Student loans could become more prominent in paying for college if the United States Department of Education closes. Incoming-President Donald Trump promised to abolish the Education Department if elected, but federal student loan balances are unlikely to disappear. However, even if federal loans remain part of the higher education landscape, changes to the federal student loan program and the options available could lead to borrowers turning to private student loans in greater numbers.

Key Takeaways

• If President Trump fulfills his campaign promise to abolish the Department of Education, payments will likely be managed by other government agencies.
• Any new efforts for blanket student loan forgiveness are unlikely to emerge under the new administration.
• Changes to federal student loan borrowing and repayment options could lead to more families using private student loans to fund a higher education.

Trump’s Plan for the Education Department

While on the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly called for the end of the Department of Education. If congressional support emerges to shutter the department, trillions of dollars in federal student debt would still need to be managed. Trump has previously advocated for merging the Education Department with the U.S. Department of Labor.

Additionally, Trump would presumably sign the College Cost Reduction Act, an overhaul of several aspects of the federal student loan program. Introduced by House Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC), this legislation proposes getting rid of PLUS loans and replacing the existing income-driven repayment (IDR) plans with a new “repayment assistance plan.” Under this new IDR plan, borrowers would qualify for forgiveness after paying an amount equal to the “principal and interest owed under the standard 10-year plan.”

Important

The Biden administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan is currently on hold due to several court actions. Borrowers enrolled in the plan have been placed in an interest-free forbearance until the matter is resolved.

Private vs. Federal Student Loans 

Private student loans only accounted for about 7.61% of outstanding student debts, or $133.43 billion, in March 2024. Meanwhile, as of Q4’24, there’s approximately $1.64 trillion in outstanding federal student debt.

Federal and private student loans both have advantages and disadvantages, so each type can work well for different students (depending on their needs).

Federal Student Loans

• No credit requirements for undergraduate loans

• Relatively low borrowing limits, which might not cover the full cost of attendance

• Fixed interest rate set by congressional formula and the same for each loan type

• Variety of IDR plans and hardship options

• No possibility of securing lower interest rates or avoiding origination fees

Private Student Loans

• Credit inquiries required for all loans, including undergraduate

• Ability to borrow sufficient funds to cover the entire cost of attendance

• Fixed and variable rates determined by lender, market conditions, and/or borrower’s

• Hardship options vary by lender

• Some loans come without origination fees, and well-qualified borrowers could get lower interest rates

^{Source: Federal Student Aid}

Generally, it’s best to start with federal student loans due to their fixed rates, lack of credit requirements, and multiple repayment options (including potential student debt forgiveness). However, private loans can be a good option if you still need to cover a funding gap after maxing out your federal student aid package. However, this dynamic could change if the Education Department disappears.

Even if the Department of Education remains intact, private loans could become a bigger part of the college funding picture should the College Cost Reduction Act become law. The proposed changes to federal student loans, including replacing IDR plans and eliminating PLUS loans, would limit the options available to borrowers, which may encourage more of them to take out private student loans.

The Bottom Line

Without the Department of Education, Federal loans may become less appealing to borrowers. While not necessarily likely, it’s possible federal government will stop originating new student loans altogether, leaving borrowers little choice but to turn to private lenders. Nothing has been decided yet, so borrowers—existing and new—must wait to see how the Trump administration deals with student debt.

Over the last few years, Texas has not only emerged as a popular tourist spot and hub for major American businesses but also a desirable retirement destination. If you’re nearing that time in your life, you may be curious if making the move to Texas is a financially smart move for you. 

Here’s what you need to know about living in Texas as a retiree on a fixed income. 

Key Takeaways

• Texas is one of the top destinations in the nation for new retirees.
• One of the key attractions to the state is its significant tax benefits for retirees, including no state income tax.
• The cost of living in Texas is generally lower compared to many other states.
• Texas has many diverse cities and communities with vastly different characteristics, so be sure to look closely at any areas you’re considering.

The Appeal of Retiring in Texas

From its warm climate, diverse cultural offerings, and scenic environments to its pension-friendly status, there’s a reason why Texas is experiencing an influx of retirees. In fact, Texas was the fourth most popular state for net migration among people over age 60 in 2022, according to a study released in 2024.

Take a look at some of the appealing aspects of the Lonestar State, and why its highly affordable status might put it on your short list of retirement destinations.

1. Lower Cost of Living  

Cost of living can vary widely in a big state like Texas since it’s made up of large metro areas (some more affluent than others) and lots of suburbs and small towns. But overall, it’s fair to say that Texas is a less expensive place to live than many other states in the nation.

According to 2023 numbers from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the average personal consumption expenditures per capita in Texas was $52,229, which was lower than the national average of $56,202. For comparison purposes, California’s was $64,835 and Florida’s was $60,204.

Note

Texas’ food costs, housing, health care, and utility costs all fall below the national average for spending in those categories, which means those retirement paychecks can go further there. 

