#student-loans
7 articles
A Raise from $85K to $100K Can Cost You the Entire $2,500 Student Loan Deduction
We ran the same $2,500 in student loan interest at three MAGI levels — $60K keeps the full deduction, $92,500 cuts it in half, and $100K erases it completely, even though nothing about the loan changed.
The Parent PLUS Loan's 4.228% Fee Costs More Than Its Rate Gap Suggests
We ran $10,000 needed for tuition through the calculator — the 2026-27 Parent PLUS rate of 9.07% plus its 4.228% origination fee costs about $1,360 more over 10 years than an 8% private loan with no fee.
Refinancing a $35K Student Loan From 6.5% to 4.5% Saves ~$3,800 — But Federal Loans Give Up More Than That
The interest math is the easy part. For federal loans, refinancing to a private lender is permanent and forfeits income-driven repayment, PSLF, and future federal forbearance — protections that can be worth far more than the rate savings.
$30K Student Loans at 5%: Why Minimums + Invest Beats Aggressive Payoff (Barely)
Spreadsheet says invest the extra $300 wins by $3K over 10 years. Real life says it depends entirely on whether you actually invest the savings every month, and what the market does in your specific decade.
A Teacher With $120K in Federal Loans Can Clear Them for ~$50K Through PSLF — Tax-Free
PSLF halves the IDR forgiveness timeline to 10 years and, unlike standard IDR forgiveness, is completely tax-free under IRC §108(f)(4). We ran the numbers on a typical public-school teacher's balance.
Income-Driven Repayment Forgives Your Loan After 20-25 Years — Then Taxes the Forgiven Amount as Income
An $80,000 forgiveness can land a borrower in the 24% federal bracket, owing roughly $19,000 to the IRS in a year they hadn't budgeted for. We walked through why the 'bargain' has a bill attached.
A Bachelor's Degree Earns $1.2-1.6M More Over a Career — But That Median Hides a 2-3x Spread by Major
BLS data shows the headline lifetime earnings premium. Georgetown's Center on Education and the Workforce shows the honest reading underneath: engineering and CS majors clear $80K+ lifetime medians while some other majors net less than skilled trades.