What's New With Student Loans In 2026 + Listener Q&A

2026 may be the most confusing year for student loans yet. Find out what's actually changing with repayment plans, forgiveness, and Parent PLUS loans — and learn what you should be paying attention to right now. We'll also hear real listener questions about PSLF during a government shutdown, IDR recertification delays, getting out of SAVE forbearance, and whether PSLF buyback is worth counting on. If you're feeling anxious heading into 2026, this episode can help you make smart decisions without overreacting. Key moments: (00:44) Does government shutdown time count for PSLF? (08:26) Moving out of the SAVE forbearance, PSLF buyback and family size rules (20:10) Considerations for filing taxes jointly vs. separately (29:30) Warning for Parent PLUS borrowers who are still borrowing or who haven't yet consolidated (35:31) RAP plan rollout and what borrowers should expect next Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon Music Leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts  Subscribe to the newsletter Join SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculator Check out our refinancing bonuses we negotiated Book your custom student loan plan Get profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show!

Filing taxes married filing separately can be one of the most powerful tools for lowering income-driven student loan payments. But it's also one of the easiest ways to make costly mistakes if you're not careful. Meagan McGuire, CFP®, ChFC®, CSLP®, walks through what borrowers need to double-check before tax season hits. You'll learn when filing separately actually saves money, when it backfires, and how community property states completely change the math. Key moments: (05:32) Why married filing separately can dramatically lower IDR payments (09:58) Real numbers: comparing tax cost vs. student loan savings (17:28) The Roth IRA trap many married borrowers miss (23:37) Why community property states often create extra student loan savings   Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon Music Leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts  Subscribe to the newsletter Join SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculator Check out our refinancing bonuses we negotiated Book your custom student loan plan Get profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show!  

The holidays can stir up a lot of stress, especially when student loans are still hanging over your head. In this episode, I want to slow things down and offer some perspective. We talk about why extreme frugality isn't required to build wealth, why "rich enough" beats "obscenely rich," and how your education and earning power already put you in a strong position. This is a reminder that student loans don't get to steal your peace or your joy. Key moments: (01:57) The difference between being rich and being rich enough (05:32) The real spending decisions that actually delay retirement (09:42) Why balance, gratitude, and time matter more than net worth   Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon Music Leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts  Subscribe to the newsletter Join SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculator Check out our refinancing bonuses we negotiated Book your custom student loan plan Get profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show!  

The SAVE plan is officially dead. Learn what the SAVE lawsuit settlement actually says (not the rumors), who really needs to pay attention right now, and what you should do next. We walk through why millions of people are still stuck in SAVE forbearance, what repayment plans are actually available going forward, and how upcoming rulemaking could reshape income-driven repayment yet again. If you're waiting things out, this is your nudge to get proactive before the Department of Education decides for you. Key moments: (01:07) The lawsuit that officially ended the SAVE plan (05:01) Why borrowers should get off the SAVE plan asap (09:03) Borrowers are also losing access to PAYE (13:22) Why I don't think the RAP plan will be around for the next 30 years (18:25) Act early to avoid being defaulted into the wrong plan     Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon Music Leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts  Subscribe to the newsletter Join SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculator Check out our refinancing bonuses we negotiated Book your custom student loan plan Get profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show!  

Income-Based Repayment has turned into a maze for a lot of borrowers, from unexpected forbearances to confusing "partial financial hardship" determinations that don't add up. Learn why so many borrowers are stuck in SAVE forbearance, what's really going on with IBR denials, and what the Department of Education says it's going to fix by early 2026. We'll also talk about new proposed borrowing limits, how they could reshape entire professions, and what that might mean for your salary, PSLF strategy, and long-term plan.   Key moments: (02:17) What "partial financial hardship" actually means — and when it shouldn't block IBR (05:29) The out-of-cycle rulemaking session and why 2026 could bring sweeping IDR changes (06:36) Why proposed borrowing caps could upend grad and professional programs (11:31) The ripple effects on earnings, PSLF planning, and long-term loan strategy (14:02) What might trigger Congress to rewrite the rules again before 2028   Resource mentioned: Apply for or recertify income-driven repayment   Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon Music Leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts  Subscribe to the newsletter Join SLP Insiders for student loan loopholes, SLP app and member community Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculator Check out our refinancing bonuses we negotiated Book your custom student loan plan Get profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show!  

