The College Investor Audio Show

As federal student loan collections resume, millions of borrowers who fell behind during the pandemic-era pause are again facing wage garnishment, tax refund seizures, and damaged credit. For borrowers already in default, the path back to good standing matters more than ever.One option stands out for many: student loan rehabilitation, a program that allows borrowers to remove the default from their federal loans (and credit report) after a series of on-time payments. Compared with student loan consolidation, rehabilitation can offer long-term credit benefits, but it also comes with strict rules and timelines that borrowers need to understand before enrolling.

When Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, it changed a central feature of how graduate education in the United States is financed. For nearly two decades, federal policy allowed graduate students to borrow up to the full cost of attendance through the Graduate PLUS loan program. That option will end in June 2026.A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Consumer Finance Institute (PDF File) offers one of the clearest pictures yet of what that change could mean for students, families, and lenders.The analysis finds that millions of future graduate students may face a new financing gap — and that private lenders may not be ready or willing to fill it.

Curious how to become a billionaire? It's a question that got me thinking...Earlier this year, I was browsing social media and came across an interesting post. Someone asked a pointed question, which seemed particularly relevant as I was in Las Vegas at the time. “What do you need to do to become a billionaire?”With all of my personal finance and business knowledge, I began to ponder what my top advice would be. I came up with two answers pretty quickly. Here are my thoughts on how to become a billionaire.

The thought of going back to business school appeals to those who want to boost their income and advance in their career. However, business school can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $150,000 per year, so it is critical that the benefits of business school will outweigh the costs. Even the average cost of $60,000 is too expensive to "find yourself".If you're thinking about going to business school to get your MBA, you should do so with specific purpose and be working to realize specific benefits. You need to have a specific ROI on the investment in your education.Is going to business school and getting an MBA worth it? Maybe.I received my MBA and I can honestly tell you that it was only worth it because it was partially-paid for by my employer. The true out-of-pocket cost of $80,000 would probably not have been worth it.With that being said, these are the questions that you should answer before pursuing an MBA.

Is college worth it? The answer depends on how much you spend. That's it. If you spend too much on college, it's not worth it because your lifetime earnings will never recoup the cost you spent so early in life.While the thought of incurring student loan debt makes many prospective students reconsider pursuing post-secondary education, the impact of a degree can still outpace the pain of loan debt on future financial well-being as long as the amount is minimized.A college degree can represent a sound investment in your future earnings. The financial return over a lifetime can make an undergraduate education a good investment - but only if you don't spend too much for it. Yes, college graduates, on average, earn 84% more over their lifetimes compared to just high school graduates.But what if your career earnings are only $400,000 more than if you didn't go to college, and you spent $100,000 in total on college? Making that extra $300,000 over 40 years of working was a really poor use of that original $100,000. That $100,000 would have grown to over $1,000,000 over that same 40 years if you never spent it on education...But on the flip side, if you only spend $20,000 in total on college, and earn an extra $400,000 over your lifetime, now, that investment is worthwhile. You basically have doubled your future potential earnings ($20,000 would only grow to $200,000 normally - but your education grew it to $400,000).

Ready to start using the best budgeting app to tackle your finances and track your net worth?Organizing your financial life is the first step to growing wealth, and technology can help you move in the right direction - specifically using budgeting apps and money tracking apps. But with the number of apps mushrooming each day, it can be tough to know which to use.After testing and using dozens of apps, we’ve got a comprehensive view of what budgeting apps are worth downloading, and which you can safely ignore.Plus, it's important to think about what you need for a budgeting app or spending tracker? Do you need hard-core budgeting tools, or investment tracking? Are you looking for your credit score? Every budgeting app focuses on a specific niche, and we break down the best budgeting apps we've found any why you should consider using them.

Federal student loans are a critical component in how families pay for college.Beginning in 2026, new laws will change how much students and parents can borrow and how those student loans are repaid. The changes are significant, especially for graduate students, professional programs, and families that rely on Parent PLUS loans to close college funding gaps.Student loan repayment also faces one of the biggest shifts in history.For families planning for college or graduate school, or those already in repayment on student loans, the next year will be another wild one with updates and changes.

