Making Cents of Money

Renting or Buying a Home, Part 1: The Big Picture

RELATED MAKING CENTS OF MONEY EPISODES

- Understanding Credit (Ep. 5): https://soundcloud.com/idfpr/episode-5-understanding-credit

- Renting! (Ep. 37): https://soundcloud.com/idfpr/episode-37-renting

- Ep. 63 - Help for Homeowners: https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/573142985

- Ep. 64 - Help for Renters: https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/510305827

- Ep. 83 - Lines of Injustice: What is Redlining?: https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/2012625903

- Ep. 85 - The Federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA): https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/371603808

- Ep. 86 - The Illinois Community Reinvestment Act: https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/747261263

GET SAVVY WEBINARS

- Buying vs. Renting a Home (May 2026): https://youtu.be/QqsIu9GE3vw

- Read Before You Sign: Renting & Leasing (August 2026): https://youtu.be/rwMFvS_ZbHs

- Mastering the Consumer Credit Game: https://youtu.be/Q0W7qMUFRbA

RESOURCES

- SMMC University Resources: https://www.studentmoney.uillinois.edu/guides/resources

- HUD: https://www.hud.gov/

- Free credit reports: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/

SOURCES

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (n.d.). Making the decision to rent or buy. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/making-decision-rent-or-buy/

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. (n.d.). Rental vacancy rate in the United States [Data series RRVRUSQ156N]. FRED. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RRVRUSQ156N

Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. (2020). The state of the nation's housing 2020. https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_The_State_of_the_Nations_Housing_2020_Report_Revised_120720.pdf

Internal Revenue Service. (n.d.). Publication 936: Home mortgage interest deduction. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p936

Kochhar, R., & Cilluffo, A. (2021, August 2). As national eviction ban expires, a look at who rents and who owns in the U.S. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/08/02/as-national-eviction-ban-expires-a-look-at-who-rents-and-who-owns-in-the-u-s/

Pendley, A. (2019). State and federal laws every renter should know. Stacker. https://stacker.com/stories/3670/state-and-federal-laws-every-renter-should-know

Realtor.com. (2026). Illinois housing market data. https://www.realtor.com/local/market/illinois

Thompson, D. (2021, March). 'This is unprecedented': Why America's housing market has never been weirder. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/03/why-are-housing-prices-and-rents-down/618212/

University of Illinois System IGPA. (n.d.). Policy spotlight: Mitigating housing instability during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://igpa.uillinois.edu/reports/mitigating-housing-instability-during-the-covid-19-pandemic

U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). Household Pulse Survey. https://www.census.gov/data/experimental-data-products/household-pulse-survey.html

U.S. Census Bureau. (2019). American Housing Survey table creator [Table 9]. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/data/interactive/ahstablecreator.html?s_areas=00000&s_year=2019&s_tablename=TABLE9&s_bygroup1=20&s_bygroup2=1&s_filtergroup1=1&s_filtergroup2=1

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (n.d.-a). Measuring housing insecurity in the American Housing Survey. HUD User. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/Measuring-Housing-Insecurity-Index-Development-Using-AHS-Data.html

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (n.d.-b). Tenant rights by state. https://www.hud.gov/topics/rental_assistance/tenantrights

Press Release: https://idfpr.illinois.gov/news/2026/idfpr---idfpr-takes-action-against-unlicensed-student-loan-debt-.html

Please note: under the Debt Settlement Consumer Protection Act, entities providing debt settlement services in Illinois generally must be licensed by IDFPR, subject to certain statutory exemptions, including for attorneys, banks, and institutions of higher education, among others.

Show Notes:

Resources for checking licenses and reporting scams

• IDFPR license lookup: https://idfpr.illinois.gov/checklicense.html

• Illinois Attorney General Student Loan Helpline: https://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection/student-loan-debt-assistance/

• Illinois Secretary of State's Business Entity Search: https://apps.ilsos.gov/businessentitysearch/

• Federal Trade Commission's Fraud Report Portal: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/

References

• Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. (n.d.-a). Student loan servicers. https://idfpr.illinois.gov/banks/student-loan-servicers.html

• Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. (n.d.-b). Consumer credit. https://idfpr.illinois.gov/dfi/ccd/ccd-main.html

• Illinois Administrative Code, tit. 38, § 145.5 (2023). Purpose and definitions, Debt Settlement Consumer Protection Act rules. https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/illinois/IL-Admin-Code-38-145-5

