I am proud to announce that our own Carlos Ruiz, after months of exhaustive study, has completed all the requirements to become a Certified Student Loan Professional (CSLP®).
Student loan planning is highly specialized business. The government has created an incredibly complex system rife with warped incentives and distorted priorities, but also opportunities for the discerning borrower. The problem is that the system is so complex that it even takes an experienced Certified Financial Planner™ like Carlos almost six months of study to fully understand!
The vast majority of students who get out of college with high debt loads will try to do some research on their own, but ultimately will rely on advice from their loan servicer to select the best plan—something that is highly dependent on the borrower’s future goals. There are short term, medium term, and long term implications, and all need to be considered. This is why working with an advisor who is both a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) and a Certified Student Loan Professional is important. Your loan servicer will usually just figure out which plan gives you the lowest payment today. They are not trained or capable of considering how student loan decisions impact the borrowers future goals.
- If pursuing a payment plan with a loan forgiveness feature, do you understand and have a plan to deal with the tax consequences?
- If pursuing an income based repayment plan, do you know what will happen to your payment if you get married? Or what will happen to your tax liability if you try to keep your income separate? One plan may be better for single borrowers, another may be better for borrowers who believe they will be married.
- Want a big family? Choose your student loan repayment plan carefully!
- Will your income be increasing in the future? How will this impact your choice of payment plan?
- Own a business, or plan to own one in the future? Congratulations – there may be all kinds of opportunities to reduce your student loan payments as a business owner.
- How will your choice of student loan strategies impact your ability to purchase a home, or save for retirement? Or put your own kids through college?
Who can benefit from student loan advice from a Certified Student Loan Professional?
- Recent grads with high debt loads choosing a repayment option
- Parents who want to know more about the money their kids are borrowing or planning to borrow to pay for college
- Anyone with high debt loads who is unsure if they are in the best program for them
- Anyone who is finding the student loan debt is keeping them from achieving their life goals
If you or someone you care about has questions about student loans, Carlos and Financial Pathways can help. We will do a thorough analysis and plan and help determine the strategy that makes the most sense – not just now, but in the future as well. Give Carlos a call to see how he can help!
You can learn more about the Certified Student Loan Professional designation at https://cslainstitute.org/