Student Loan Planner

38:43

What To Do If You Can’t Pay Your Student Loans

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/10/06

Payments are back, SAVE is over, and one in five borrowers is already behind. If your payment is unaffordable, or you've been ignoring your loans and want to know what happens next, this episode is for you.We’ll walk through your options before you miss a payment, what deferment and forbearance actually cover now, and the real timeline from delinquency to default. You'll also learn why loan rehabilitation usually beats consolidation, and the new rule that lets you rehabilitate twice starting July

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42:16

The Wealth Gap We Found in Our Survey

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/09/29

In a new survey of physicians, dentists, veterinarians, and others, two groups reported similar incomes and spent about the same on homes and cars. Yet one group grew its investments at least twice as fast. What set them apart? This episode walks through the data to compare how the two groups save, invest, and feel about reaching their goals. You'll learn where busy people tend to let things slip, how to judge whether a financial planner's fee pays for itself, and which small moves can shorten the

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16:47

How Federal Loans Are Becoming More Like Private Loans

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/09/22

Federal student loans are about to feel a lot more like private debt, especially for anyone starting a master’s, dental, medical, or law degree after July 2027. Shrinking federal loan caps, fewer repayment options, and tighter limits on forbearance could mean relying more on private loans or managing higher payments. Learn how these changes affect your future borrowing, repayment options, and public service forgiveness, and how to avoid costly missteps if grad school is in your future.Key

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01:01:06

Student Loan Tax Bomb: What Forgiveness in 2026...

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/09/15

If you started repaying federal student loans around 2001-2006 and have been on a 20, 25, or 30-year income-driven repayment plan, you’re right on the doorstep of forgiveness. Here’s the catch: the forgiven balance triggers a potentially staggering tax bill — what we call the “tax bomb.” Learn who’s at risk, how big the tax bill could be, missteps to avoid, and the exact steps to prepare.Key moments:(08:54) Estimate your forgiveness date without an official payment count tracker(18:02) What to save

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10:07

The “Pay Down Debt vs. Invest” Math Has Shifted

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/09/08

Should you prioritize paying off your student loans or is it smarter to focus on investing? With interest rates changing dramatically since the days of ultra-low 3% loans, we break down how the math (and the mindset) has shifted.You’ll learn how rising interest rates affect that balance, how your tax bracket factors in, and why it might be smarter to shift extra money toward debt rather than your brokerage account, at least for now.Key moments:(03:53) How loan interest rates relate to your tax

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24:38

Why You Shouldn’t Panic About Forgiveness Counts...

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/09/01

This is a two-for-one episode. We’ll start by digging into the mailbag and answering questions you sent in. Then we’ll get to the topic filling my inbox with panicked emails: whether the Department of Education can take back forgiveness counts that were already granted. If you followed the rules, you shouldn’t be worried, and I’ll explain what I think is actually going on with these count corrections.Key moments:(00:00) Choosing the right college and degree in the new era of borrowing limits(06:04)

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34:01

Student Loan Payments Are Going Up

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/08/25

You’re coming off years of low or no student loan payments, only to face 10-20x jumps seemingly overnight. We get into why payments are up so sharply, what to do (and not do) if your budget’s getting squeezed, and how to use tax and filing strategies to lower your monthly student loan bill. We also share how to navigate marriage, family size, and community property rules when recertifying, so you can keep more options (and cash) in your hands.Key moments:(00:00) Payment shock: increases up to 20x

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21:42

The Student Loan Borrower Tax Rate Is Too Dang High

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/08/18

If you’re on an income-driven repayment plan, you might be paying a marginal tax rate that rivals (or exceeds) those in high-tax countries. We walk through exactly how that number gets built, showing how many borrowers effectively lose close to half of every additional dollar earned. We get practical about how this impacts your investment strategy, spending habits, and even decisions like working less. I also break down why pre-tax savings accounts (and careful house/car choices) can buy you back

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09:34

Why You Should Get an Old Person Hobby as a Student...

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/08/11

Summer’s winding down and, let’s be real, if you’ve got kids, you’re counting the minutes until school starts. But whether you’re squeezing in that last vacation or piecing together a back-to-school checklist, we make the case that you should also start collecting something else: so-called “old person hobbies.” We share why diving into activities like sourdough baking, tree planting, or astronomy could save your sanity (and maybe even your wallet)—even when juggling six-figure student loans and a

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16:13

Are you on track to retire? Why that’s the wrong...

