The financial news that actually matters
A graduate student starting a social work program this fall at a school that charges $65,000 a year could, until now, borrow every dollar of that cost through a single federal loan. Starting July 1, 2026, that option disappears. New graduate and professional students will no longer be eligible for Direct PLUS loans, the federal…
Picture a 2022 SUV purchased at the height of the pandemic car-buying frenzy for $42,000. Three years and roughly $18,000 in payments later, the owner still owes $30,000 on a vehicle now worth about $24,000. That $6,000 gap is negative equity, and it is showing up at dealerships across the country this spring as pandemic-era…
If you bought a car on finance through a dealership in the past decade, there is a real chance the interest rate you paid was quietly inflated so the dealer could pocket a larger commission. Santander has now earmarked more than £460 million to cover compensation for affected UK customers, according to The Guardian, which…
When Mariana Castillo walked across the stage at her university commencement in May 2024, she assumed her federal student loan payments would be manageable. She had budgeted around the SAVE plan, the most generous income-driven repayment option the government had ever offered. By the time her first payment came due that fall, SAVE was frozen…
Auto loan delinquencies in the United States have climbed to 4.1%, the highest level recorded in 14 years, according to Federal Reserve data tracking the share of balances at least 30 days past due. The increase signals mounting financial pressure on millions of American households that depend on vehicle financing for daily transportation. With total…