Consumer Reports offers A Guide to Student Loan ForgivenessRecent news suggests it is almost impossible to get one’s student loans forgiven, especially under the current administration and Education Secretary Betsy DeVoss. However, it may be worth a try with the help of Consumer Reports. “The 12-year-old federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF) is one…
Author: Financial Planning For Women
Utah State Treasurer has $370 million in Unclaimed Property
OK… This is NOT a scam. Every state has unclaimed property awaiting claim by owners or their rightful descendants. What is unclaimed property? Examples include forgotten utility deposits, life insurance payouts, health insurance reimbursements for overpayments, and contents of safe deposit boxes.When my parents died I checked with the appropriate authorities in New York state.…
Till College Debt do We Part
“Marriage can change everything for couples– in some cases even their student-loan payments” writes Cheryl Munk for The Wall Street Journal. The media has educated us about the high costs of attending college and the massive student debt load facing many millenials and their parents. Often house buying, procreation and investing for retirement are delayed…
Buying a primary residence might not be as good of an investment as conventional wisdom suggests. However, there are still benefits — financial and otherwise — to owning a home. Writing for US News and World Report, Miranda Marquit explains the economic costs and benefits of home ownership. Like most economic analyses, the bottom line…
Big Firms Pay CEOs $1 Million a Month
Writing in The Wall Street Journal (3/18/19) Theo Francis explains that job growth has helped more Americans find employment while also helping corporate CEOs earn $1 million/month. Yes, per month. According to WSJ analysis, “median compensation for 132 chief executives of S&P 500 companies reached $12.4 million in 2018, up from $11.7 million in 2017.”…
Income Inequality Explained in a Cartoon and Why the Disparity Matters (and is getting worse)
Alvin Change explains: “Something massive and important has happened in the United States over the past 50 years: Economic wealth has become increasingly concentrated among a small group of ultra-wealthy Americans.”“You can read lengthy books on this subject, like economist Thomas Piketty’s recent best-seller, Capital in the Twenty-First Century (the book runs 696 pages and…
Wells Fargo CEO got 5% pay raise despite all the company’s anti-consumer & illegal behavior!
The Wall Street Journal (3/14/19) reports that Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan received (note I did not use the verb “earned”) “$18.4 million in compensation for 2018, including a $2 million incentive award.”WOW! Can you believe #1 that level of compensation and #2 in the face of all the illegal and anti-consumer practices of that…
Get help paying for prescription drugs
“Consumers are powerless to control spiraling medication prices, but low-income, uninsured and under-insured individuals can often get help paying for their drugs. The help, in the form of subsidies or prescription price reductions, comes from four sources. The first is exclusively for seniors on Medicare, but the rest are available to everyone.”1. Medicare’s Extra Help…
How does my networth compare to other Americans?
Check out your status using the Net Worth by Age Calculator for the United States The Squared Away Blog explains: “An online tool tells you where you stand financially by stacking up your net worth against other Americans. The calculator compares a family’s net worth – financial and other assets minus debts – with all…
Maybe your financial "adviser" has been taking advantage of you
“The Securities and Exchange Commission’s program to persuade investment firms to self-report conflicts of interest has led to a settlement under which 79 firms return $125 million in fees to clients. The firms placed clients in share classes with expenses higher than those in other share classes available without disclosing that fact.” (Retirement Security SmartBrief)…