Our old friend Sallie Mae is up to her old tricks again: trying to sell students on extremely dangerous variable rate private student loans with this press release, which touts “changes in the law and improvements in the economy that translate into student loans at among the best interest rates in the last five-year period.”
Planning
Turning 65: Taking Care of Prescription Drug Coverage
After 23 years of covering — and giving advice about — Medicare, a veteran journalist wades into the system herself. Part four of a 5-part series.
Why You Should Still Go to College
Over the past year or so, the idea of going to college has been under attack. Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel has been encouraging people to skip college, and my buddy James Altucher has been making the media rounds touting the idea of skipping college.
Why Sallie Mae Should Change Its Name
When the Student Loan Marketing Association was founded in 1972, it was a government-sponsored enterprise — like Fannie and Freddie.
How to Get Decent Health Care Without Insurance
Monica Vigna-Bony was at the drugstore picking up a prescription for Advair, an asthma inhaler, when she finally lost her cool over the astronomical price of being uninsured. Because she works part-time at a retail store, …
5 Tips to Avoid Getting Scammed
After Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for scamming people out of billions while operating what has been described as the large Ponzi scheme in history, you would think people would be a bit smarter about …
Top 10 Personal Finance Books
In the five years that I’ve written about personal finance, I’ve amassed a huge library of books about money, most of which are very similar to each other. But a handful stand out from the crowd. Last weekend, I thinned my …
Choosing a Medigap Plan
After 23 years of covering — and giving advice about — Medicare, a veteran journalist wades into the system herself. Part three of a 5-part series.
Some Say Pay Off ‘Bad Debt’ First. But Why?
There’s a lot of personal finance advice in the blogosphere that I wish didn’t exist. And one of the most annoying pieces of advice is the constant yammering about “good debt” and “bad debt” and how that bad debt must be paid off first.
Are For-Profit Colleges Targeting Low-Income Students?
A new report that shows low-income students enroll in for-profit schools at four times the rate of other students once again raises questions over whether for-profit colleges target the most vulnerable students in order to line …
Be Skeptical of Colleges Providing Student Loan Assistance
USA Today reports on a popular new trend among pricey private colleges looking to compete with more affordable public colleges: promises to help students repay their loans.
I Borrow, Therefore I Am!
A recent study led by Ohio State University Professor Rachel Dwyer yields a shocking, appalling, and mostly just terrifying conclusion: Many young people feel empowered by their student loan debt — and even by their credit card debt.