loans

Car Loan Tax Deduction New for 2025

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Alright, this is new to me too, so let’s dig in. Consider this a first run at the new tax deduction in Trump’s big tax bill for 2025. I’m sure there is a lot of nuance, but this is a first whack. Proceed accordingly as we examine the new way to deduct car loan interest from taxes. No Tax on Car Loan Interest No tax on car loan interest is dumb. There was never any tax on car loan interest. Car loan interest is an expense, not income. So, you don’t pay tax on car loan interest already. Even if you did pay taxes on car loan interest, a deduction for that wouldn’t be “no tax” it would be less tax. So, now that we’ve dispensed with the marketing, let’s do this. How To Deduct Car Loan Interest Trump pumps out the headlines, congressmen write up the bills so it comes close to what Trump said. Actually, congressional staffers experienced in writing legislation write the bills, or so we hope. In this case, no tax on car loan interest comes with some important limitations. What is a Qualified Vehicle for Deductible Car Interest? People are always complaining about how long …

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SoFi Review – Legit, Scam, Worth It?

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sofi review

What Is SoFi? In this SoFi review we will take a look at what SoFi offers and the pros and cons of SoFi. We’ll see is SoFi legit, or is is SoFia scam? SoFi, like most other niche financial services companies, is expanding. It turns out that once you get a foothold, and a few developers working full-time for you, cranking out “disruptive” finance services is easy. SoFi has a wide array of financial products including loans, banking, investing, and more. Most of SoFi money is legit, but whether it’s better than others is the key. SoFi Loans First, SoFi was a lender. If you scroll to the bottom of their webpage, you’ll see in the fine print that officially, SoFi (the lending part) is SoFi Lending Corp. NMLS #1121636. You see, lending corporations are real things that exist and are also heavily regulated. Believe it or not, there is no need, nor requirement to be a bank to give out loans. It just means you have to get the money you are going to lend out to people from somewhere besides customer bank deposits. In this case, SoFi investors supply the money the company lends out. At this stage, …

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Interest Rates, Mortgages, HELOCs, Credit Cards, and the Fed

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Originally published 12/17/2008, this post is being kept for its historical value, as the economy was still reeling from the housing market collapse and subsequent market swoon. For fun (and education), pull out your favorite charting tool and set the dates to either side of this date. This rate cut will mark the bottoming of the stock market (by March of 2009). Days like yesterday and today are why I write the Finance Gourmet.  For those of you who didn’t see it, the Federal Reserve, or Fed cut interest rates to between 0% and 0.25%.  All day today, the media has been droning on about what it means for consumers, homeowners, and the economy.  Unfortunately, they are in such a hurry to do so, that they skip over all the details.  So, here it is, what the Fed’s rate cut means to you. What To Do Now That Interest Rates Have Been Cut After reading the above, you should be aware that there are no quick and easy, or automatic solutions coming based on this rate cut.  Frankly, that isn’t really what it is supposed to do.  But, that doesn’t mean there is nothing you can do. First, don’t count …

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Are Colorado Payday Loans Legal and a Good Idea?

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colorado payday loans interest

Payday loans have gotten a bad rap, and deservedly so. Payday lenders have behaved in a predatory manner. However recent payday loan rules and regulations have eliminated some of the worst abuses. While a payday loan should be no one’s first choice, when used properly, for the short-term only, a pay day loan may be better than missing out on an opportunity or avoiding a problem. So, are Colorado payday loans legal and are they a good idea? Colorado Payday Loans Law Coloradoans passed Proposition 111 during the 2018 elections. That law capped the interest rate on payday loans at 36%. Colorado law also sets a payday loan maximum in Colorado of $500. In addition, lenders may only charge financing fees up 20% for the first $300 and $7.50 for each additional $100 loaned. The law also limits the interest rate on loan renewals in Colorado to 45%. Only one rollover is allowed. If your repayment does not go through due to non-sufficient funds (NSF), the maximum fee is $25. The minimum term on payday loans in Colorado is six months, but you should pay it off sooner to avoid accumulating more interest. All Colorado payday loans laws apply to …

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Should I Pay Off My Mortgage Instead of Investing

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Should I Pay Off My Mortgage Instead of Investing 1

Figuring out what the best thing to do with your money can be difficult. Many people get caught up in all the possibilities. They wonder if it is wise to pay off your house mortgage. Should they pay off credit cards or put higher down payment on a new home? Should I pay off my car loan with a home equity loan? Is it better to pay off your house or keep the money? And, most of all, should I pay my house off at retirement? We have discussed if it is smart to pay off your home early before. Unless paying off your home still leaves you with a sizable amount of cashable assets, the answer usually is not what you think. For people without substantial assets remaining after paying off the mortgage, owning your house free and clear does nothing but trap a lot of money where you can’t get it, inside your house. Financial professionals call the equity in your home that you are not going to sell “dead equity.” Here is what to do with your assets before you pay off your mortgage, and, a quick look at understanding the pros and cons of a reverse …

