Biden’s reform to income-driven repayment (IDR) plans
One of President Joe Biden’s less headline-grabbing measures to address the student loan crisis last week aims to make debt repayment more affordable for both current and future borrowers. The president is making four key changes to income-driven repayment plans to reduce monthly payments, prevent Read More …
Biden’s student loan forgiveness: your questions answered
The application for student loan forgiveness won’t be ready until October, according to a White House official, with relief coming about four to six weeks after a borrower applies. National Economic Council Deputy Director Bharat Ramamurti on Friday said to expect the application process to Read More …
Women less likely to receive intergenerational wealth transfers
Things don’t look good for the state of women’s financial well-being into retirement, especially considering that women live longer than men. And if women were expecting inheritances and gifts to help ease financial burdens, there’s a plot twist. A recent FINRA Foundation National Financial Capability Study found that Read More …
Half of renters had a rent increase
Renters across the country are feeling the brunt of housing inflation. Nearly 60% of renters said their rent increased in the past 12 months, according to a Freddie Mac survey of 2,000 Americans conducted in June and given exclusively to Yahoo Money. Nearly a third Read More …
PSLF applicants still get denials for forgiveness
As a key deadline looms, borrowers still face problems getting their student debt forgiven under a program for public service workers that Republican lawmakers are now targeting. Borrowers previously denied forgiveness under the public service loan forgiveness program (PSLF) have until October 31, 2022, to Read More …
Addressing Appraisal Bias Undervaluation
Home equity is one way to create generational wealth. However, for Black and Latinx homeowners, homeownership doesn’t always render the same result. A recent study by Freddie Mac found that “minority applicants are more likely to receive an appraisal value lower than the contract price.” “The biggest Read More …
Student loan debt forgiveness is just
A college education is a prerequisite for many well-paying jobs and has been touted as a good investment to raise Americans from lower income to middle class. But it has also saddled many students with a lifetime of debt, affecting over 43 million Americans — including 14% of Read More …
Bias in tax code perpetuates racial wealth gap
America’s progressive tax system is supposed to tax more as your income rises, with people with similar incomes paying the same rate. That’s not true, according to one tax lawyer and professor, who analyzed the history of the American tax system and how it can Read More …
Rent too high – nationwide
It’s time to pull out Jimmy McMillan‘s slogan for his 2010 New York mayoral run: “The rent is too damn high.” But today, the slogan applies across the country as renters feel the squeeze. The median monthly rent in May hit $1,849, a 26.6% increase since Read More …
Juneteenth: Neo-slavery & Jim Crow
Juneteenth is a somber reminder that the institutions and systems that kept free Black citizens enslaved more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation – allowing Texas plantation owners to delay freedom so freed slaves could bring in the harvest – still exist today. In Read More …
Disability insurance protects your paycheck
One reminder the pandemic has brought up is that an illness can develop into a long-term disability that can strike both old and young people. But a large portion of Americans aren’t financially prepared for this not-too-uncommon outcome, leaving their families vulnerable. Almost half of Read More …
Life insurance to close the racial wealth gap
Black Americans are more likely to carry life insurance than the average American, but their coverage does little more than provide for funeral costs. Fifty-six percent of Black Americans have life insurance, according to a study by LIMRA and Life Happens, compared with 52% of all Americans. Read More …