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In a new survey of physicians, dentists, veterinarians, and others, two groups reported similar incomes and spent about the same on homes and cars. Yet one group grew its investments at least twice as fast. What set them apart? This episode walks through the data to compare how the two groups save, invest, and feel about reaching their goals. You'll learn where busy people tend to let things slip, how to judge whether a financial planner's fee pays for itself, and which small moves can shorten the path to your goals. Key moments: (03:01) How confidence in reaching money goals differs with ongoing financial planning (06:01) Why people with ongoing planning contribute to Roths and brokerage accounts more often (10:31) Why similar median incomes still led to very different wealth growth (24:06) Why behavioral slip-ups, not intelligence, erode progress for busy professionals (33:01) The real value of ongoing planning over one-off hourly advice Resources mentioned: Hello Nectarine Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon MusicLeave an honest review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the newsletterJoin SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculatorCheck out our refinancing bonuses we negotiatedBook your custom student loan planGet profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show!

Federal student loans are about to feel a lot more like private debt, especially for anyone starting a master’s, dental, medical, or law degree after July 2027. Shrinking federal loan caps, fewer repayment options, and tighter limits on forbearance could mean relying more on private loans or managing higher payments. Learn how these changes affect your future borrowing, repayment options, and public service forgiveness, and how to avoid costly missteps if grad school is in your future. Key moments: (05:35) The old forbearance limits versus the new 9-month rule (07:17) Why a $10 minimum payment can still feel unaffordable (09:08) Elimination of economic hardship deferments and your two plan choices (14:14) Upcoming repayment plan changes for PAYE and SAVE borrowers Mentioned in this episode: The SLP YouTube Channel If you're more of a visual learner or you like seeing charts, breakdowns, and exploring other topics, check out https://youtube.com/studentloanplanner Free Student Loan newsletter If you are not already getting our weekly newsletter every Thursday, you are missing out. We break down studio loan news, updates, money tips, all in one helpful newsletter. Sign up for free at https://studentloanplanner.com/newsletter

If you started repaying federal student loans around 2001-2006 and have been on a 20, 25, or 30-year income-driven repayment plan, you’re right on the doorstep of forgiveness. Here’s the catch: the forgiven balance triggers a potentially staggering tax bill — what we call the “tax bomb.” Learn who’s at risk, how big the tax bill could be, missteps to avoid, and the exact steps to prepare. Key moments: (08:54) Estimate your forgiveness date without an official payment count tracker (18:02) What to save and invest for the tax bill (24:17) Parent PLUS restrictions and the consolidation cutoff (37:15) What the insolvency exclusion requires you to document, and why few qualify (53:17) Offer in compromise, and when the IRS will negotiate a reduced amount Resources mentioned: IRS Offer in Compromise pre-qualifierIRS Form 1099-C Mentioned in this episode: Tips I Can't Share Publicly Getting our free newsletter? Upgrade your experience and discover student loan loopholes so good, they might get repealed if I talk about them publicly. Find out my very best thought leadership that I really just can't be open about anymore, unfortunately. If you want to get our very best tips, not just the ones that I can share for free. Go to studentloanplanner.com/insider to get a special discount for your year membership. Want more? Check out our other podcast Starting to think beyond your student loans? Check out our other show, Financially Free Era. It's about what comes next, investing, building wealth, and designing a life you actually want. Find "Financially Free Era by SLP Wealth" in your podcast app.

Should you prioritize paying off your student loans or is it smarter to focus on investing? With interest rates changing dramatically since the days of ultra-low 3% loans, we break down how the math (and the mindset) has shifted. You’ll learn how rising interest rates affect that balance, how your tax bracket factors in, and why it might be smarter to shift extra money toward debt rather than your brokerage account, at least for now. Key moments: (03:53) How loan interest rates relate to your tax bracket and what that really costs (07:02) Deciding when to prioritize debt paydown over investing in brokerage accounts (08:13) When liquidity makes sense if you’re considering life changes or starting a business Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon MusicLeave an honest review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the newsletterJoin SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculatorCheck out our refinancing bonuses we negotiatedBook your custom student loan planGet profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show! Mentioned in this episode: Free Student Loan newsletter If you are not already getting our weekly newsletter every Thursday, you are missing out. We break down studio loan news, updates, money tips, all in one helpful newsletter. Sign up for free at https://studentloanplanner.com/newsletter The SLP YouTube Channel If you're more of a visual learner or you like seeing charts, breakdowns, and exploring other topics, check out https://youtube.com/studentloanplanner

