Inside the Modern Family Office: how families who plan on purpose handle the curveballs... translated for the rest of us.

In this issue: Lincoln on my old college field, the soccer decision we didn't see coming, and a clear breakdown of the student loan changes hitting right now plus 3 real examples of what to do.

What a week. Pure joy and a few curveballs... which is funny because my boys don't even play baseball and yet here we were getting curveballs all weekend.

Let me start with the joy.

Last week had me all in my feelings. Lincoln went to his first football camp. And not just anywhere... it was at Drake. My alma mater. The same field I played on.

I don't have the words for what it felt like to stand there and watch my son perform on the exact field where I used to compete. The pride. The memories. The full-circle of it all. There's something about watching your kid step into a space that meant everything to you... I'll be chewing on that feeling for a long time.

Now the curveball.

As you all know, after the whole tryout debacle, Lincoln chose Sporting as his club for the year. But we'd been hearing some rumblings, and something in our gut kept nagging at us to reach out to Michelle's club coach, Jamie at Fuerza, who happened to be starting up a brand new 13U team this year.

We'd originally skipped tryouts with Fuerza because they overlapped with football season. But Michelle made the call anyway. And Jamie offered Lincoln a spot on his team. No tryout.

Now... yeah. Get on me for that if you want. But Lincoln trained with Jamie all winter long. He knew him well. This wasn't a stranger handing out a roster spot blind.

What got me was Lincoln's reaction. Tears of joy... because for once he was wanted. Somebody looked at him and said we want YOU, no audition required. And then tears of sadness too, because it meant leaving teammates and a club he'd been with for two years.

He made the call himself. He chose Fuerza!

Massive curveball. A hard decision for a kid to make. And we could not be prouder of how he handled it. Stay tuned for how it all plays out.

Oh, and one more curveball... I was relieved of my duty on the AJF Board, our local youth football board. Turns out my transparency and bluntness ruffled some feathers.

I will never apologize for that. Ever.

If you have federal student loans, this one is for you. There's a lot of noise out there right now so let me cut through it with what's actually true.

The SAVE plan is officially gone. A federal court ruled it unlawful earlier this year, and the changes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are now taking effect. This is the biggest shake-up to student loan repayment in a generation.

Here's the part that matters most right now. If you're one of the more than 7 million borrowers who were on SAVE, your loan servicer is sending notices that start a roughly 90-day clock. You have about 90 days to choose a new repayment plan. If you do nothing, you get automatically dumped into the Standard or new Tiered Standard plan... which for a lot of people means a significantly higher monthly payment than you're used to. That 90-day window is your time to get organized and choose on purpose instead of getting chosen for.

A few key things to understand:

If all your loans were disbursed before July 1, 2026, and you don't take out new loans, you keep access to the older income-driven plans like IBR, ICR, and PAYE, though ICR and PAYE are being phased out by 2028.

If you take out any new federal loan on or after July 1, 2026, your only two options become the new RAP plan or the Tiered Standard plan.

The new RAP plan bases your payment on your adjusted gross income, knocks off $50 per month per dependent, and offers forgiveness after 30 years. For some higher earners it may actually cost more than the old plans did.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness still exists for those working qualifying public service jobs.

Here's the family office way to look at this. A family that plans on purpose doesn't wait for the servicer's deadline to force a rushed decision. They get ahead of it, run the numbers across every option, and choose the plan that fits their actual life and cash flow. That's the move here.

Let me give you three real examples of how that plays out.

Example 1: You can afford a higher payment and want to be done.
If your income is solid and your goal is to kill this debt and pay the least interest over time, look hard at the Tiered Standard plan. Fixed payments, a clear payoff timeline based on your balance, no dragging it out for decades. You pay more monthly but you're free faster and you pay less interest overall. For the right person with the cash flow, this is the cleanest path.

Example 2: You need a lower monthly payment to protect your cash flow.
If a big monthly payment would wreck your budget, an income-driven plan is your friend. Compare the older IBR option (if you qualify) against the new RAP plan and see which one gives you the lower payment for your specific income and family size. Remember RAP cuts $50 per dependent off your monthly number, which matters a lot for parents. Run both before you choose.

Example 3: You're struggling and need breathing room.
If you genuinely can't handle a payment right now, do not just ignore the notices and get auto-enrolled into the most expensive option. That's the worst outcome. Instead, actively enroll in the income-driven plan that gives you the lowest possible payment... RAP payments can go as low as $10 a month for the lowest incomes. A low payment you can actually make beats a high one you default on. Defaulting wrecks your credit and your options. Pick the floor on purpose.

The honest truth is which plan is right for you depends entirely on your income, your family, your other debts, and your goals. The two most important words here are "it depends." Use the Department of Education's official loan simulator to compare your actual numbers before you commit to anything.

📌 Receipts:

If you have federal loans, do these four things in order. Don't wait for the deadline to make this decision for you.

1. Log into your StudentAid.gov account and find out exactly what plan you're on. You can't make a smart decision until you know where you currently stand. If you were on SAVE, your clock is ticking.

2. Run your real numbers through the official Loan Simulator. Plug in your income, your family size, your balance. See what each plan actually costs you per month and over the life of the loan. Real numbers, not guesses.

3. Decide which of the three borrowers above you are. Paying it off fast? Protecting cash flow? Needing breathing room? Your answer points you to your plan.

4. Actively enroll. Do not let the clock auto-enroll you. The default option is usually the most expensive one. Choosing on purpose is how you avoid getting stuck with a payment that doesn't fit your life.

This is exactly the kind of high-stakes, time-sensitive decision where one wrong move costs you for years. If you want help running your specific numbers and choosing the right path before your window closes, that's what the Power Hour is for.

See What This Means for Your Money
60-minute 1:1 session. Your questions answered. Walk away with a plan.

This week is about forgiving yourself.

We took the boys to Dave and Buster's this weekend. They each had a $50 gift card. The plan was simple... Michelle and I grab some appetizers, watch the World Cup, let the boys play for an hour or two. Cheap day.

Then I made a mistake.

I told the waiter I wanted two 275-ticket cards, which were $45 each. He heard two $90 game cards. I didn't catch it until we paid. And just like that, a $30 day became a $136 day.

I didn't make a scene. I just paid it.

And then I proceeded to beat myself up about it the entire car ride home. Stewing. Replaying it. Mad at myself for blowing up our entertainment budget for the month... and the month isn't even over. Well... it's the 30th. But still. Damnit.

Here's where I finally landed.

It happens. It was a mistake. It's not the end of the world. I let myself relax and I forgave myself.

We are all so quick to extend grace to everyone else and so brutal to ourselves over small stuff. A blown budget line for one month is not a character failure. It's a Tuesday. You note it, you adjust, you move on.

Give yourself some grace this week. You're doing better than the voice in your head says you are.

See you next week.

Inside the Modern Family Office — Black-led. Built to Stay In the Black.

Not financial advice. Do your own research. Talk to a professional.