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New Biden Covid Student Loan Help

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student loan payments covid

A whole lot of Covid financial relief protections were scheduled to end in December. As expected, some of those money helping tweaks have been extended in 2021. For example, the Biden administration recently extended the mortgage foreclosure moratorium and forbearance protections. Student Loan Relief Flexibility On January 20, 2021, various student loan relief measures were extended through September 30, 2021. Student Loan Interest Rate Set to Zero Most federally owned student loans have had their interest rate set to zero percent during the pandemic. This continues through September 30, 2021. The zero percent interest rate is pared with student loan payment suspension. Technically called administrative forbearance, student loan payment suspension allows borrowers to skip student loan payments without late payment penalties, or any other negative effects. If you have lost your job, or are having other financial difficulties during the Covid pandemic, then this is a useful way to help save some money for use toward other things. Is Acorns safe? However, if you are not having financial difficulties, and are still getting your normal paycheck from your job, this is an excellent opportunity to improve your overall financial health. Although your loan administrator will automatically place your student loans …

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Is An Income-Driven Repayment Plan Best for Me?

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student loan repay income based payments

Many people with student loan payments don’t realize they have multiple options for repaying their student loans easier. One option is the income-driven repayment plan that the federal government offers for loans owned by the US Department of Education. The key to income-driven student loan payment is that your student loans are forgiven at the end of the repayment period even if you still owe more money on your student loans. These loan repayment options are a helpful choice for those who have a high-student loan balance, and a career with little chance for a high salary. How Can I Lower My Student Loan Payments With a Different Loan Repayment Plan? There are actually several different ways to repay your student loans over time. Most borrowers just go with a 30-year repayment plan and essentially take on an additional mortgage. However, there are numerous different plans, including plans based upon your income. Financial advisors and those who writing about financial independence are often rightly dinged for not writing about how to help those with lower incomes. Income-driven repayment plans are one way to help those with lower incomes repay their student loans faster and easier. Open a 529 Plan Online …

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How To Get Student Loan Forgiveness

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student loan forgiveness

Student loans have gotten huge for some graduates. It’s no wonder that there is increasing interest in how to get student loan forgiveness. Unfortunately, there are very few circumstances in which you can get the government to pay off your loans or otherwise cancel your student loan debt. Student Loan Forgiveness Program There is a small subset of jobs that qualify for student loan forgiveness, and believe it or not, being in the military is not one of them. (Theoretically, you are supposed to qualify for help paying for college by serving before you go to college, so the idea is that you wouldn’t need help with student loans.) The most commonly used student loan forgiveness program involves either working in “public service,” or as a teacher. For the regular direct type of student loans, the teacher student loan forgiveness program requires you to teach for five complete AND consecutive at a school that serves primarily low-income students. The exact schools that qualify are ones that:  are in a school district that qualifies for Title I funds have been selected by the U.S. Department of Education based on being more than 30 percent students that qualify for Title I services is …

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Is Leasing a Car Bad?

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new car lease

There are far too many people out there insisting that certain things are “bad” in every case. For example, some very prominent financial personalities will tell you that you should never lease a car. While car leases aren’t necessarily a great deal all of the time, neither is getting a regular car loan, or even buying a car for that matter. If you don’t know what you are doing, and work with people you can’t trust, you can get strung out in any number of ways during a car purchase. The lease isn’t the only potential problem What Is a Lease? So, what exactly is a car lease? When you lease a car, you change the mechanics of the standard auto loan, but at the end of the day, both processes are a way to borrow money to buy a car in exchange for monthly payments. Check out my Credit Karma reviews When you buy a car using financing, you can either get an auto loan, or an auto lease. Most people are at least familiar with the basics of a car loan, so let’s start there and move onto how a lease works. Auto Loan With an automotive loan, you …

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How To Pay Off Your Mortgage Early The Smart Way

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dream of paying mortgage off early

There are a lot of people out there who dream of paying off their mortgage early. As a financial advisor, I would often have to talk them out of unusual schemes for paying off their house early, like raiding their 401k. It isn’t a bad thing to pay off your mortgage, but it isn’t as great, or as simple, as you might think either.   The Right Way To Pay Off Your Mortgage Early Instead of raiding your retirement fund, or cashing in Aunt Nancy’s inheritance, the best way to pay off your mortgage early is to add a little bit of extra principal each month. Just like saving each month adds up over time, so does paying off your mortgage. Each extra bit of principal you pay not only lowers the principal, but it lowers the amount of every payment after that going to interest. So, if you add an extra $20 per month starting with payment one on a thirty year mortgage, that’s going to add up to a lot of extra principal; it’s just going to take a very long time. In reality, those extra payments won’t add up to much until near the end of your …

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