This is a two-for-one episode. We’ll start by digging into the mailbag and answering questions you sent in. Then we’ll get to the topic filling my inbox with panicked emails: whether the Department of Education can take back forgiveness counts that were already granted. If you followed the rules, you shouldn’t be worried, and I’ll explain what I think is actually going on with these count corrections. Key moments: (00:00) Choosing the right college and degree in the new era of borrowing limits (06:04) What to do when your loan servicer gets your PSLF payment count wrong (08:14) Handling $145,000 in loans on a new engineer's starting salary (14:34) How the IDR account adjustment explains the counts being corrected now (18:51) Whether granted forgiveness can be reversed, and who gains from the panic Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon MusicLeave an honest review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the newsletterJoin SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculatorCheck out our refinancing bonuses we negotiatedBook your custom student loan planGet profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show! Mentioned in this episode: Tips I Can't Share Publicly Getting our free newsletter? Upgrade your experience and discover student loan loopholes so good, they might get repealed if I talk about them publicly. Find out my very best thought leadership that I really just can't be open about anymore, unfortunately. If you want to get our very best tips, not just the ones that I can share for free. Go to studentloanplanner.com/insider to get a special discount for your year membership. Want more? Check out our other podcast Starting to think beyond your student loans? Check out our other show, Financially Free Era. It's about what comes next, investing, building wealth, and designing a life you actually want. Find "Financially Free Era by SLP Wealth" in your podcast app.

You’re coming off years of low or no student loan payments, only to face 10-20x jumps seemingly overnight. We get into why payments are up so sharply, what to do (and not do) if your budget’s getting squeezed, and how to use tax and filing strategies to lower your monthly student loan bill. We also share how to navigate marriage, family size, and community property rules when recertifying, so you can keep more options (and cash) in your hands. Key moments: (00:00) Payment shock: increases up to 20x after years of forbearance and SAVE (07:12) How retirement contributions and pre-tax accounts lower student loan payments (09:27) Married filing separately, and when it drops your payment (16:09) PAYE goes away July 2028, and who should switch before the deadline (20:19) Forgiveness is now taxable, and what to plan for if it’s in your future Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon MusicLeave an honest review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the newsletterJoin SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculatorCheck out our refinancing bonuses we negotiatedBook your custom student loan planGet profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show! Mentioned in this episode: Free Student Loan newsletter If you are not already getting our weekly newsletter every Thursday, you are missing out. We break down studio loan news, updates, money tips, all in one helpful newsletter. Sign up for free at https://studentloanplanner.com/newsletter The SLP YouTube Channel If you're more of a visual learner or you like seeing charts, breakdowns, and exploring other topics, check out https://youtube.com/studentloanplanner

If you’re on an income-driven repayment plan, you might be paying a marginal tax rate that rivals (or exceeds) those in high-tax countries. We walk through exactly how that number gets built, showing how many borrowers effectively lose close to half of every additional dollar earned. We get practical about how this impacts your investment strategy, spending habits, and even decisions like working less. I also break down why pre-tax savings accounts (and careful house/car choices) can buy you back weeks of life — and sanity. Key moments: (00:00) Why an income-driven borrower's tax rate rivals Sweden's (04:44) How a $150K salary hits a 47.55% marginal tax rate (08:51) Using dependent care FSAs and HSAs to effectively get “50% off” (16:22) How driving a modest car or working less can radically impact your life after taxes Resource mentioned: Afford Anything podcast by Paula Pant Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon MusicLeave an honest review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the newsletterJoin SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculatorCheck out our refinancing bonuses we negotiatedBook your custom student loan planGet profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show! Mentioned in this episode: Want more? Check out our other podcast Starting to think beyond your student loans? Check out our other show, Financially Free Era. It's about what comes next, investing, building wealth, and designing a life you actually want. Find "Financially Free Era by SLP Wealth" in your podcast app. Tips I Can't Share Publicly Getting our free newsletter? Upgrade your experience and discover student loan loopholes so good, they might get repealed if I talk about them publicly. Find out my very best thought leadership that I really just can't be open about anymore, unfortunately. If you want to get our very best tips, not just the ones that I can share for free. Go to studentloanplanner.com/insider to get a special discount for your year membership.