• Illinois Attorney General's Office. (2026). Student lending. https://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection/student-loan-debt-assistance/

• Know Before You Owe Private Education Loan Act, 110 Ill. Comp. Stat. 983, as amended by Public Act 104-0504 (2025). https://ilga.gov/Legislation/PublicActs/View/104-0504

• Consumer Finance Monitor. (2022, July 27). Illinois provides guides and templates for Know Before You Owe Private Education Loan Act reporting requirements. Ballard Spahr LLP. https://www.consumerfinancemonitor.com/2022/07/27/illinois-provides-guides-and-templates-for-know-before-you-owe-private-education-loan-act-reporting-requirements/

• Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. (2021, August 26). Student lending: Illinois enacts 'Know Before You Owe' law. https://www.manatt.com/insights/newsletters/financial-services-law/student-lending-illinois-enacts-know-before-you-o

• Federal Trade Commission. (2023, June 14). FTC sends more than $3.3 million to consumers harmed by student loan debt relief scam [Press release]. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/06/ftc-sends-more-33-million-consumers-harmed-student-loan-debt-relief-scam

• Federal Student Aid. (n.d.). How to avoid student loan forgiveness scams. U.S. Department of Education. https://studentaid.gov/articles/avoid-student-loan-forgiveness-scams/

• Young, J. R. (2026, April 30). Fake student loan debt offers proliferate as federal government rolls back enforcement. The Hechinger Report. https://hechingerreport.org/fake-student-loan-debt-offers-proliferate-as-federal-government-rolls-back-enforcement/

Show Notes:

Chaudhry, S., & Kulkarni, C. (2021). Design patterns of investing apps and their effects on investing behaviors. In Proceedings of the 2021 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS '21) (pp. 777–788). https://doi.org/10.1145/3461778.3462008

Dickinson, D. (2026). Dark patterns and consumer protection law for app makers. Consumer Law Review. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/400702824_Dark_Patterns_and_Consumer_Protection_Law_for_App_Makers

Farronato, C., Fong, J., & Larkin, I. (2025). Designing consent: Choice architecture and consumer welfare. Management Science. https://doi.org/10.1145/3736252.3742627

International Organization of Securities Commissions. (2023). Online choice architecture: How digital design is used to influence investors (IOSCO PD794). https://www.iosco.org/news/pdf/IOSCONEWS688.pdf

Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Lai, L. (2024). Playful finance: Gamification and intermediation in fintech. Journal of Financial Regulation, 10(1), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfr.2023.100174

Lusardi, A., & Mitchell, O. S. (2014). The economic importance of financial literacy: Theory and evidence. Journal of Economic Literature, 52(1), 5–44. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.52.1.5

Madrian, B. C., & Shea, D. F. (2001). The power of suggestion: Inertia in 401(k) participation and savings behavior. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116(4), 1149–1187. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355301753265543

Mathur, A., Mayer, J., & Kshirsagar, M. (2019). Dark patterns at scale: Findings from a crawl of 11K shopping websites. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 3(CSCW), 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1145/3359183

Rakovic, M., & Inal, Y. (2023). Dark finance: Exploring deceptive design in investment apps. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 170, Article 102944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2022.102944

UK Financial Conduct Authority. (2024, July). Review of online choice architecture and vulnerability [Regulatory discussion paper]. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publications/review-of-online-choice-architecture-and-vulnerability/

Savitha, B., & Hawaldar, I. T. (2022). What motivates individuals to use FinTech budgeting applications? Evidence from India during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cogent Economics & Finance, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2022.2127482

Thaler, R. H. (2015). Misbehaving: The making of behavioral economics. W. W. Norton & Company.

Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2008). Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. Yale University Press.

Veigas, P. (2023). A comprehensive analysis of the user experience in digital platforms concerning the practice of nudging user behaviour. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 104, Article 101986. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2023.101986

Report a Dark Pattern with the FDIC: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/

Show notes:

- SMMC Investing Web Page: https://www.studentmoney.uillinois.edu/learn/investing

- Get Savvy Webinars on Investing:

o Investing 101 – Wealth Building Basics: https://youtu.be/o2SNtTE2ZC4

o Investing 102 – Risks & Rewards: https://youtu.be/TCcp5qdsnGk?si=JW5LSxqkDkaCe9KB

- SMMC Blog Posts:

o Want to Start Investing? Read This First: https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/2032887516

o Stocks vs. Crypto: https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/1168754267

o Ready to Invest? Here’s How to Actually Get Started: https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/1951795281

Hershfield, H.E., et al. (2011). Increasing Saving Behavior Through Age-Progressed Renderings of the Future Self. Journal of Marketing Research, 48(SPL), S23–S37.

Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Lusardi, A., & Mitchell, O.S. (2014). The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence. Journal of Economic Literature, 52(1), 5–44.

Madrian, B.C., & Shea, D.F. (2001). The Power of Suggestion: Inertia in 401(k) Participation and Savings Behavior. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116(4), 1149–1187.

Thaler, R.H. (2015). Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics. W. W. Norton & Company.

Thaler, R.H., & Sunstein, C.R. (2008). Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness. Yale University Press.

Pellegrini, A. (2026, January 26). Comparing private student loans. University of Illinois System Student Money Management Center Blog. https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/54213092

 

Prior Relevant Episodes:

Student Loan Management Transitioning in 2026 (ep. 126). https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/280186564

The Role of Loan Servicers (ep. 114). https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/681485881

Back to School: College and Credit (ep. 90). https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/1942070018

The Impact of Compound Interest (ep. 70). https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/650946740

 

Other References:

Hanson, M. (2025, October 21). Total student loan debt in the United States. EducationData.org. https://educationdata.org/total-student-loan-debt  

National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. (2024). You have questions, we have answers: Making sense of the student loan changes from OBBBA's RISE Committee. https://www.nasfaa.org/news-item/37700  

U.S. Department of Education. (2024). U.S. Department of Education concludes negotiated rulemaking session to implement One Big Beautiful Bill Act loan provisions. https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-concludes-negotiated-rulemaking-session-implement-one-big-beautiful-bill-acts-loan-provisions  

 

University of Illinois System Resources:

University of Illinois System. Know what you owe. https://paymybill.uillinois.edu/student_loans/know_what_you_owe  

University of Illinois Chicago, Office of Student Financial Aid. Alternative loans. https://financialaid.uic.edu/types-of-aid/loans/alternative-loans/  

University of Illinois Springfield, Office of Financial Aid. Private student loans. https://www.uis.edu/financial-aid/types-aid/loans/private-loans  

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Office of Student Financial Aid. Alternative educational loans. https://osfa.illinois.edu/types-of-aid/loans/types-of-loans/alternative-educational-loans/

Show Notes & References

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Tither, E. (2025, December 10). ⁠⁠What happens to the data you feed LLMs?⁠⁠ University of Illinois System, Student Money Management Center. https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/1055573584

Chen, K., Zhou, X., Lin, Y., Feng, S., Shen, L., & Wu, P. (2025). A survey on privacy risks and protection in large language models. ⁠⁠Journal of King Saud University – Computer and Information Sciences⁠⁠, ⁠⁠37⁠⁠(7). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44443-025-00177-1

Farooqui, A. (2025, February 12). ⁠⁠Samsung lets employees use ChatGPT again after secret data leak in 2023⁠⁠. SamMobile. https://www.sammobile.com/news/samsung-lets-employees-use-chatgpt-again-after-secret-data-leak-in-2023/

Han, X., Peng, H., & Liu, M. (2025). The impact of GenAI on learning outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental studies. ⁠⁠Educational Research Review⁠⁠, 100714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2025.100714

Imperial War Museums. (2018). ⁠⁠How Alan Turing cracked the enigma code⁠⁠. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-alan-turing-cracked-the-enigma-code

Kwak, R. (2023, November 30). ⁠⁠Announcing Microsoft Copilot with Data Protection⁠⁠. Technology Services, University of Illinois. https://www.techservices.illinois.edu/2023/11/30/announcing-microsoft-copilot-with-data-protection/

Kwak, R. (2025, November 11). ⁠⁠ChatGPT arrives at U of I⁠⁠. Technology Services, University of Illinois. https://www.techservices.illinois.edu/2025/11/11/chatgpt-arrives-at-u-of-i/

Microsoft 365, Copilot with Data Protection – AI Chat for the Web. (2024). University of Illinois System KnowledgeBase. https://answers.uillinois.edu/133037

OpenAI. (2023). ⁠⁠Privacy policy⁠⁠. https://openai.com/en-GB/policies/row-privacy-policy/

Ray, S. (2023, May 2). ⁠⁠Samsung bans ChatGPT among employees after sensitive code leak⁠⁠. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2023/05/02/samsung-bans-chatgpt-and-other-chatbots-for-employees-after-sensitive-code-leak/

Yao, Y., Duan, J., Xu, K., Cai, Y., Sun, Z., & Zhang, Y. (2024). A survey on large language model (LLM) security and privacy: The good, the bad, and the ugly. ⁠⁠High-Confidence Computing⁠⁠, ⁠⁠4⁠⁠(2), 100211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hcc.2024.100211

A special thanks to Zach Smith from AccessLex (https://www.accesslex.org/) for joining us to talk about the upcoming changes related to federal student loans in the coming 2026-2027 academic year after a series of legislative changes.