Americans may be heading into the largest tax refund season on record - even though it may be one of the latest start tax refund seasons in recent memory.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this week that recent tax law changes could result in tax refunds that are “$1,000 to $2,000” larger for many households when they file their 2025 returns in early 2026.The White House has echoed that claim, pointing to estimates from Piper Sandler, suggesting the average refund could rise by roughly $1,000 compared with the 2025 filing season. That would put the typical tax refund at about $4,150.If those projections hold, millions of taxpayers will see more money returned by the IRS - not because taxes suddenly fell during the year, but because they paid too much along the way.

As families juggle decisions about housing, orientation dates, and class schedules, one area that often gets overlooked is life skills. The transition from high school to college is one of the biggest changes a teenager will face. And while some schools may offer a session study habits, far fewer address what it takes to function day to day.The cost of not being prepared can be high. Students who don’t learn how to manage stress or money early may be more likely to drop out or take longer to finish their degree. Parents often assume their kids already know these skills or will figure them out along the way. But being proactive helps students feel more confident from day one.

For years, taxpayers have grown accustomed to filing season opening in late January. But for the 2026 tax year, current projections point to a much later start.According to comments from IRS leadership, the agency is preparing for a filing season that could open around Presidents Day: mid-February 2026. This reflects added workload from new tax law provisions and the need for additional preparation time. If you're expecting a tax refund, the most common advice is that you should file your tax return as soon as possible. There is no reason to let the government keep your money any longer. Even if you e-file early, we estimate that the IRS won't start processing your tax return until February 17, 2026. You can see our estimated tax refund calendar to know when you're going to expect your tax refund.

Close to 90% of the world’s millionaires have some sort of real estate exposure. Real estate investing can help you grow your net worth and develop new forms of income.In the past, real estate investing was primarily for investors who easily qualified for loans—usually those in a higher tax bracket. But today’s changing times and technology have made it more accessible to make small investments. We’ve outlined 19 different ways to get your investment started in real estate - well beyond the basics of buy a house and rent it out.Some are appropriate for beginners, others are more fitting for existing homeowners, and some are suited for deca-millionaires or people with specialized skill sets. No matter who you are, you can invest in real estate with one of these options.

If your financial aid package falls short of your need, you can ask the college for more financial aid by sending them a financial aid appeal letter.A financial aid appeal is not like a negotiation. It is not like bargaining for a lower price on a car at the car dealership.Most students lack leverage to get the college to throw out its financial aid rulebook. Good grades and test scores, and strong extracurriculars may get a student into a college, but aren’t enough to earn the student a full scholarship.To get an increase to your financial aid package, you need to know how to present your financial situation correctly. Merely asking for more money will not work, unless your appeal is supported by documented special circumstances. A successful financial aid appeal is based on providing the college financial aid administrator with relevant new information about special circumstances that affect your ability to pay for college. In this article, we'll show you how to write a financial aid appeal letter and let you know what supporting documentation to provide.

What can you do if you can't afford college? The answer is duct tape.What? Duct tape has a lot of practical uses, such as reinforcing book bindings, patching holes in backpacks, removing lint and catching bugs.But, what does duct tape have to do with paying for college? Duck brand duct tape sponsors a $10,000 scholarship for making a prom costume out of duct tape. Visit the stuckatprom.com website for more information.If that particular scholarship doesn’t help you get out of your sticky situation, then look for scholarships at free scholarship search websites, such as Fastweb.com and the College Board’s Big Future. Just beware of scholarship scams, which charge a fee to apply for a scholarship.Here are ten other options to help pay for school when you don't have enough financial aid.

One of the biggest fears families have about using a 529 plan to save for college is the dreaded 529 plan penalty.There are many ways to save and pay for college, and the absolute best way to do it varies depending on your specific situation. A 529 plan, which is designed to help you with higher education expenses, is a type of tax-advantaged account that allows you to save and invest money.As long as you withdraw that money for qualified expenses, you can do so without paying taxes on it. However, if you don't use the funds in your 529 plan for qualified education expenses, you may be assessed a tax penalty.Thankfully, it's fairly straightforward to avoid this 529 plan penalty, as long as you take a few precautionary steps.

