Economics

Whether or not you need a stockbroker or a financial adviser depends on several factors, including goals, time availability and available cash.

Consumers are ditching cash for the convenience of digital payments, but fraudsters are right behind you. Just a few simple steps can help you stay safe.

When children are young, it can be hard to meet immediate costs, let alone save for the future, but these five habits can help build lasting financial security.

The tech giant has stumbled when it comes to artificial intelligence, but a new batch of iPhones will help it make headway.

Refinancing student loans can help some borrowers pay off their debt quicker and save money in the long run. And it may be a good time to pursue the strategy: The Federal Reserve recently cut its benchmark interest rate, which could cause student loan refinance rates to decline slightly — especially since experts predict more rate cuts in the near future. What to know about student loan refinance When you refinance, you replace your existing student loan(s) with a new loan that has either a lower interest rate, a lower monthly payment or, ideally, both. When you refinance federal loans, you turn them into private loans and you lose access to exclusive benefits and repayment terms. Although there is a lot of uncertainty regarding federal student loans and possible changes to repayment plans, borrowers with only federal debt should not make any knee-jerk decisions to refinance. See industry insights and a comprehensive guide on when to refinance student loans here. How we picked our winners Our edit team has been covering student loans (and student loan refinance) for the better part of a decade. Our writers and editors independently analyzed and vetted student loan refinance products, focusing on eligibility, perks, interest rates and fees, to determine which lenders stand out. (See our methodology here.) If you’re looking for more information on in-school loans to pay for college, see our picks for best student loans. Our top picks for the best student loan refinance companies of October 2025 The following companies are listed in alphabetical order. Earnest – Best Overall ELFI – Best for Parents Laurel Road – Best for Healthcare and Medical professionals Lendkey – Best for Offers from Community Banks and Credit Unions SoFi® – Best for Member Perks RISLA – Best for Borrower Protections Pros Customizable payments Ability to set up autopay for biweekly payments Offers in-school refinancing for students in their final semester Cons No cosigner releases Limited product availability in some states HIGHLIGHTS Minimum income requirements Does not disclose Minimum credit score Minimum credit score of 665 (without a cosigner). Cosigners need a minimum credit score of 650. Loan amount $5,000 up to $550,000 Loan terms Customizable between 5 and 20 years Fees No origination or application fees. No late fees Fixed interest rate 4.25% – 9.99% (includes 0.25% autopay discount) Earnest is our top overall pick thanks in large part to its Precision Pricing tool, which is unique among lenders. Earnest allows borrowers to pick the monthly payment that fits their budget, and sets the repayment term based on that amount — even if it results in an uncommon number like 7.5 years. The result is more than 180 ways to customize your loan, the lender says. The repayment flexibilities don’t stop there, either. Earnest also allows borrowers to skip one payment every 12 months. Earnest doesn’t charge late fees and consistently offers low starting interest rates. In addition to the standard salary and credit score, Earnest considers additional details like how much you have in savings to help determine your eligibility. And it is transparent about what it offers for borrowers struggling to make their payments: You can make interest-only payments for up to 24 months over the life of the loan or request a financial hardship forbearance for up to 12 months. Read full Earnest student loan refinance review>> Pros Allows parents to transfer PLUS loans to student’s name. Excellent customer service Cons No rate discounts No cosigner release Fewer repayment term options for parent refinance loans HIGHLIGHTS Minimum income $35,000 Minimum credit score 680 Loan amounts Minimum of $10,000. Maximum varies based eligibility. Loan terms 5, 7, 10, 12, 15 or 20 years for students. 5 or 10 years for parents. Fees No application or origination fees. Late fee of up to $50. Fixed interest rate 4.88% to 8.44% Most lenders allow parents to refinance federal parent PLUS loans, but many require parents to stay on as the primary borrower. ELFI doesn’t; parents can refinance a PLUS loan in their name or refinance as a way to transfer the loan to their student (assuming the student meets the lender’s credit eligibility). ELFI only offers two repayment terms for parents (compared to five for student borrowers who are refinancing), but we still chose them for parents as other lenders also limit the number of terms available to for parent refinance loans. ELFI’s starting APR is slightly higher than some winners on our list, but it also has a lower maximum interest rate than most lenders. ELFI sets up all customers with a one-on-one session with a student loan advisor, and with more than 2,200 reviews, the company has a 4.9 rating (out of 5 stars) on Trustpilot — the highest of any lender Money looked at. Pros Low payments through the medical residency refinancing program Lower rates for eligible healthcare professionals Loan terms as long as 20 years Cons Limited options for those with associate degrees Lowest rates require you to sign up for a bank account HIGHLIGHTS Minimum income Does not disclose Minimum credit score Does not disclose Loan amount $5,000 to total balance ($50,000 maximum for associate degrees) Loan terms 5, 7, 10, 15 or 20 years Fees No origination or application fees. Late payment fees of up to $28. Fixed interest rate 4.99% – 8.90% (with autopay discount) Rates current as of Sept. 29, 2025, rates subject to change. Terms and Conditions apply. All products are subject to credit approval. Please see all Laurel Road disclaimers here. Laurel Road is an online lender specializing in student loan refinancing for healthcare professions, including doctors, dentists, physical therapists and nurses. It partners with several professional organizations to offer rate discounts to these (and other) healthcare professionals. Plus, it has a program for individuals participating in a medical residency program that allows you to refinance your loans and pay just $100 per month for up to four years during your residency or fellowship. Many lenders don’t offer any refinancing for associate degrees.