When you drill down into specific places in Texas, you can also find some of the most affordable places to live in the nation. For example, in Kiplinger’s “Cheapest U.S. Cities To Live: U.S. Cities Edition” 2024 survey (based on government cost of living data), three Texas cities broke the top five (Edinburg, Harlingen, and Amarillo), and McAllen appeared lower down at No. 14.

2. Below Average Housing Costs

Housing costs in Texas are also lower than national averages. The average Texas home value in 2024 was $299,467, lower than the $357,469 average home value nationally. Renters can also find more affordable housing as the average rent in Texas was $1,255 per month, below the nationwide average of $1,560 (as of December 2024).

3. Favorable Tax Rates

Texas is one of just seven states with no individual income tax—and that’s a big deal for people living on a retirement budget. No income tax states like Texas are sometimes referred to as “pension friendly,” and tend to be popular with retirees. This is because residents don’t have to pay any taxes on their pensions, Social Security benefits, or distributions from IRAs or 401(k)s. This effectively gives you a bigger budget to work with.

State and local sales tax is also on the lower side in Texas. At 8.2%, the rate ranks 14th in the nation. For comparison, Oklahoma has an 8.989% state and local sales tax rate while Arkansas has a 9.448% combined rate. Also good news for retirees: Groceries, prescription drugs, and over-the-counter medicine are not subject to sales tax in Texas.

Potential Drawbacks

Despite all of the positive aspects of retiring in Texas, there are a few cons to consider as well.  

1. Natural Disaster Risks

Texas weather can be dramatically different depending on which part of the state you live. But more concerning is that Texas residents face the potential for extreme weather events from hurricanes to droughts and wildfires. The state’s cumulative cost of natural disasters reached over $400 billion from 1980 to 2023, the highest in the nation.

You may need to purchase extra insurance on your home if you live in Texas. Having a strong emergency fund is also crucial should you need to cover out-of-pocket expenses or evacuate for a period of time. 

2. Health Care Costs and Quality

One area where Texas falls short for seniors is with its health care system. Texas was ranked No. 38 for health in America’s Health Rankings 2024 Senior Report, based on social and economic factors, physical environment, behaviors, clinical care, and health outcomes.

Coverage-wise, Texas residents have both Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plan options, however. Not every state offers both, so this is a plus. The average monthly Medicare Advantage plan premium in Texas for 2025 is $6.81, which is below the $17.97 per month average nationally.

3. Transportation and Accessibility Challenges

As the second most populous state, Texas has some transportation challenges since highway and road upgrades haven’t kept pace with the increasing number of drivers over the decades. State residents lose an average of 54 hours a year sitting in traffic. In addition, the Aging Texas Well Advisory Committee acknowledges that more needs to be done to accommodate people 65 and older who need public transportation services.

Again, access to transportation options may vary by locality. Metro areas tend to offer more public transportation, while some smaller suburbs can be more walkable or have better bicycle paths. Also worth exploring: If an area has volunteer driver programs that help seniors get to and from appointments. 

4. Higher Property Taxes

Although Texas is tax-friendly when it comes to income, it has higher property taxes than many areas. At 1.47%, Texas ranks seventh for property taxes paid as a percentage of owner-occupied housing value. 

The Bottom Line

Texas’ no-income-tax policy alone may put the state on your shortlist for retirement. It also has a lower average cost of living than many other places in the nation, so if you’re coming from a higher-cost area such as California or the Northeast, you will likely come out ahead financially.

That said, everything is bigger in Texas, including the number of options you have in terms of where to live. Compare lifestyle and cost of living carefully whether you choose to live in a city like Houston or Austin versus a small town like Fredericksburg. 

To help with the financial aspects of your decision, consider seeking counsel from a financial advisor who can help you make an informed decision that will fit your retirement finances.

Reviewed by Charles Potters

Australia might not be on people’s radar as a hotbed of entrepreneurial activity. In the past, the country has been accused of lacking innovation and encouraging a risk-averse mentality.

Nonetheless, a handful of entrepreneurs from Australia have overcome those barriers. In recent years, the Land Down Under has produced some great minds including Canva founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, AfterPay creator Nick Molnar, and Atlassian’s Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar. It’s also where John Ilhan, Rupert Murdoch, and Katie Page, arguably the most well-known Australian entrepreneurs, are from.

Key Takeaways

• Australia has been criticized for not being very entrepreneurial, although many innovative minds come from there.
• Three names that stand out are John Ilhan, Rupert Murdoch, and Katie Page.
• Ihan is best known as the founder of Crazy John’s, which went on to become the largest independent phone retailer in Australia.
• Murdoch built a media empire that includes Fox Television, 20th Century Fox, the Wall Street Journal, HarperCollins, Sky, the Sun, the Times, and the New York Post.
• Page helped turn Harvey Norman into a worldwide retailer generating billions in revenue.

John Ilhan

John Ilhan is best known as the founder of Crazy John’s, which went on to become the largest independent phone retailer in Australia, and for once being named the richest Australian under 40.

