A new year has begun. It’s time to evaluate what worked well for you financially in 2018 and whether you need to make any changes for 2019. As you do that, you’ll want to put together a plan for this year’s charitable giving.

A good place to start the process is to consider the following items:

1. Review your donations for 2018 and how you made them. How much would you like to donate in 2019?

2. Did you exceed the standard deduction and itemize your taxes for the 2018 tax year? Do you anticipate exceeding the standard deduction and itemizing your taxes for 2019?

​

continue reading by downloading (below)

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLFP) began in 2007 with a simple idea: provide debt relief to borrowers in critical but often low-paying careers after they make 10 years of timely student loan repayments. The U.S. Department of Education cited law enforcement and emergency management personnel, public school teachers, and legal aid attorneys as examples of those who would be eligible for the PSLFP. Sounds great, right? But in spring 2017, many individuals who chose public service and nonprofit careers learned that their federal student loans may not qualify for the PSLFP after all. Here, we’ll take a deeper dive into the qualifications for this program, plus new developments that may bring welcome relief to some borrowers.

Qualification criteria

To qualify for the PSLFP, a student loan must meet four criteria:

1. The loan must be a Direct loan.

2. The repayments must be on time and for the specified amount.

​

continue reading by downloading (below)