*Rates and APRs are subject to change. All information provided here is accurate as of Sept. 29, 2025. Credit card rates have been climbing in recent years, making it more expensive to service outstanding balances. Managing multiple debts — with varying interest rates, payment amounts and due dates — can be stressful and increases the risk of missing a payment. Consolidating debt, which involves replacing several debts with a single new loan, could be the answer for some borrowers juggling several accounts. Debt consolidation loans aren’t for everyone, but they offer an alternative for people who want to simplify their debt repayment process. What to know about debt consolidation loans At its most basic, a debt consolidation loan is an unsecured personal loan. If you qualify for a favorable interest rate, make your loan payments on time and don’t accrue any more bad debt in the process, debt consolidation loans can be an effective way to pay off high-interest debt. The best debt consolidation loans offer prequalification, online approval, flexible terms, competitive interest rates — and don’t have fees or prepayment penalties. This type of loan is often used to consolidate expensive credit card debt for a lower rate. Debt consolidation loans have fixed rates, unlike variable credit card APRs, which makes budgeting easier. In addition to the interest you pay on the loan, some lenders charge origination fees, which are deducted from your loan proceeds. How we chose our top picks Our editors and writers evaluate debt consolidation loans independently, ensuring our content is precise and guided by editorial integrity. To make our list, we reviewed more than 30 lenders and considered dozens of data points, including interest rates and fees, terms, flexibility and customer satisfaction. Read the full methodology to learn more. Our top picks for best debt consolidation loans of October 2025 The companies listed below are organized alphabetically. Discover – Best for Low APRs LightStream – Best for Large Loans PenFed – Best for Small Loans SoFi – Best Overall Universal Credit – Best for Bad Credit Pros No origination fee Same-day approval Ranked #3 in J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Consumer Lending Satisfaction Survey You can apply online or by phone Cons Minimum household annual income of $25,000 to qualify Funds cannot be used to pay secured loans or Discover credit cards HIGHLIGHTS APR 7.99%- 24.99% Term options: $2,500-$40,000 Term options 36 to 84 months Minimum credit score Not specified Why we chose it: Discover’s low interest rates, especially its highly competitive minimum APR of 7.99% for the most-qualified borrowers, make it our top choice for best debt consolidation loan for people looking for the lowest rate. Upon approval, Discover will pay your credit card issuers within one business day. Discover also doesn’t charge any origination or prepayment fees, and it recently changed its policies to eliminate late fees, as well. Discover does require applicants to have an individual or household income of at least $25,000 to be eligible for a personal loan. They also evaluate other factors such as your credit history and debt-to-income ratio. Discover, which was acquired by lender Capital One earlier this year, prohibits debt consolidation loan borrowers from using loan proceeds to directly pay any Capital One accounts, a typical condition among lenders. (Note that this restriction includes any Discover or Capital One credit card balances.) Aside from its debt consolidation loans, Discover offers balance transfer credit cards as another option for borrowers seeking to consolidate and pay off their debts. Discover also gets high marks for customer satisfaction, coming in third in the 2025 J.D. Power Consumer Lending Satisfaction Study. Pros No fees for loan origination, late payments or prepayment 0.50% rate discount for setting up Autopay Cons Doesn’t provide loan pre-approvals Doesn’t accept loan applications via phone or fax Autopay discount only available before loan disbursement HIGHLIGHTS APR 7.24% – 23.89% (7.74% – 24.39% without autopay discount) Loan amount $5,000 – $100,000 Term options 24 to 84 months Minimum credit score Not specified Why we chose it: LightStream (a brand of Truist Bank) is our top choice for large loans. Although it isn’t the only lender we evaluated that offers loan amounts as high as $100,000, Lightstream’s APR range is broadly competitive. It offers borrowers a 0.50% discount if they set up Autopay, although note that this discount is only available prior to loan funding. LightStream requires good to excellent credit, although the company says more than 1 in 4 approved applicants do qualify for the lowest available rate. Similar to most other lenders’ loan conditions, borrowers are not allowed to use loan funds to pay off another LightStream loan. LightStream’s “Rate Beat” Program offers an additional 0.1 percentage point off the rate you are approved for by another lender on an unsecured loan as long as you meet certain conditions, including that the loan offer terms and timing are the same. Read our full review of LightStream personal loans. Pros Loans of less than $1,000 available Accepts co-borrowers No origination fee or prepayment penalty Cons You need to join the credit union to get a loan Some other lenders have larger loan maximums. HIGHLIGHTS APR 7.99% – 17.99% Loan amount $600 – $50,000 Term options 12 to 60 months Minimum credit score Not disclosed Why we chose it: With its $600 minimum loan amount, reputation for high customer satisfaction and low interest rates, PenFed is our top pick for the best small debt consolidation loan. Among the direct lenders we evaluated, PenFed had the lowest minimum loan amount. It also has low interest rates and no origination fees. If your credit isn’t great, PenFed allows co-borrowers. However, since PenFed is a members-owned federal credit union, you’ll have to become a member. A credit union spokesperson says this process can be completed at the time you get your loan. In addition to its broadly competitive APRs, you can also earn a 0.25 percentage point discount if you apply online and set up autopay for your loan, the spokesperson