Ilhan was born in Yozgat, Turkey, on Jan. 23, 1965, and later migrated with his family from Turkey to Australia at the age of 5. He grew up in Broadmeadows, a working-class section in the northwestern part of Melbourne, was said to be a big fan of sports, playing on the football, basketball, and soccer teams, and rarely saw his parents because they were working so much.

During his childhood, Ilhan’s entrepreneurial spirit began emerging. At one point, he started selling a newspaper on the street corner, then sold the business to a friend for a nice profit. Later, he went to university to study art but quit and ended up working on the same Ford production line as his parents.

In 2011, a biography of John Ilhan, titled John Ilhan: A Crazy Life, was published.

Ilhan moved into sales at Ford, then landed a job selling cell phones. There he unearthed a talent, topping sales records for three years, which eventually, alongside a dispute over pay, prompted him to open his own store across the road with just 700 Australian dollars and a loan from his parents in 1991.

The first few years were tough but Illhan’s hard work eventually paid off. Through expansion, Ilhan’s one store, Crazy John’s, became a retail chain of 120 stores that eventually developed into Australia’s largest Telstra mobile dealership. By 2003, he was named the richest man in Australia under 40.

Sadly, IIhan didn’t get to see through his plans to expand overseas. In 2007, at the age of 42, IIhan, who was also well known for his generosity and philanthropy, died of a heart attack. At the time of his death, he was estimated to be worth over 300 million Australian dollars.

Rupert Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch, born Keith Rupert Murdoch in March 1931, is one of the world’s most prolific business magnates. An Australian-American, Rupert was born in Melbourne, Australia, to Sir Keith Arthur and Elisabeth Murdoch. In 1952, at the age of 21, his father suddenly passed away, leading him to inherit Australia’s News Limited and become the managing director of the media company.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Murdoch acquired a variety of newspapers based in Australia and New Zealand. In 1969, he was able to expand into the United Kingdom, where he took control of News of the World and, later, the Sun. In 1981, he acquired the Times.

Rupert Murdoch began to truly fulfill his potential for generating tremendous financial gains when he started using his entrepreneurial talents in the United States. He expanded into the U.S. market in the 1970s, funded by his substantial interests in the United Kingdom and Australia, acquiring the distressed San Antonio Express-News in 1973 and creating Star magazine, a supermarket tabloid, in 1974. Two years later, he bought the New York Post.

Note

Murdoch became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1985, specifically to meet the legal stipulations required for U.S. television station ownership. To do so, he had to give up his Australian citizenship.

In 1985, Murdoch made acquisitions that eventually changed the landscape of U.S. television news, first by purchasing a controlling interest in 20th Century Fox, and subsequently by buying half a dozen U.S. television stations. These moves formed the foundation for the creation of the Fox Television Network and the Fox News Channel, which launched in 1996 and within five years became the number-one rated cable news network.

Murdoch’s global media holding company, News Corporation, continued to grow with the 198 acquisition of Harper & Row (later to be rebranded as HarperCollins), the founding of Sky television in Britain in 1988, and the 2007 acquisition of the Wall Street Journal.

In 2012, Murdoch split his newspaper and entertainment business into two separate entities: News Corp and 20th Century Fox. Disney later acquired the majority of the latter, with the remaining broadcast business now known as Fox Corp.

As of Jan. 10, 2025, News Corp has a market capitalization of $15.94 billion while Fox Corp has a market capitalization of $21.43 billion.

Katie Page

Katie Page is the chief executive of Harvey Norman, a large department store established by her husband, Gerry Harvey and Ian Norman, in 1982. Today, there are more than 270 Harvey Norman stores spread across the globe from Ireland to Singapore.

Page was born in 1956 in Mareeba, a town in North Queensland, Australia. Her father encouraged her to read the business sections of the newspapers and she went to a school where women were told they could do anything.

After school, Page moved to Sydney and began working with Gerry Norman. Together, they turned a one-store operation into a multinational retail chain generating billions of dollars in revenue. In sixteen years, Page went from an assistant to CEO. She has been credited with overseeing Harvey Norman’s massive expansion, including overseas, and keeping it relevant in the internet era.

Page’s company trades on the Australian Stock Exchange, or ASX, and is one of the component stocks of the ASX 200 Index. She was one of the first women to hold a top-level executive position at an ASX 200 company and is currently the 18th richest woman in Australia with a net worth of 1.6 billion Australian dollars.

Who Are the Five Richest People in Australia?

According to Forbes, the richest people in Australia are:

1. Gina Rinehart
2. Andrew Forrest and family
3. Harry Triguboff
4. Mike Cannon-Brookes
5. Scott Farquhar

How Many Billionaires Are There in Australia?

There are 159 billionaires in Australia in 2024, according to the Australian.

Who Is the Richest Entrepreneur?

Elon Musk, who is widely known for leading the way in electric vehicles and space travel, is the richest person in the world.

The Bottom Line

Australia has produced many entrepreneurs over the years, some of the highest profile of whom are Rupert Murdoch, Katie Page, and John Ilhan. These three figures led the way for others to follow and each offers fascinating stories characterized by lots of ambition, great ideas, hard work, and determination.