For high school seniors navigating college admissions, few emails inspire more confusion than a notice of being "deferred" or "waitlisted." While neither outcome is final, each comes with distinct meaning, timeline, and next steps.

Being deferred means your early application wasn’t denied, but it wasn’t accepted either. Instead, the admissions committee will evaluate your application again during the regular decision round, alongside new applicants. This delay gives the college time to compare you to the broader pool and assess updated academic records or accomplishments.

Waitlisting, by contrast, happens after regular decisions are made. It means you met the qualifications for admission, but there wasn’t enough space to offer you a spot. You may be admitted later if enough admitted students decline their offers.

Have you heard the phrase "Sell In May And Go Away"?

There are many weird stock market indicators that pundits try to use to explain what you should be doing in the stock market at any given time.

There seems to be many ideas that people will suggest to determine your investing strategy including the January-effect, the presidential cycle, which team wins the Super Bowl, and how well stocks will fare.

Over time, the of the stock market are hard to beat, and timing the market is not something that many people can do on a reliable basis.

Based on this month, you may have encountered the "Sell in May and Go Away" philosophy. While it may sound kitschy or superstitious, does this theory actually have any legs? 

Today's episode is an interview Robert had with Jack Wang from the Smart College Buyer podcast.

He talks about how to think about college costs, making smart student loan decisions, and how to have open and honest conversations with your family about money and education.

We hope you enjoy the episode. If you want to learn more about the Smart College Buyer podcast, check it out on your favorite podcast platform.

President Trump generally does not support student loan forgiveness and would likely seek an end to some student loan forgiveness programs.

But can the President claw back student loan forgiveness that has already been granted?

It's sparked a lot of concern in recent weeks, especially as President Biden has continued to propose new student loan forgiveness plans and already has set a record during his presidency for the most student loan forgiven.

As of November 2024, President Biden has provided $175 billion in student loan forgiveness for 4.6 million borrowers, more than any previous president.

For borrowers that have already received forgiveness, the question looms:

Could Trump claw back student loan forgiveness that has already been granted? The answer is generally no.

Let's break it down and learn why past loan forgiveness is likely protected, but future loan forgiveness could be in jeopardy.

There is no "one size fits all" when it comes to the best investment strategy. But it's one of the questions I receive almost everyday.

From what do I invest in, to how to get started investing, to picking individual stocks, everyone is looking for a magic investment strategy that will make them millionaires overnight.

The truth is that doesn't happen. You invest in stocks because over the long run, investing in the stock market has outperformed other investments. But that doesn't mean you should invest everything in stocks.

Here's how to craft the best investment strategy and why you should always think about your portfolio and all your money as a whole. While we call this the investment strategy by age guide - your age is really subject to your investment time horizon. Check it out on the website.

There are multiple ways to invest in real estate. And believe it our not, 90% of the world's millionaires have created wealth through real estate. At least that's what Andrew Carnegie said at the turn of the century. 

Maybe you love investing, and at this point nearly all of your money is in the stock market. You know it’s important to diversify, but aren’t sure if real estate investing is right for you. You might think it requires a lot of money up front, or requires a lot of work ongoing.

And while some of that is true, there are new options this year that can make real estate a potential investment for you.

While real estate investing certainly isn’t for everyone, it can be very lucrative. Many people have made millions investing in real estate. If you’re wanting to expand your investment horizons, here are 5 different ways to invest in real estate.

With the stock market down almost 10% this year, more and more investors are looking for alternative investments outside of stocks and bonds.

Diversifying an investment portfolio means not putting all your investment dollars into the same asset. 

Some people view a few dozen individual stocks as a diverse investment portfolio. Others want to buy broad-based index funds that represent entire stock markets. And others want bonds, stocks, and cash to keep their portfolio from having too much volatility.

However, diversification can go beyond typical financial assets. Some investors may turn towards alternative investments to augment their portfolios.

Although "alternative investments" are often described as a single group by financial advisors, this asset class represents a diverse array of investment opportunities. But which alternative investments are most popular? Keep reading to find out!

Audit protection is a service most tax preparation companies advertise as an upsell to help you if you get a notice from the IRS. 

These services can involve responding to IRS letters, representing you when speaking with the IRS, or even reimbursing you if the tax prep company made a mistake.

I hate dealing with bureaucrats. The thought of spending time in line at the DMV is so repulsive that I tried to pay someone to wait in line for me (the person didn’t show up, so I eventually had to go).

If the DMV causes me this much pain, you can imagine how bad I would feel getting audited by the IRS. I know this is hyperbolic, but being audited sounds like death by 1,000 paper cuts. Which brings me to the crux of this post. Should you get audit protection for your taxes - which is a big upsell of most of the major tax software products out there.

Personally, I put my extra money towards bookkeeping software. I think that’s the better use of the dollar.

However, the peace of mind factor may ultimately push you towards buying audit protection. In that case, I recommend being as smart as possible. Or use H&R Block software to get the most protection for the least cost.

Should you (or I) pay for audit protection for your taxes. You may be surprised that in most cases, I think the answer is no.

While a Roth IRA is one of the best ways to save for retirement, it can also be used to save for college.

A Roth IRA is one of the best ways to invest for retirement, since the money inside it grows tax-free and in most cases, withdrawals for retirement come without any tax consequences. It can be an especially great way to save for retirement when you're young and your income is relatively low. If you're in a low tax bracket, getting a tax deduction (like for 401(k) or Traditional IRA contributions) won't benefit you nearly as much.

But while the primary use of a Roth IRA is for retirement, there are a couple of other ways that you can withdraw money from your Roth IRA without paying a penalty.

One of those is for qualified higher education expenses. That makes using a Roth IRA to save for college one option to consider.

Eligibility for need-based financial aid depends on the student’s demonstrated financial need. Structured settlements can change how a student's financial aid is evaluated. 

Financial need is the difference between the college’s annual Cost of Attendance (COA) and the student’s Student Aid Index (SAI).

In some cases, a structured settlement can be used to shelter settlement money from student financial aid formulas. But ultimately the timing of the payments will determine how structured settlements impact financial aid applications. We break down the rules below to help you plan.