The College Investor Audio Show

LendingClub used to offer peer-to-peer personal loans.

Over the last few years, I've encountered several major issues with medical billing. It's made me quickly understand how to dispute your medical bill, get errors corrected, and reduce your payment . First, I was incorrectly billed for the wrong procedure - one that cost almost 10x more than the one I had. Second, I had a procedure done at one location, and again at a second location, with the seco...

On average, Americans who build any wealth, do it by owning their own home . In the long run, owning a home is usually better than renting for life. However, if you’re willing to “house hack,” owning a home could catapult your net worth immediately. Broadly speaking, house hacking is the art of having tenants pay for your primary residence. You can do that by renting out a spare bedroom on Airbnb...

It's almost the New Year! It's time to set New Year's Resolutions. And for many, increasing your savings is usually one of them. Barring any major life events, now’s the perfect time to start boosting your savings and really kicking your financial plan into overdrive. Whether you’re looking to get out of debt, or are trying to maximize your investments, here are five tips to boost your savings tha...

Inflation can be scary for investors because many of them see inflation as eroding their investment returns. This true to some extent but depending on the investment, it can go up with inflation, offsetting much of inflation’s negative effects. Is inflation a concern in the current economic environment? “The strong willingness of companies to hold onto labor is a strong signal of the difficulty of...

There are multiple ways to invest in marijuana stocks and the broader cannabis industry. But can it get you fired?

When you can’t pay your taxes or are having problems resolving issues with the IRS, what are your options? You might be able to use an accountant, but many people in such a financial position try to file taxes on their own and don’t have an accountant. You definitely aren’t out of options. The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) helps people resolve tax issues with the IRS. The service doesn’t cost an...

As a side hustler, it's important to figure out how to handle taxes for your side hustle so you don't end up with a tax nightmare on the night before the tax deadline.

President Trump made some major changes to student loan forgiveness programs - and most people don't know it. Combine that with the proposals rolled out by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and the Trump presidency was mired with student loan controversy. Let's break down the changes Trump's administration has done with student loan forgiveness, and then talk a little bit about the proposals that h...

The best MBA student loans are federal loans, followed by private. But student loans aren't the only way (or best way) to pay for business school. The truth is: getting an MBA is expensive . The Masters of Business Administration degree could be a way to bolster your business skills - but it does come at a price. And is it worth it? According to a recent Investopedia article , the average cost of...

Roofstock is an investment platform that allows you to invest in single-family rental properties. Savvy stock market investors know that transaction fees can kill market gains. Thankfully, technology has brought transaction costs close to zero for most stock market investors. Unfortunately, real estate investors haven’t had the same luck. Over the course of five years, I’ve purchased three rental...

The debt snowball is a popular debt payoff strategy made famous by Dave Ramsey , but it might not be the best strategy for student loans. In general, it can provide just the right amount of mental oomph to help people keep paying down their debt in hopes of one day being debt free. But is the debt snowball best for those with students loans that have varying interest rates? As it turns out, the de...

It's complicated to pay for medical school. Medical school student loans play a large part for most doctors. Medical school is expensive. There no way around that. However, doctors (in general) also earn significant salaries after graduation to potentially justify the high costs. The average student loan debt of graduating doctors is $202,000. And then you still have years of residency (where you'...

This is one of the most common questions I get almost everyday - I can't afford my Parent PLUS Loans, what do I do? I'm a firm believer that parents should NOT be taking out loans to pay for their children's' education. There are a lot of reasons why it's a bad idea, and I cover most of them in my Forbes column . The fact is, though, if you're reading this article, it's too late. You've already bo...

Over the past several years, we’ve seen a boom in tax software companies offering tax return review or 'second look' promotions. These 'Second Look' tax return review programs allow filers to have a tax professional examine their tax return before it's submitted. While these programs could be useful in some cases, they're often just marketing gimmicks designed to get nervous filers to pay more. He...

Splash Financial has made a "splash" in the student loan market by offering some of the best rates and best student loan bonuses available . They started out focusing on medical school loan refinancing, but they now have expanded and offer a marketplace of general student loans to anyone with an associates degree or higher. Check out our review of Splash Financial and see why we list them on our B...

An ESPP, or Employee Stock Purchase Plan, allows employees of a company to purchase stock in the company - usually at a discount. At first glance, you might think your employee stock purchase plan is just a matter of contributing money to it each month. But once you start peeling back the layers, there’s far more to it. There are three main areas to be aware of in ESPPs: Company match, purchase pe...

Kicking off the student loan debt movement!

A brief summary of this episode

Owning a home costs money, but there are tax benefits available to help homeowners save on some of common costs of homeownership.

Excuses Are Costing Investors Lots Of Money "Whataboutism" is a buzz word that has been appearing more and more in our social discourse in regards to politics.

Financial advisor fees still vary widely: from under 0.30% at digital robo-advisors to 1% or more at traditional firms.

Here are the top ways to refinance your home with student loan debt.

Credit card rewards and travel hacking can allow you to spend more than you otherwise could. But there are a few potential downsides.

If you’ve seen headlines about Bitcoin hitting new highs (or crashing), or friends talking about Ethereum, you’re not alone in wondering whether it’s time to dip a toe into crypto investing. But where do you even begin? The good news is that you don’t need to be an expert in blockchain or financial markets to get started. With the right tools and some caution, anyone can begin exploring crypto inv...