Recent Webinars & Prior Student Loan Episode:

Student Loan Management [Get Savvy Webinar Recording] from April 1, 2026: https://youtu.be/oMlq8ZFumOY?si=0JiDOhryd5oq4e3d

Demystifying the Financial Aid Process [Get Savvy Webinar Recording] from January 28, 2026: https://youtu.be/3nL8Jj_7heM?si=fqbwS9_L4QCOexAj

Navigating federal student loan default and debt collection restart [Podcast Episode]: https://www.studentmoney.uillinois.edu/podcast-navigating-federal-student-loan-default-and-debt-collection-restart.html

Tools:

Federal Student Loan Repayment Wizard (to help federal borrowers understand their repayment plan options): https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/1287368252

Federal Student Loan Repayment Plans: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/plans

#MakeTheCase Advocacy Campaign. AccessLex: https://www.accesslex.org/tools-and-resources/makethecase?areas_of_focus_tools[19]=19&f=1

Resources for Private Student Loans & Loan Management Generally:

Comparing Private Student Loans [Blog Post]: https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/54213092

Increasing ROI for a College Degree [Blog Post]: https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/1768869035

The Role of Loan Servicers [Podcast Episode]: https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/681485881

How the Rule of 72 Can Help You Build Wealth—Or Sink Deeper Into Debt [Blog Post]: https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/446933598

Back to School: College and Credit [Podcast Episode]: https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/1942070018

The Impact of Compound Interest [Podcast Episode]: https://blogs.uofi.uillinois.edu/view/7550/650946740

Other References

Federal Register. (2025, January 15). Income-contingent repayment plan options. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/15/2025-00724/income-contingent-repayment-plan-options

Walter, M. (2026, May 1). ED publishes final regulations implementing OBBBA federal student loan changes. NASFAA. https://www.nasfaa.org/news-item/38809/ED_Publishes_Final_Regulations_Implementing_OBBBA_Federal_Student_Loan_Changes

The Pew Charitable Trusts. (2024, March). Default incidence infographic. https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/assets/2024/03/defaultincidence_infographic_final.pdf

University of Illinois System, Student Money Management Center. (2025). Student loans. https://www.studentmoney.uillinois.edu/learn/studentloans

U.S. Department of Education. (2025a). U.S. Department of Education continues to improve federal student loan repayment options, addresses illegal Biden administration actions. https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-continues-improve-federal-student-loan-repayment-options-addresses-illegal-biden-administration-actions

U.S. Department of Education. (2025b). U.S. Department of Education opens revised income-driven repayment plan and loan consolidation applications for borrowers. https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-opens-revised-income-driven-repayment-plan-and-loan-consolidation-applications-borrowers

U.S. Department of Education. (2026, April 15). One Big Beautiful Bill Act Updates. https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/big-updates

Show Notes:

Webpage - https://idfpr.illinois.gov/banks/digital-assets.html

DACPA - https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/ILCS/Articles?ActID=4632&ChapterID=20&Chapter=FINANCIAL%20REGULATION&MajorTopic=REGULATION

DAKA - https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/ILCS/Articles?ActID=4633&ChapterID=20&Chapter=FINANCIAL%20REGULATION&MajorTopic=REGULATION

Show Notes:

Managing Risk with Insurance, Part 1: Why and How: https://on.soundcloud.com/BCC4i7GuQMcVPVerte

Illinois Department of Insurance resources

* Website: https://idoi.illinois.gov/

* IDOI Help Center: https://idoihelpcenter.illinois.gov/s/

* How to File a Complaint: https://idoi.illinois.gov/consumers/file-a-complaint.html

The “Cover Your Assets: Protecting Your Stuff with Insurance” webinar was co-hosted by Andrea & Corbin in early March and will be posted to the University of Illinois System Student Money Management Center’s YouTube channel. Subscribe to stay informed: https://www.youtube.com/ILStudentMoney.