Summer’s winding down and, let’s be real, if you’ve got kids, you’re counting the minutes until school starts. But whether you’re squeezing in that last vacation or piecing together a back-to-school checklist, we make the case that you should also start collecting something else: so-called “old person hobbies.” We share why diving into activities like sourdough baking, tree planting, or astronomy could save your sanity (and maybe even your wallet)—even when juggling six-figure student loans and a hectic career. We talk practical ways to get started, how low-cost hobbies can help you invest in your future self, and why giving yourself permission to enjoy life is one of the best financial moves you can make. Key moments: (00:00) Why “old person hobbies” are worth exploring well before retirement (01:19) How my wife and I found sanity through sourdough and star-gazing (02:12) Why my 20s self didn’t get it, and what shifted for me in my 30s (03:25) How to start a long-term hobby for under $10 (05:32) Building a financial plan that lets you actually enjoy your life Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon MusicLeave an honest review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the newsletterJoin SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculatorCheck out our refinancing bonuses we negotiatedBook your custom student loan planGet profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show! Mentioned in this episode: The SLP YouTube Channel If you're more of a visual learner or you like seeing charts, breakdowns, and exploring other topics, check out https://youtube.com/studentloanplanner Free Student Loan newsletter If you are not already getting our weekly newsletter every Thursday, you are missing out. We break down studio loan news, updates, money tips, all in one helpful newsletter. Sign up for free at https://studentloanplanner.com/newsletter

Most people who care about money — especially those with big student loans — eventually end up worrying, "Am I on track to retire?" But that’s not the right question. Today, I break down why obsessing over retirement misses the point, and explain how shifting your focus to what you actually want in the next year can have a much bigger impact. Plus, I get real about what happened when I chased early retirement myself — and what really mattered in the end. Key moments: (02:36) What financially interested people get wrong and why planners aren’t just for the ultra-wealthy (05:44) What keeps high earners from enjoying their money (07:12) My own early retirement attempt and the surprising lesson it taught me about purpose Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon MusicLeave an honest review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the newsletterJoin SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculatorCheck out our refinancing bonuses we negotiatedBook your custom student loan planGet profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show! Mentioned in this episode: Tips I Can't Share Publicly Getting our free newsletter? Upgrade your experience and discover student loan loopholes so good, they might get repealed if I talk about them publicly. Find out my very best thought leadership that I really just can't be open about anymore, unfortunately. If you want to get our very best tips, not just the ones that I can share for free. Go to studentloanplanner.com/insider to get a special discount for your year membership. Want more? Check out our other podcast Starting to think beyond your student loans? Check out our other show, Financially Free Era. It's about what comes next, investing, building wealth, and designing a life you actually want. Find "Financially Free Era by SLP Wealth" in your podcast app.

If you're coming out of professional school this fall, here's the quirk in your favor: you almost certainly didn't borrow after July 2026, which means you still have access to every repayment plan that existed before that cutoff. Some of these new-grad moves have been around for years, but the arrival of the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) changes the math, and we walk through the hacks that let high-debt full-payoff borrowers start $10 payments and get their interest wiped to roughly 0% for the first year. Then we zoom out: why you shouldn't rewire your portfolio over AI-bubble jitters, and why the best financial call you make in your 20s or 30s might be spending the money before your knees give out. Key moments: (01:44) The cost of using your full six-month grace period after graduation (02:26) Consolidating at graduation: when it’s a good idea, and when it’s a disaster (05:19) How the interest subsidy hack can be worth $15K–$20K for high-debt grads (08:36) Why I think you should take some non-financial risks while you’re young Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon MusicLeave an honest review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the newsletterJoin SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculatorCheck out our refinancing bonuses we negotiatedBook your custom student loan planGet profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show! Mentioned in this episode: Free Student Loan newsletter If you are not already getting our weekly newsletter every Thursday, you are missing out. We break down studio loan news, updates, money tips, all in one helpful newsletter. Sign up for free at https://studentloanplanner.com/newsletter The SLP YouTube Channel If you're more of a visual learner or you like seeing charts, breakdowns, and exploring other topics, check out https://youtube.com/studentloanplanner

Servicers started sending official 90-day notices on July 1, and roughly 6 million borrowers are still sitting on SAVE trying to figure out what comes next. Learn what that notice actually means for your timeline, why the new 1% autopay interest reduction is more of a distraction than a deal for most people, and why consolidating right now could cost new grads a decade of extra payments. Plus, the PSLF final rule that had borrowers panicking about their employers just got vacated in court, and we explain what that means for anyone chasing forgiveness. Key moments: (01:05) Notifications to leave the SAVE plan aren’t as urgent as they look (09:17) Who really benefits from the 1% autopay interest rate reduction (and who doesn’t) (14:05) The new consolidation trap for recent grads—and why pausing could save you a decade (19:05) The PSLF court cases and how they redefine PSLF employer eligibility Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon MusicLeave an honest review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the newsletterJoin SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculatorCheck out our refinancing bonuses we negotiatedBook your custom student loan planGet profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show! Mentioned in this episode: Want more? Check out our other podcast Starting to think beyond your student loans? Check out our other show, Financially Free Era. It's about what comes next, investing, building wealth, and designing a life you actually want. Find "Financially Free Era by SLP Wealth" in your podcast app. Tips I Can't Share Publicly Getting our free newsletter? Upgrade your experience and discover student loan loopholes so good, they might get repealed if I talk about them publicly. Find out my very best thought leadership that I really just can't be open about anymore, unfortunately. If you want to get our very best tips, not just the ones that I can share for free. Go to studentloanplanner.com/insider to get a special discount for your year membership.

