In America, student loan debt has exploded over the last twenty years, with the average inflation-adjusted federal loan debt per student rising from under $29,000 in 2011 to nearly $40,000 in 2020. Students and their parents are paying an increasingly costly price for college education, outpacing growth in expected starting salaries.
After more than three years, loan payments are coming due again after the expiration of a Covid-era forbearance program put in place under President Trump and extended under President Biden. My guest today, Emma Crawford, is intimately familiar with student loans as both a borrower as well as a former university aid advisor, and now as a financial planner.
Emma Crawford is the former Director of Financial Wellness and Financial Aid Advising for the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. She holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation and is a fee-only financial planner for Perk Planning, based out of Madison, Wisconsin. Emma joins me on the show today to discuss the evolving and complicated world of student loans for the first two-thirds of the show. The final third of the interview is dedicated to discussing the equally convoluted world of financial planners and advisors. We discuss the nature of fee-only advising and who may find this type of service appropriate.
Topics Discussed with Emma Crawford
- When student loan payments are due after the expiration of Covid-era forbearance
- Where to find information about your loans and loan servicers
- How Emma used the loan forbearance period to improve her financial situation and lifestyle
- The importance of automatic payments and how utilizing automation can save you money
- What is Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and who is it for?
- Other repayment options
- Investigating typical interest rates on student loans and weighing debt paydown against other investing opportunities
- Federal vs private student loans
- Can loan forgiveness policies be reversed or overturned in the future?
- Why has student loan debt become so politically fraught?
- Balancing the cost of education with expected career choices and pay
- Considering costs of education beyond tuition
- How to avoid loan default and what happens to those who default
- How Emma pays off student loans and other debt while investing for retirement at the same time
- Who needs a financial advisor and how to choose one
- The importance of understanding how financial advisors get paid and the fiduciary duty
- The problem with mixing life insurance and investing
- How Emma’s background in psychology helps her as a financial planner
- Emma’s thoughts on the FIRE movement
- So much more!
Get in Touch with Emma Crawford
Perk Planning Investment Advisory (Fee-only, hourly-only)
Resources
- studentaid.gov
- Search tool for PSLF-Eligible Employers
- annualcreditreport.com
- More information about the new SAVE plan for federal student loan borrowers
- Income-driven repayment (IDR) plan request
Other Episodes Mentioned
EP 60: What You Need to Know About Financial Advisors with Chris Mamula
EP 66: Mike Piper: Down To The Essence Of Smart Money Management
Books
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