data and statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Many millions no longer work for a given company. Instead, they have looser associations with businesses, often working for multiple clients with less rigid arrangements than traditional employees. Better understanding the categories and the number of people involved in these areas is critical as political fights have kicked up over how some of these developments should look and whether a bulk of self-employed business owners should be forced into presumed traditional jobs that don’t actually exist, undermining…

I’ve been in the financial advisory business for roughly 28 years—and for 28 of those years, I’ve had a challenging relationship with the notion of “business development”—or the shadier moniker by which it is also known, “sales.” This has been such a tenuous relationship because many of us in the industry—and all of the advisors at my firm—consider themselves high-level professionals, not salespeople. Yes, without business development, there is no business, but many, if not most, professional advisors would much prefer to do great work, have that work recognized, and have prospects lining up to request being clients. Even most…

The First Step Act ushered in much needed change to reduce our federal prison population and reduce recidivism. It allows federal prisoners the opportunity to both reduce their sentence and increase the amount of time that they can spend in the community, known as prerelease custody. Far from being free, prerelease custody halfway houses provide a much needed resource to assist prisoners reentering society as productive members while also providing some supervision. Halfway houses are meant to provide the opportunity for prisoners to spend a portion of their sentence in the community so they can earn funds to get back…