Stacey and Gene never expected to find themselves drowning in debt. Like many couples, it snuck up on them.  “It happened sooo fast,” Stacey recalled. Between college, buying a home, and trying to keep up with friends, using credit cards became second nature. “Then all of a sudden—wham—it hits you. We are literally broke.”  What started as m...

Understanding how unsubsidized student loans work and what they are can help students and families make informed decisions about paying for college. Unsubsidized loans are a common form of federal student aid, but they come with important responsibilities that can affect long-term costs.  What Is an Unsubsidized Student Loan?  An unsubsidized stu...

A home equity loan is a loan that allows you to borrow against the equity you’ve built in your home. Equity is the difference between your home’s worth and what you still owe on your mortgage.  Unlike a home equity line of credit, which allows flexible borrowing, a home equity loan provides a lump sum upfront with […]

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Can two people live on $25,000 a year? The short answer is yes, but it depends heavily on where you live, your housing costs, and whether you’re carrying debt.  For some households, this income level may follow a job loss, a career change, or a period of reduced work hours. For others, it may reflect entry-level wages or […]

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Understanding Income-Based Repayment (IBR) and how payments are calculated can help student loan borrowers plan their monthly budgets and long-term repayment strategies. IBR is a federal student loan repayment plan designed to make payments more affordable by tying them to income and family size rather than the total loan balance alone.  This article explains how […]