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Image source: Gemini You are opening a bag of chips for your child, thinking it is a safe, dairy-free snack. But for families living with severe allergies, a simple snack can turn into a medical emergency in seconds. A recent Miss Vickie’s potato chip recall has surfaced, revealing that certain bags contain undeclared milk ingredients. This is not just a minor labeling error; it is a significant health risk for those with sensitivities. Honestly, it […]
Sammie Ellard-King I’m Sammie, a money expert and business owner passionate about helping you take control of your wallet. My mission with Up the Gains is to create a safe space to help improve your finances, cut your costs and make you feel good while doing it. Share to Facebook _*]:min-w-0 gap-3″> The average rent in the UK is now £1,320 a month. That’s £18,840 a year just on keeping a roof over your head, […]
A federal appeals court has officially ordered the end of the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, the Biden administration-era student loan repayment program that significantly lowered monthly bills for millions of borrowers. In a judgment issued Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit reversed a lower court decision that had dismissed a Republican-led legal challenge against the plan. Read the rest
Household debt continues to rise, driven by credit cards, student loans, mortgages, and other factors. On top of these, rising interest rates can create additional stressors and make it more difficult to assert control. For this reason, it may be valuable to seek the support of a professional. Leaders like personal finance expert Houston Fraley help clients create clear goals for debt management. Simplicity and Sustainability in Personal Finance One of the first steps toward […]
The Short Version: Over $500 billion in commercial real estate loans come due between 2025 and 2027. Operators who borrowed at 3% now face refinancing at 6-7%. The math doesn’t work anymore. When operators can’t refinance profitably, they sell. And when they need to sell before a loan matures, they don’t have the luxury of waiting for the perfect price. That creates motivated sellers. Distressed sellers don’t mean distressed properties. Often you’re buying a fundamentally sound asset from someone who got caught on the wrong side of a rate cycle. Their debt problem becomes your equity opportunity. This window won’t last forever. As the wall of maturities works through the system, the opportunity set will shrink. For patient investors, the next 12-24 months could be some of the best buying we’ve seen in years. A few weeks ago, we were vetting a deal in the Co-Investing Club that caught my attention. Not because of the property itself… (it was a solid workforce housing asset in a decent market)… what caught my attention was the price. It was priced well below what similar properties had traded for just two years ago. And the reason was the current operator needed to exit before their loan matured. They’d borrowed at 3.5% back in 2021. The loan was coming due and refinancing at today’s rates would have crushed their returns. So they were selling at a discount to get out clean. This isn’t an isolated situation. It’s happening across the entire commercial real estate market right now. And if you understand what’s going on, it creates some of the best buying opportunities we’ve seen in years. The Wall of Maturities Between 2025 and 2027, over $500 billion in commercial real estate loans are coming due. That’s not a typo. Half a trillion dollars in debt that needs to be refinanced, paid off, or… something else. Most of these loans originated between 2019 and 2022, when interest rates were at historic lows. Operators borrowed at 3%, sometimes lower, assuming they’d refinance into similar rates when the loans matured. That assumption aged poorly. Today, commercial real estate loans are pricing in the 6-7% range. For many operators, that’s a doubling of their interest expense. On a $10 million loan, that’s the difference between $300,000 in annual interest and $650,000. That extra $350,000 has to come from somewhere… and for a lot of properties, it doesn’t exist. The math simply doesn’t work anymore. Cash flow that looked healthy at 3% rates turns negative at 7%. Operators who were doing fine are suddenly underwater. What Happens When the Math Breaks When an operator can’t refinance profitably, they have a few options. None of them are great. They can try to negotiate an extension with their lender, kicking the can down the road and hoping rates drop. Some lenders are playing along because they don’t want to foreclose and deal with the asset themselves. But extensions aren’t free… lenders typically
