The holidays are upon us and although 2020 isn’t a traditional year people are still getting into the holiday spirits. Gifts have become a huge part of the holidays, which we all know can add a lot of additional stress. This year there is the added stress of what is the best way to get gifts to loved ones? Shipping can be expensive and you risk packages getting delayed, lost, or broken so I wouldn’t be surprised to see more monetary gifts be given.
I am a self-help junkie. I love reading self-help books, listening to podcasts, watching you-tube videos, and following a lot of influencers on social media. I could write a really long post telling you all about some of the great things I have learned and things that have changed my life for the better. But instead, I want to list 3 of the biggest things that have truly helped me change for the better.
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the “Secure Act” legislation and it’s widely expected to move forward in the Senate. In part, the legislation’s purpose is to make it easier for employers to offer 401ks to their employees and to let workers guarantee how much income their retirement savings will produce by using their assets to purchase annuities. It removes the IRA age limitation and increases the RMD age to 72.
High school graduation time is upon us! If you receive cash gifts for graduation consider using a portion of that money to directly pay for some college expenses. This will help reduce the amount of student loans you need to take out, saving you money in the long run.
First things first, congratulations to all of the recent college graduates! It is such an incredible achievement to have put in time and effort over the past 2 to 4 years and finally being in a position to step into the workforce. Here are a few quick tips for your next few years as you spread your wings and begin to soar into your career.
When you make your final student loan payment find out what the payoff amount is. The current balance shown on your account and the payoff amount are usually different as a result of fees and interest. Once you make the final payment save the receipt confirming your loan has been paid off. The month after your final payment has been made login to your student loan account to confirm that your balance is still $0. This will reduce the chance of having any outstanding balance that could result in delinquent payments.
Congratulations to all the college graduates and their families!
We know last weekend was a big event in your family and we want to provide a gift that helps college grads jump into the “real world” with a solid financial foundation. That’s part of why we created our "Untangle Your Roots" Series. This program is $30 per month for 12 months and it offers a variety of information and education to help the recent graduate get financially fit. Each month, the participant will complete another task on the road to success.
In addition, we have something different for the blog this week: With the Indy 500 approaching, we thought it would be fun to put together a quiz about both the Indy 500 and the S&P 500.
We hope you enjoy this week’s fun trivia:
Take out federal student loans before taking out private loans. Federal student loans usually offer lower fixed interest rates, less interest accrues on subsidized loans while you are in school, they offer the ability to access income-driven repayment options and depending on your career and type of repayment option you could also be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Fed Loans also generally have a disability clause.
If you have student loans or expect to, create a spreadsheet to track these loans. It’s likely that every semester you will be taking out loans and it can be very easy to forget how many you took out, especially when they are through different loan providers. Things to include in your spreadsheet would be: what type of loan was taken out, who the loan provider is along with their contact information, when the loan was taken out, the amount the loan is for, what the grace period is, and what the interest rate is.
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