A little bit of late risk-on behavior was enough to lift stocks into the green on the last day of September.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients will get two payments in October. It’s not a mistake: This is all part of the regular schedule. The SSI program is administered by Social Security and provides benefits of up to $967 per month for individuals with little or no income and resources who are blind, disabled or 65 and older. Usually, SSI benefits are paid to about 7.4 million recipients on a monthly basis. But the double send in October is nothing to worry about. SSI benefits typically go out on the first of the month. However, if that day falls on a weekend or a holiday, payments are sent earlier. In the calendar month of September, for example, there was no SSI payment because Sept. 1 was Labor Day, so federal agencies were closed. That meant September’s benefits were actually paid on Aug. 29. When will SSI checks arrive in October? Payments will go out on Wednesday (Oct. 1) and Oct. 31. Technically, SSI income will double in October. That may be confusing — or it may even feel like a nice bonus — but it’s really just the November payment arriving early, as Nov. 1 is a Saturday. Upcoming SSI payment schedule After October, two SSI payments will be issued in the same month one more time in 2025. Here’s when SSI benefits will be paid out through the end of the year: Oct. 1: Regular payment for October Oct. 31: Early payment for November (due to Nov. 1 falling on a Saturday) Dec. 1: Regular payment for December Dec. 31: Early payment for January 2026 (due to New Year’s Day) You can view a full calendar of Social Security and SSI payments on the Social Security Administration’s website. Note that people who claimed Social Security before May 1997 and those who get both Social Security and SSI benefits are on a slightly different schedule. They will receive their Social Security payment on the third of the month in October, November and December, as usual. It’s only the SSI payment that will come twice in October. In related news, the Social Security Administration is discontinuing paper checks in accordance with a federal mandate for agencies to switch to electronic payments (to the extent possible) by the end of September. SSI recipients are being advised to call 1-800-772-1213 if they need help setting up a new payment method. More from Money: You’re Retiring. Get Ready for These Tax Changes Social Security’s Confusing ‘Full Retirement Age’ May Get a Rebrand Social Security to Stop Sending Paper Checks This Month

Not everything about retirement is perfect, but don’t let it get you down. Here’s how to make lemonade out of these three retirement “lemons.”