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/08/04

Most people who care about money — especially those with big student loans — eventually end up worrying, "Am I on track to retire?" But that’s not the right question. Today, I break down why obsessing over retirement misses the point, and explain how shifting your focus to what you actually want in the next year can have a much bigger impact. Plus, I get real about what happened when I chased early retirement myself — and what really mattered in the end.Key moments:(02:36) What financially

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10:57

New Grad Student Loan Hacks

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/07/28

If you're coming out of professional school this fall, here's the quirk in your favor: you almost certainly didn't borrow after July 2026, which means you still have access to every repayment plan that existed before that cutoff. Some of these new-grad moves have been around for years, but the arrival of the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) changes the math, and we walk through the hacks that let high-debt full-payoff borrowers start $10 payments and get their interest wiped to roughly 0% for the

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24:59

The Post July 1 World of Student Loans

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/07/21

Servicers started sending official 90-day notices on July 1, and roughly 6 million borrowers are still sitting on SAVE trying to figure out what comes next. Learn what that notice actually means for your timeline, why the new 1% autopay interest reduction is more of a distraction than a deal for most people, and why consolidating right now could cost new grads a decade of extra payments.Plus, the PSLF final rule that had borrowers panicking about their employers just got vacated in court, and we

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19:13

What Would An AI Bubble Mean for Student Loan Borrowers?

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/07/14

AI hype is everywhere — and it’s about more than AI taking over your job. It also affects the stock market, your investments, and even your student loan paydown strategy. Find out if we’re living through another tech bubble moment, why student loan borrowers should pay attention, and how you might want to rethink where your extra cash goes in uncertain times.Key moments:(03:46) Deciding between paying extra on student loans vs. dollar-cost averaging into stocks(07:00) Using the 4% and 3% rules to

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36:04

RAP Strategies 2.0

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/07/07

The new RAP plan has gotten plenty of criticism, but it might not be all bad news for every borrower. Learn where RAP could help, where it could hurt, and why the right strategy depends so much on your income, forgiveness goals, and long-term financial picture.Key moments:(03:10) Who the RAP plan might actually help(06:37) RAP affects forgiveness timelines and PSLF strategy(08:20) Forecasting future income before choosing RAP(10:51) Married filing separately and lowering AGI under RAP(22:03) Extra

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24:29

Student Loans Post-July 1

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/07/02

We just got back from the NASFAA conference in Washington, D.C., and there's a lot to unpack. From the launch of the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and what it means for forgiveness strategies, to new federal loan limits and whether private loans can fill the funding gap for future grad and professional students, we're breaking down what these shifts mean for current borrowers, schools, and anyone about to finance an advanced degree.Key moments:(03:59) Evaluating student loan options(09:08)

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35:47

Why "AUM Fees are Bad" is a Marketing Ploy

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/06/30

Scroll through any financial feed, and you'll eventually hit the same pitch: AUM (assets under management) fees are a ripoff, and only foolish high earners pay them. We think that framing bends the math to sell you something, so we’re breaking down why AUM fees have become the villain in personal finance marketing and giving you a real test for judging whether any advisor is worth the cost.Key moments:(03:56) Fees should be judged against service value(14:43) Separating bad service from bad fee

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22:04

Are you a "SHENRY"?

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/06/23

You've heard of HENRYs, high earners who are not rich yet. But what if you're a high earner with six figures in student loan debt on top of it? That's a SHENRY, and the path to wealth looks different when a 401(k), a 457, an HSA, and a $300,000 loan balance are all competing for the same paycheck. We walk through the five moves SHENRYs can make to accelerate wealth growth, from maximizing tax-advantaged accounts to using income-driven repayment as a cash flow tool to getting more out of the degree

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27:27

Repayment Assistance Plan

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/06/16

A brand new income-driven repayment (IDR) plan is coming, and the rules are stricter than anything borrowers have dealt with before. We break down what we know about the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP): who qualifies, how payments are calculated, and the deadlines you may need to beat before older plans like Pay As You Earn (PAYE) close their doors. If you have federal loans and want to make the right move during this transition window, this is where to start.Key moments:(03:57) Checking your loan

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26:31

New Rules, Forgiveness Updates, and PSLF Lawsuit Watch

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/06/09

Since the One Big Beautiful Bill, the final student loan regulations have started landing, and we're seeing the real-world fallout in consultations every single day. We bring you what that looks like from the front lines: the latest ATF update on IDR backlogs, PSLF buyback wait times, and forgiveness eligibility checks, plus a few other things worth watching. We also cover the consolidation trap new grads need to avoid, Parent PLUS loans showing up on files where they don't belong, and what the July

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20:27

Changes to Grad Plus Coming This Year in 2026

Student Loan Planner ·

2026/06/02

Grad PLUS loans are going away, and the phase-out is going to create one of the strangest stretches in the history of student loan financing. If you're enrolled in a graduate or professional degree program, about to start one, or know someone who is, the new borrowing limits taking effect July 1, 2026, will reshape how you pay for school and how you'll repay later. Learn about the new borrowing caps, the orphaned group of borrowers caught in between, why taking a leave of absence could cost you

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