AI hype is everywhere — and it’s about more than AI taking over your job. It also affects the stock market, your investments, and even your student loan paydown strategy. Find out if we’re living through another tech bubble moment, why student loan borrowers should pay attention, and how you might want to rethink where your extra cash goes in uncertain times. Key moments: (03:46) Deciding between paying extra on student loans vs. dollar-cost averaging into stocks (07:00) Using the 4% and 3% rules to calculate how much you need for financial independence (09:08) Regret-minimization (not just tax planning) should guide big financial decisions for student loan borrowers (12:40) Capturing tax loss harvesting benefits if the market crashes (13:41) Gauging which professions are most protected from AI Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon MusicLeave an honest review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the newsletterJoin SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculatorCheck out our refinancing bonuses we negotiatedBook your custom student loan planGet profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show! Mentioned in this episode: The SLP YouTube Channel If you're more of a visual learner or you like seeing charts, breakdowns, and exploring other topics, check out https://youtube.com/studentloanplanner

The new RAP plan has gotten plenty of criticism, but it might not be all bad news for every borrower. Learn where RAP could help, where it could hurt, and why the right strategy depends so much on your income, forgiveness goals, and long-term financial picture. Key moments: (03:10) Who the RAP plan might actually help (06:37) RAP affects forgiveness timelines and PSLF strategy (08:20) Forecasting future income before choosing RAP (10:51) Married filing separately and lowering AGI under RAP (22:03) Extra payments and last-minute plan switching may backfire Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon MusicLeave an honest review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the newsletterJoin SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculatorCheck out our refinancing bonuses we negotiatedBook your custom student loan planGet profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show! Mentioned in this episode: Want more? Check out our other podcast Starting to think beyond your student loans? Check out our other show, Financially Free Era. It's about what comes next, investing, building wealth, and designing a life you actually want. Find "Financially Free Era by SLP Wealth" in your podcast app. Tips I Can't Share Publicly Getting our free newsletter? Upgrade your experience and discover student loan loopholes so good, they might get repealed if I talk about them publicly. Find out my very best thought leadership that I really just can't be open about anymore, unfortunately. If you want to get our very best tips, not just the ones that I can share for free. Go to studentloanplanner.com/insider to get a special discount for your year membership.

We just got back from the NASFAA conference in Washington, D.C., and there's a lot to unpack. From the launch of the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and what it means for forgiveness strategies, to new federal loan limits and whether private loans can fill the funding gap for future grad and professional students, we're breaking down what these shifts mean for current borrowers, schools, and anyone about to finance an advanced degree. Key moments: (03:59) Evaluating student loan options (09:08) Financial aid challenges for “stopped out,” current and repeat students (15:38) Concerns about student loan forgiveness (20:21) Tuition discount rates in education Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon MusicLeave an honest review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the newsletterJoin SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculatorCheck out our refinancing bonuses we negotiatedBook your custom student loan planGet profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show!

Scroll through any financial feed, and you'll eventually hit the same pitch: AUM (assets under management) fees are a ripoff, and only foolish high earners pay them. We think that framing bends the math to sell you something, so we’re breaking down why AUM fees have become the villain in personal finance marketing and giving you a real test for judging whether any advisor is worth the cost. Key moments: (03:56) Fees should be judged against service value (14:43) Separating bad service from bad fee models (17:23) Flat-fee comparisons can exaggerate AUM costs (28:02) Busyness and inertia create financial planning mistakes Resources mentioned: Vanguard Advisor’s Alpha study Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon MusicLeave an honest review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the newsletterJoin SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculatorCheck out our refinancing bonuses we negotiatedBook your custom student loan planGet profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show! Mentioned in this episode: The SLP YouTube Channel If you're more of a visual learner or you like seeing charts, breakdowns, and exploring other topics, check out https://youtube.com/studentloanplanner