NEW YORK—After three years, the pandemic-era freeze on student loan payments will end in late August. It might seem tempting to just keep not making payments, but the consequences can be severe, including a hit to your credit score and exclusion from future aid and benefits. More than 40 million Americans will have to start…
It’s Almost Time to Resume Student Loan Payments. Not Doing so Could Cost You
The Miserly Social Security Death Benefit
About a month ago, I wrote a column explaining what family members need to do when a loved one who was getting Social Security benefits dies. I primarily discussed what might need to be done about returning the last Social Security check (depending on the timing of the death). I also used that column to…
Student Loan Payments Will Restart Soon: Here’s the Timeline Borrowers Should Know
Federal student loan payments have been on pause since March 2020. But soon that will change. The U.S. Department of Education, which oversees a $1.6 trillion portfolio in federal student loan debt owed by about 43 million Americans, has posted a notice at the top of its student aid website, confirming when borrowers should start…
Students Need Work, Not Another Handout
Commentary Handout culture is rampant in society today. People are seen as victims, and government handouts have become the natural response to any form of misfortune—great, small, or imagined. It, therefore, came as no surprise that the response to recently announced increases in indexation to student debt was a call for another government handout. In…
Australians to Get Affordable Financial Advice From Super Funds Under New Reform
The Australian Labor government has introduced a new reform that allows more citizens to access affordable financial advice from their superannuation funds. This comes following an exodus of financial advisors in the country due to a 2019 royal commission’s inquiry into the misconduct in the banking, super and financial services industry, which resulted in a…
Australian Leading Financial Expert Calls For Better Solutions to Inflation
One of Australia’s leading financial experts, Mark Bouris, has called for better solutions to tame high inflation, expressing deep concern following the RBA’s June interest rate hike. In a piece published in news.com.au, the executive chairman of Yellow Brick Home Loans has asked for an explanation of the central bank’s latest decision to institute the…
Closing Prices for Crude Oil, Gold, and Other Commodities (June 13)
Benchmark U.S. crude oil for July delivery rose $2.30 to $69.42 a barrel Tuesday. Brent crude for August delivery rose $2.45 to $74.29 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for July delivery rose 8 cents $2.56 a gallon. July heating oil rose 9 cents to $2.40 a gallon. July natural gas rose 7 cents to $2.34 per…
How Major US Stock Indexes Fared June 13
Stocks climbed after a cooler reading on inflation bolstered Wall Street’s expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold off on another interest rate hike this week. The S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent Tuesday, touching heights unseen since April 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 145 points, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.8 percent. Stocks…
States Sending Tax Rebates and Stimulus Checks
While federal stimulus checks ended several years ago, some states have continued to provide assistance to residents in the form of tax rebates or so-called “inflation relief” payments. In context of such payments, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued clarification earlier this year that most relief checks issued by states last year aren’t subject to federal…
Many Student-Loan Borrowers at Risk of Defaulting, Consumer Protection Bureau Warns
With student-loan repayments resuming this fall, approximately one in five borrowers have some financial risk factor that may make them fall behind on payments, according to new research from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Americans owe $1.77 trillion in federal and private student loan debt as of the first quarter of 2023. Nearly 20 percent…
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