In this episode, I’m excited to welcome back Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung from the Millennial Revolution. Since the last time they were on the show, they’ve become parents and recently released a new book called Parent Like a Millionaire (Without Being One). In this conversation, we talk about how their perspective on money and financial independence evolved after having a child and how parents can raise financially resilient kids without feeling pressure to overspend. […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you’ve ever dreamed about opening your own medical practice, WCI has several resources for you. Check out our Practice Management Resources page to see how we can help you grow and manage your practice. Starting, building, owning, and eventually selling a practice aren’t necessarily easy steps. But WCI is here to assist. Explore our practice management resources today! By Sajeve Thomas, Guest Writer
Since 2010, Social Security benefits have lost 20% of their buying power, according to The Senior Citizens League. After 14 … Read more
I’ve written a lot about my student loans over time as a blogger here. At this point, the student loans are my last remaining debt (besides a mortgage), and this is the year when they’ll officially be GONE! I cannot wait! That said, I continue to find the process completely confusing and the online systems counterintuitive. I’m in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which is supposed to discharge remaining loans after 120 on-time eligible payments have been received. I currently have 3 loans remaining that total just over $26,000 (the balance has grown because the interest costs more than the $180/monthly payments I’ve been applying). In the Federal Student Aid platform, it says I have 113 qualifying payments (7 remaining). It also says the Estimated End-of-Repayment Term is Sept 2026. However, I must re-certify my employment annually and the last time I did so was in late August 2025, so my 113 qualifying payments are only through August 2025. I also have an additional 6 payments that should qualify (Sept 2025 – Feb 2026), meaning after my March payment later this month…I should meet my 120 required payments and qualify for student loan forgiveness for the rest of my balance owed! This is obviously a bit of a discrepancy from the predicted September 2026 date listed in their system. I’m absolutely planning to re-certify employment at the end of the month and cross my fingers and hope and wish and pray that this is IT! That after nearly eleven years of faithful payments (even during the pandemic times when everyone had payments paused – I continued to pay monthly because I’d been trying to pay off my debt before the forgiveness deadline)…..I will FINALLY be FREE from this burden that’s just been hanging around so long it might as well have its own room! I cannot tell you what this community has meant to me to help guide, give advice, and cheer me on along the way! It hasn’t always been easy – I graduated with over $100k worth of student loan debt, alone! But continual progress across time has been the key. And honesty, I’ve benefitted so much from the community of readership here offering me your generous advice across time. The question is…what’s next? I love talking about money (something that’s so taboo in everyday life, but we talk about freely and openly in this space)! And you all have helped me think through longer term financial planning, thinking about retirement, health care, teaching my kids (now teens!) financial literacy, etc. What do you think? Should I hang around BAD a bit longer or is it time to move on? I haven’t fully decided within my own heart so I’d like to know your thoughts on whether the content I’m providing is interesting or useful or if it’s time to bid farewell once my last remaining debt is gone! Thoughts? What do your plans in a debt-free life look like? Where do you focus your financial energy?
🎙️Episode #478 – If homes in your city cost $2M and don’t cash flow, you don’t have to quit investing. Learn how investors build rental portfolios… The post If Your City Is Too Expensive to Buy Rentals, Do This Instead appeared first on Coach Carson.
Just as there are different types of banks with different benefits, there are multiple types of accounts that you can open. Let’s examine the options available. The post What Are the Different Types of Bank Accounts to Consider? appeared first on The Budget Mom.
From JL: Turns out you can still travel, even with a kid. Who knew? Certainly not their detractors. For years they confidently said, “You can only travel as you do, and be FIRE’d, because you don’t have kids. Once you have a kid, you’ll have to settle down and very likely have to go back… [Continue Reading] The post Yes, you can rent with kids! appeared first on JLCollinsnh.
Publishing a book is no joke, but publishing a book while trying to raise a kid is the next level of crazy. Before having kids, we had no idea how much sacrifice, time, and effort goes into parenting. Now that we’re in the thick of it, we have so much respect for all parents out there. Hopefully this book will make your lives easier. I’m so thankful for the support of all our friends along […]