It's currently estimated that there are about 3,000,000 millionaires in the United States today. And given that there are about 300,000,000 Americans according to the latest Census data, that means about 1 in 100 are millionaires.Even more startling is that means that you probably know someone who is a millionaire, and you probably live within a stone's throw of other millionaires that you don't know.The truth is that a lot of millionaires have very specific habits. Traits that make them successful - whether personally or professionally.Beyond the inspirational, here are five fundamental habits that your millionaire neighbor has but probably isn't telling you.

For many parents scrolling Facebook, the same comment keeps appearing under college-related posts: “I don’t know how we’re supposed to pay $30,000 a year for college.”The fear is understandable. Sticker prices at four-year colleges have climbed for decades, and tuition figures are often presented as unavoidable facts. But the assumption behind those comments — that most families really do pay $30,000 a year out of pocket — is usually wrong.In reality, the typical college student pays far less than the published price, and many pay very little or nothing at all. A mix of public policy, institutional aid, employer programs, and academic shortcuts quietly lowers the bill for millions of families each year. And even when it comes to actually writing a check, families pay for college using multiple strategies. 

Starting in 2026, Grad PLUS loans are ending, and there will be new borrowing options for graduate and professional education. The new borrowing limits ($20,500 annually for graduate students and $50,000 for students in designated professional programs) represent a sharp break from the prior model that allowed borrowing up to the full cost of attendance.The line between “graduate” and “professional” is now tied to detailed federal definitions and CIP codes, placing programs like physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician assistant studies, speech-language pathology, and social work under the lower graduate limit despite tuition that often exceeds $40,000 a year.As these changes take effect, a second shift is underway: private lenders are not ready to replace what Grad PLUS once provided. The hesitation is rooted in uncertainty about risk, credit, and the behavioral response of students and institutions.

The vast majority of student loans in the United States remain effectively paused, and delinquency rates are climbing again, according to new data from the nonpartisan California Policy Lab (PDF File). The analysis, released Wednesday and based on credit bureau records through the third quarter of 2025, offers one of the clearest pictures yet of a repayment system strained by policy whiplash, legal uncertainty, and the lingering effects of the pandemic-era payment pause.CPL finds that only 33% of outstanding student loans are being repaid on time, the lowest on-time repayment rate in two decades outside of the formal pandemic pause. The rest are in deferment, forbearance, delinquency, or an income-driven repayment plan requiring no payment.The share of loans in deferment or forbearance alone has more than doubled since mid-2023 and now accounts for 49% of all loans.

The Department of Education has filed its first status report (PDF File) since the government shutdown in response to its lawsuit with the American Federation of Teachers. The report offers a snapshot of how income-driven repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness backlogs are moving — and where they remain stuck.The report filed on December 15, 2025 in federal court was delayed by the October–November government shutdown and covers activity through the end of November. It follows a series of monthly disclosures required by the court after borrower advocates sued, alleging widespread delays and failures in student loan forgiveness processing. The previous report was filed back in September.The new filing shows that while application processing has picked back up, hundreds of thousands of borrowers are still waiting for decisions about changing repayment plans, and the backlog of those waiting for PSLF buyback has continued to grow.

Tipping during the holidays isn’t about keeping score — it’s about showing appreciation to the people who help you all year. Whether that’s your babysitter, delivery driver, or building staff, a thoughtful tip or small gift can mean a lot.Every year, as it gets closer to Christmas, I see more and more stories about holiday tipping etiquette and who I should tip. I understand tipping in the hospitality industry. For example, waiters make most of their money on tips, and they have an established custom on what to tip. I don't always agree, and if the service was poor, I tip less, and if the service was great, I tip more.But with higher inflation, workers having to do more with less, and simply showing your gratitude, let's talk about holiday tipping (and some food for thought on tipping in general).