The College Investor Audio Show

A breakdown of the Fed Funds rate and why it matters.

So you want to start an online business that will allow you to make money from anywhere? You’ve stumbled on the right post! In today’s post, we’ll discuss 15 lucrative business ideas that will help you make money from anywhere. Most of these business ideas don’t require a lot of capital. You can even start some of them absolutely free. With dedication and drive, you can make serious money with any...

Does your spouse owe past-due taxes, late child support, alimony payments, or have delinquent Federal student loan debt? If so, all of the money from your joint tax return could be garnished to meet those obligations. But as a married person filing jointly, you have some recourse against this. You can file IRS Form 8379: Injured Spouse Allocation . This form allows the injured spouse (that is the...

As a culture, we are becoming more productive with our time, and less wasteful of our money. For example, hundreds of thousands of folks across make money off of Airbnb. If you have a spare room -- why not make a couple extra bucks by making it available for people to use? Why watch TV (and spend money on cable), when you could be making money on Fiverr or TaskRabbit? We’re partnering with Turo to...

​Credit scores are the gatekeepers of credit. They determine how much credit you’ll receive and under what terms. Credit scores have also become more influential and are now used for job and apartment applications. Credit scores are obviously an area that none of us can ignore. But what impact do credit scores have on our money? Generally, the higher your credit score, the more credit you’ll recei...

Income sharing agreements are relatively new student loan alternatives that look to balance some of the benefits that were traditionally offered with Federal loans, in a new type of private loan. The rising balances of student loans are a major problem. The problem tends to be especially pronounced among former students who fail to secure high-paying jobs after graduation. One solution that has be...

Dividend investing involves investing in stocks that pay dividends. Dividends can be a source of income for investors, they can also indicate solid, growing companies whose stock might constitute a solid investment. And dividends have been a popular investment strategy for decades - but it can be hard to do the research, know what companies to invest in, or what products might be worthwhile. Befor...

If you have capital gains or losses (from selling stock, options, or crypto), or you had proceeds from the sale of your home, you're going to be using Schedule D for your taxes. But you may have never heard of it before. For most people, their tax software or accountant will help with this form. But you may have questions about how it works, where to find it, or even what your tax implication may...

Maximizing your tax deductions is one way to save money at tax time, and if you’re a business owner, a side hustler, or self-employed, the mileage you put on your car could be tax-deductible. The IRS allows you to claim up to $0.67 per mile you drive for a legitimate business purpose in 2024 . That means a person who drives 5,000 miles for business can claim $3,325 in business expenses (and likely...

Schedule E is part of IRS Form 1040. It is used to report income or loss from rentals, royalties, S corps, partnerships, estates, trusts, and residential interest in REMICs (real estate mortgage investment conduits). Schedule E is for “supplemental income and loss,” and not earned income. Earned income is income generated from business activities . Supplemental income is considered passive income,...

Do you remember where you filed your tax return ? What about your tax return from 3 years ago? The IRS recommends that you keep at least 3 years of tax returns on hand. But what if you can’t find your tax return in your black hole filing cabinet? Tax Transcripts are the answer. And if you want to check on the status of your tax return early, your tax transcript can also help. Read more here .

Not saving as much as you'd like to? Automatic savings apps can knock down hurdles and help you sprint to the savings finish line.

If you’ve struggled with bounced checks, regular overdrafts, or closing an account with a negative account balance, you may have run into issues opening a new account. The issue of being unbanked or underbanked can lead to many issues for people who have struggled with poverty, economic instability, or those who tend to use cash to the exclusion of bank accounts. In certain circumstances, some ban...

A Health Savings Account (HSA) allows you to contribute funds into the account and use those funds to pay for medical expenses. A flexible spending arrangement (FSA) allows you to contribute funds into the account and use those funds to pay for medical expenses. Did we just repeat ourselves? On the surface, an HSA and FSA don’t seem any different. But there are differences. There are differences i...

Could a cash advance app save you from another overdraft fee or is it just delaying the inevitable? Millions of Americans are turning to apps that provide quick, interest-free cash to cover unexpected expenses or bridge budget shortfalls between paychecks. But are these services truly helpful or just another way to keep you trapped in a paycheck-to-paycheck cycle? If your monthly finances often te...

With student loan payments resuming for the first time in three years, some borrowers have a fear of their student loans. You’ve heard it over and over again. The news won’t stop talking about it. It is the topic of many documentaries. Everyone is talking about the severity of the student loan debt crisis and how student loan payments are going to tank the economy. In 2021, students graduated with...

There are so many opinions about millennials and how they are either shaping or destroying our economy. Recent news headlines suggest millennials are being too thrifty, and thereby killing consumerism. Others say millennials are ruining their chances of buying a home and incur more debt by overspending on luxuries, lattes and avocado toast. While overgeneralizing a select group is rarely accurate,...

You probably know that homeowners have home insurance to cover damage to their house and the contents inside. But what about people who rent apartments? After all, someone else might accidentally start a fire in one apartment that ends up burning down the whole apartment building. In that case, you had nothing to do with the fire. That’s where renters insurance comes in. Renters insurance is also...

You earned a big raise, your side hustle took off, or you managed to find a great new job with an even greater new salary. Now that you’ve got the big paycheck, what should you do with it? Here are five money moves to make when you double your salary. Check out the full article here .

For married couples with student loan debt, one of the most popular strategies for lowering your monthly student loan payment and potentially qualifying for more student loan forgiveness is to file your taxes "married, filing separately". For both Income Based Repayment (IBR) and Pay As You Earn Repayment (PAYE), your monthly student loan payment is calculated based on your Adjusted Gross Income (...

Have you ever heard of anyone complaining about making more money ? If you have, they probably grumbled about moving up a tax bracket. Many people assume that when they “move up a tax bracket” every dollar they earn is taxed at a new, higher rate leading to lower take-home pay overall. Thankfully, that isn’t the case. When you “move up a tax bracket” you only pay a higher tax rate on the income ab...

In the United States, all people adhere to a single tax code. Whether you have a high income or a low income, your taxation is governed by the same set of rules. But that doesn’t mean that all people pay the same tax rates . In the absurdly byzantine rules of the tax code, different types of income are taxed differently. Plus, taking certain actions can help you legally avoid paying taxes. Ultimat...

Are you a college student (or a graduate student) looking for inexpensive health insurance options? Maybe you're going off to college for the first time, or maybe you're an older student who no longer gets healthcare under your parent's insurance? If so, this guide outlines what your options are, and when you should consider these options.

Bitcoin is still incredibly popular, and every now and then it will make the national news. The price is still highly volatile, but it's not as crazy as it was years ago. But picking a winner with Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency is near impossible. That's why we need to talk about Bitcoin alternatives. The bottom line is that Bitcoin has limitations (we talk about some here ). And there are ot...

Let's not sugar coat it - we're all a bit voyeuristic when it comes to other people's money. How much do you think they make? How much do you think they have? How did they afford that car? Can you believe that so and so is buying a house? So let's focus on one metric - net worth . And let's talk about millennials - which is likely you, and is me too. Why millennials? Well, the media seems to portr...