We've been working on something big behind the scenes, and today I finally get to share it. We launched the SLP Insiders app, a dedicated community built for borrowers who want clarity, connection, and a calm place to ask questions without getting pulled into the noise of social media. Learn why we built it, who it's for, and how it can help you stay on track through the constant waves of servicer issues, PSLF updates, and IDR rule changes. If you've ever wished you had "your people" to talk loans with, this is the moment. Key moments: (01:54) The flood of borrower emails and how a community fills the gap (04:41) Profession-specific channels for physicians, dentists, lawyers, and more (10:10) RAP plan timing, huge interest subsidies, and why flexibility matters early on Resource mentioned:  The Student Loan Planner app   Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon Music Leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts  Subscribe to the newsletter Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculator Check out our refinancing bonuses we negotiated Book your custom student loan plan Get profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show!  

A lot of borrowers are wondering how to get their loans forgiven without getting crushed by taxes later, especially with that 2026 tax-free forgiveness deadline creeping closer. In this episode, I walk through the lesser-known ways forgiveness can be tax-free, how timing affects whether you owe anything, and what thoughtful planning looks like if you're headed toward taxable IDR forgiveness. You'll also hear several listener questions that tie directly into PSLF quirks, marriage and income decisions, and whether refinancing really makes sense for high earners. Key moments: (01:35) Employer lump-sum PSLF mess and how to escalate when servicers contradict themselves (08:11) Acupuncturist's loans, marriage stress, and married-filing-separately trade-offs (16:57) Should high earners refinance or keep federal protections and flexibility (26:03) What happens if PSLF rules get blocked, and who should actually worry (29:11) Tax-free forgiveness strategies, tax bomb planning, and smart moves before 2026   Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon Music Leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts  Subscribe to the newsletter Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculator Check out our refinancing bonuses we negotiated Book your custom student loan plan Get profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show!  

Listen in as I sit down with my good friend and one of the sharpest legal minds in the student loan world, Stanley Tate. We walk through the latest PSLF battles, what the SAVE-forbearance mess really means for your timeline, and how the coming transition to RAP and old-school IBR could reshape repayment for millions of borrowers. We also get into Parent PLUS landmines, future loan caps, and what all of this means for the next generation of borrowers. You'll learn where the pitfalls are, how to protect yourself, and why most borrowers still have more options than they think. Key moments: (05:07) How worried should you be about the new PSLF rules (09:20) The weighted-average credit confusion after consolidation (16:32) The risk of choosing between federal and private student loans is quite high (24:28) SAVE forbearance, recertification delays, and the Parent PLUS trap (43:47) What we're watching in negotiated rulemaking and RAP vs. IBR Resource mentioned: Stanley Tate's YouTube channel   Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon Music Leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts  Subscribe to the newsletter Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculator Check out our refinancing bonuses we negotiated Book your custom student loan plan Get profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show!  

We've hit 400 episodes. That's hundreds of hours helping borrowers make sense of one of the most complicated (and emotional) parts of personal finance. In this milestone episode, I sit down with Lauryn Williams, CFP®, CSLP®, AFC®, one of our longest-serving planners and a key part of SLP since 2018. Together, we look back on how it all started — a spreadsheet that accidentally went viral — and how far we've come since then. We talk about the biggest surprises in today's student loan system, the stories that still move us years later, and where SLP is heading next. Key moments: (02:37) How a viral spreadsheet launched a national business (9:34) From Olympian to planner: Lauryn's journey to helping borrowers with student loan debt (14:50) The biggest shock about student loans today compared to 2016 (22:00) Client stories that still stick with us (32:15) Why today's system is simpler—but still not simple enough (38:54) What's next for SLP: building the SLP Insiders app to bring borrowers together Resources mentioned: Financial Free Era podcast 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Heather Jarvis, Student Loan Expert   Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon Music Leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts  Subscribe to the newsletter Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculator Check out our refinancing bonuses we negotiated Book your custom student loan plan Get profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show!  

Public Service Loan Forgiveness could look very different if the new proposed rules move forward. The Trump administration is exploring ways to strip PSLF eligibility from employees of organizations the administration doesn't like. That could mean hospitals, nonprofits, or legal aid groups suddenly losing access to forgiveness — with no way for employees to appeal. We also get into ongoing rulemaking around professional degree borrowing limits and repayment plan updates, plus smart moves for refinancing or managing your mortgage. Key moments: (01:15) The four main categories that could determine loss of PSLF eligibility (08:38) Negotiated rulemaking and new borrowing limits for professional degrees (12:27) When refinancing your student loans or mortgage makes sense (18:14) Your 2025 tax returns will be very important for income-driven repayment   Like the show? There are several ways you can help! Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon Music Leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts  Subscribe to the newsletter Feeling helpless when it comes to your student loans? Try our free student loan calculator Check out our refinancing bonuses we negotiated Book your custom student loan plan Get profession-specific financial planning Do you have a question about student loans? Leave us a voicemail here or email us at [email protected] and we might feature it in an upcoming show!