Looking back at the passage of the OBBB (One Big Beautiful Bill) Act back in July, the student loan overhaul they did could've been much worse for current borrowers than it ended up being (thank you Senate parliamentarian). But I wanted to call out one big provision that's changing in 2026 that many folks will need to be monitoring long term. It's the return of the "student loan tax bomb" starting in January 2026. What is that? And why is it coming back and who is it coming back for? First...
26 days ago • 2 min read
We've seen 2 legal challenges filed to the Trump administration's plan to block PSLF access for employers who engage in "activities indicative of a substantial illegal purpose." The 2 lawsuits seek a pre-emptive block of these regulations, arguing that the PSLF statute does not allow for the restrictions. If you're on PSLF, don't worry right now. The new rules weren't even set to take effect until the summer of 2026. So we'll see these legal challenges play out over the course of the next few...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
This week, we're seeing some good stuff happening with PSLF buyback but some not so good stuff happening with forgiveness processing overall. Let me explain. Someone posted screenshots in one of the FB groups we run this week that they finally got their PSLF buyback offer several months after submitting their first application. We're also seeing regular examples of clients showing proof of PSLF forgiveness. So the PSLF program seems to still be functioning as normal right now, albeit with...
3 months ago • 1 min read
I've gonna do my usual update then at the bottom I have 2 new calculator downloads for SLP Insiders members. One sentiment I'm seeing some of online is "I just want to wait until the student loan people tell me to do something and then I'll do it." That could cost you money in some cases. I'll explain why. Lots of folks are choosing to stay on the SAVE forbearance even though interest has resumed. They're just confused over the different repayment plan options and in some cases, they're...
4 months ago • 3 min read
I finally finished analyzing our profession-specific salary survey we did a few weeks ago. New Salary Reports We have data for physicians, dentists, vets, PTs, PAs, speech language pathologists, podiatrists, CRNAs, RNs, NPs, pharmacists, psychologists, and chiropractors. Here's the survey download. You're getting this because you're a valued SLP Insiders or SLP Wealth member :) Let me know what you think of it / how we could make it even more interesting next time we do the survey. I've got a...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Just in case you don't have it, I wanted to make sure our SLP Insiders like you get a downloadable copy of our latest version of the RAP calculator. You'll be able to see your monthly payments in the "Calculations" tab, and the summary information is on the "main" tab. If you've done a student loan consult before, you'll recognize the overall look of the spreadsheet. The main difference is I added RAP (which is not available until mid 2026 we think), and I uncapped the IBR payments (the new...
5 months ago • 3 min read
Dept of Ed announced this week that they will be ending the SAVE forbearance on August 1. That means the 0% interest subsidy ends August 1, and they will expect borrowers to switch to a different repayment plan at that point as well. The press release urges folks on SAVE forbearance to apply for IBR online. That's because other plans besides IBR will be restricted long term for existing borrowers. Here's my take for folks on SAVE Forbearance If you're on SAVE forbearance, then if you qualify...
5 months ago • 3 min read
As I write this Thursday morning, the "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act is about to pass the House in basically the same form that it passed the Senate, and it'll probably get signed shortly after. What does this mean for borrowers? Here's a quick summary in case you're as exhausted as I am from all this mess: If you're on Old IBR: you stay on it If you're on New IBR: you stay on it If you're on PAYE: you'll get transitioned out of PAYE onto Old IBR at some point between mid 2026 and 2028 If...
5 months ago • 3 min read
The Senate Parliamentarian just made a big ruling a few hours ago that could be very good for many student loan borrowers. Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate Parliamentarian, gets to advise which provisions of budget reconciliation bills can stay and pass with a simple majority, and which provisions could only be passed if the Senate has 60 votes to do it. From what we can tell so far, she's made 2 key rulings today affecting student loan borrowers: Current borrowers cannot be forced to use the...
6 months ago • 4 min read