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| Stat Of The Day |
| $257,500 |
For the first time ever, student loan borrowing will come with a cap. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, beginning on July 1, 2026, students and their families will face a total lifetime borrowing limit of $257,500 per student for all federal student loans. As CNBC notes, future doctors, dentists and lawyers will feel the pinch most, with many likely turning to private student loans to cover the gap. |
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| A Not-So-Overnight Success: The Gretchen Rubin Story |
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| “I had worked for ten years to become an ‘overnight sensation,' " Gretchen Rubin, happiness expert. |
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Spoiler: Law school wasn’t her dream. “I went to law school for all the wrong reasons,” Rubin admits. It wasn’t until she was clerking for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor that she had a gut-check moment. She was off track, so she pivoted.
Focusing on her love of research and writing, she grabbed a copy of “How to Write and Sell a Nonfiction Book Proposal,” followed the instructions step by step, and started reinventing her career.
It took a decade and four books before her big breakthrough: The Happiness Project. What began as a personal mission to boost her own joy became a 2009 bestseller and a springboard to other books, a podcast, a newsletter and more. The Gretchen Rubin universe was born.
An overnight success? Hardly. “I had worked for ten years to become an ‘overnight sensation,’” she says. “Many people don’t even know that I wrote these other books.” |
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| This Week In Your Wallet |
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From Krispy Kreme to GoPro, summer 2025 is serving up the return of the meme stock. What’s a meme stock, you ask? It’s a stock that goes viral thanks to social media hype and online communities (think Reddit’s WallStreetBets), not actual company performance. The result? Wild price swings. For example, just last Wednesday, Krispy Kreme jumped 39% at its session high, but closed the trading day with a gain of just 4.6%. Shares of Kohl’s – another company on the recent roster of meme stocks – gained 40% at the start of the week. “Social media buzz around the stocks and short squeezes spurred the rally, despite little change in these companies’ business fundamentals,” Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com, tells The New York Post.
📈Questions about meme stock mania? Join InvestingFixx, HerMoney’s investing club, and ask away. Our next meetup is August 4, and your first month is free – come see what all the buzz is about!
Are you stuck in the “lock-in” trap? If you want to move and have a low-rate mortgage, but dread trading it for a higher one, you’re not alone. “Homeowners with low, fixed-rate mortgages may be reluctant to sell their homes because they would have to give up their low interest rates,” explains USA Today. “This is known as the 'lock-in' phenomenon.” According to Bankrate, more than half of U.S. homeowners say they wouldn’t feel comfortable selling, regardless of mortgage rates. That’s up 12 points from last year.
🏡If you’re feeling stuck in the “lock-in” zone and considering a renovation over a move, here are some of the top HELOC options to help you get started.
If you’re looking to grow your network and find some new pals, we’ve got you. This week on HerMoney.com, we’re dishing on the best apps for meeting new friends. The best part? They’re all free. “If you’ve transitioned to a new life stage — like motherhood or retirement — it can sometimes be a challenge to find common ground with your existing friend group,” writes Lindsay Tigar. “The good news is there are countless ways to meet women who not only share your interests, but also live in your city.” Here’s a look at a few of our favorite apps that will help you make new connections and create new, long-lasting friendships. |
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| Things That Save You Money |
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| Ask Jean |
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| Q: |
I have a question regarding FAFSA for divorced parents. Should the parent who claims the student on their taxes be the parent who fills out the FAFSA? I keep getting differing information and am so confused. |
| A: |
We’ve seen lots of questions about the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, popping up in the HerMoney Facebook group recently, so you’re definitely not alone.
Martha Kortiak Mert, COO at SavingForCollege.com, explains that the rules shifted when the simplified FAFSA went into effect starting with the 2024-25 academic year. “Prior to that time, the custodial parent, i.e., the parent with whom the child resides for most of the year, was the one who filled out the FAFSA for their student,” she says. “The custodial parent is also the parent who claims the child as a dependent on tax forms if parents are divorced.”
Now, it’s about the financial support. The parent who provides more of it – regardless of who the student lives with or who claims them on taxes, is the one who fills out the FAFSA.
One more heads up: Only one parent completes the form, but if that parent is remarried, their spouse’s income and assets will also need to be reported on the FAFSA, adds Kortiak Mert. |
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| Submit your questions to Jean here. |
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| More For You To ♥ |
🩺What do you get when a doctor becomes a financial planner? Someone who knows your health and wealth go hand in hand. On the latest HerMoney Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Carolyn McClanahan, MD, CFP®, and founder of Life Planning Partners, to explore how we can make smarter decisions today to secure both our financial and physical futures.
🚦Are you really steering your retirement savings…or just puttering along, hoping for the best? If you’re on financial cruise control, it might be time to grab the wheel. Our Pre-Retirement FinanceFixx program can help you figure out where you stand and make any necessary course corrections before it’s too late. Our last session filled up fast, and our next one kicks off September 10. We’ve got just a few seats left – grab yours before they’re gone!
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