The financial news that actually matters
Roughly 8 million people were enrolled in the federal SAVE repayment plan before courts blocked it. If you are one of them, a 37-day countdown is now running. On July 1, 2026, your loan servicer will mail you a transition notice and start a 90-day clock. Pick a new repayment plan before that clock runs…
A borrower with a 750 credit score can lock in a 30-year fixed mortgage near 6.5 percent. Knock 100 points off that score and the same lender may quote closer to 7.8 percent, according to loan-level price adjustment matrices published by Fannie Mae. On a $350,000 loan, the gap works out to roughly $300 more…
Roughly 8 million federal student loan borrowers, according to a Department of Education estimate from early 2026 (actual enrollment may have shifted since then), are still parked in the SAVE repayment plan, and in about five weeks, the government is going to start moving them out. The U.S. Department of Education has confirmed that loan…
About two years ago, roughly 8 million federal student loan borrowers were placed into administrative limbo. Courts blocked the SAVE repayment plan before it could fully launch, servicers stopped collecting payments, and monthly bills dropped to zero. Now that limbo has an expiration date. The U.S. Department of Education has confirmed that loan servicers will…
A graduate student borrowing $50,000 in federal loans this fall will pay roughly $8,000 more in interest over a standard 10-year repayment than a classmate who borrowed the same amount in 2023-24. That gap is the direct result of a rate reset taking effect July 1, 2026: new Direct Unsubsidized loans for graduate and professional…
A federal student loan borrower earning $40,000 a year with $35,000 in debt was paying roughly $120 a month under the SAVE repayment plan, according to estimates from the Department of Education’s Loan Simulator. Under the Standard Repayment Plan, that same borrower would owe about $370. That is not a hypothetical scenario playing out years…
A parent who took out $30,000 in federal PLUS loans to cover a child’s tuition can, right now, consolidate that debt into a Direct Consolidation Loan and enroll in Income-Contingent Repayment, dropping monthly payments to as little as $50. That door closes permanently on July 1, 2026. Under a final rule the Department of Education…
A family borrowing $30,000 through the federal Parent PLUS program this fall will pay roughly $3,400 more in interest over a standard 10-year repayment than a family that took out the same loan last year. The reason: starting July 1, 2025, new Parent PLUS loans carry a fixed rate of 9.07%, up from 8.05% the…
If you are one of the roughly 8 million borrowers still enrolled in the federal SAVE repayment plan, according to the U.S. Department of Education, a clock is already ticking. On July 1, loan servicers will begin sending notices that the program is officially dead and that every SAVE enrollee must choose a replacement plan….
A parent in Michigan who borrowed $40,000 in federal PLUS loans to put a child through college could be paying around $500 a month on a standard repayment schedule. Consolidate that same balance into a Direct Consolidation Loan before June 30, 2026, and an income-driven plan could cut the bill to $200 or less, depending…