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Private student loan interest rates fall for 5-year terms, rise for 10-year terms

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Our goal here at Credible Operations, Inc., NMLS Number 1681276, referred to as “Credible” below, is to give you the tools and confidence you need to improve your finances. Although we do promote products from our partner lenders who compensate us for our services, all opinions are our own.

The latest private student loan interest rates from the Credible marketplace, updated weekly. (iStock)

During the week of Aug. 5, 2024, average private student loan rates decreased for borrowers with credit scores of 720 or higher who used the Credible marketplace to take out 5-year variable-rate loans, while rates increased for 10-year fixed-rate loans.

  • 10-year fixed rate: 7.71%, up from 7.50% the week before, +0.21
  • 5-year variable rate: 11.93%, down from 12.34% the week before, -0.41

Through Credible, you can compare private student loan rates from multiple lenders.

For 10-year fixed private student loans, interest rates rose by 0.21 percentage points, while 5-year variable student loan interest fell by 0.41 percentage points.

Borrowers with good credit may find a lower rate with a private student loan than with some federal loans. For the 2024-25 academic school year, federal student loan rates will range from 6.53% to 9.08%. Private student loan rates for borrowers with good-to-excellent credit can be lower right now.

Because federal loans come with certain benefits, like access to income-driven repayment plans, you should always exhaust federal student loan options first before turning to private student loans to cover any funding gaps. Private lenders such as banks, credit unions, and online lenders provide private student loans. You can use private loans to pay for education costs and living expenses, which might not be covered by your federal education loans. 

Interest rates and terms on private student loans can vary depending on your financial situation, credit history, and the lender you choose.

Private student loan rates (graduate and undergraduate)

Who sets federal and private interest rates?

Congress sets federal student loan interest rates each year. These fixed interest rates depend on the type of federal loan you take out, your dependency status and your year in school.

Private student loan interest rates can be fixed or variable and depend on your credit, repayment term and other factors. As a general rule, the better your credit score, the lower your interest rate is likely to be.  

You can compare rates from multiple student loan lenders using Credible.

How does student loan interest work?

An interest rate is a percentage of the loan periodically tacked onto your balance — essentially the cost of borrowing money. Interest is one way lenders can make money from loans. Your monthly payment often pays interest first, with the rest going to the amount you initially borrowed (the principal). 

Getting a low interest rate could help you save money over the life of the loan and pay off your debt faster.

What is a fixed- vs. variable-rate loan?

Here’s the difference between a fixed and variable rate:

  • With a fixed rate, your monthly payment amount will stay the same over the course of your loan term.
  • With a variable rate, your payments might rise or fall based on changing interest rates.

Comparison shopping for private student loan rates is easy when you use Credible.

Calculate your savings

Using a student loan interest calculator will help you estimate your monthly payments and the total amount you’ll owe over the life of your federal or private student loans.

Once you enter your information, you’ll be able to see what your estimated monthly payment will be, the total you’ll pay in interest over the life of the loan and the total amount you’ll pay back. 

About Credible

Credible is a multi-lender marketplace that empowers consumers to discover financial products that are the best fit for their unique circumstances. Credible’s integrations with leading lenders and credit bureaus allow consumers to quickly compare accurate, personalized loan options – without putting their personal information at risk or affecting their credit score. The Credible marketplace provides an unrivaled customer experience, as reflected by over 7,600 positive Trustpilot reviews and a TrustScore of 4.8/5.

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A growing share of Gen Z adults don’t think they’ll retire

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Gen Z is the youngest generation of adults today, but with many struggling to make ends meet, a growing proportion say they do not expect to retire and few are socking away money to do so.

A new report from the TIAA Institute and UTA’s NextGen Practice found that a greater share of these adults age 27 and below do not anticipate retiring – at least in the traditional sense – after prior data showed nearly half of young adults either don’t want to retire, don’t believe they will be able to afford to, or are not thinking about it at all.

Man commuting to work

Gen Z as a whole has a very different view of retirement than previous generations, and a growing proportion of young adults say they do not plan on retiring at all. (iStock / iStock)

What’s more, just 20% of Gen Z respondents of working age say they are saving for retirement at all. While planning for retirement is important for everyone, saving for the future is critical for this generation that is projected to live past 100 years old. Yet, a higher cost of living could be impacting their ability to do so.

The study found that almost one-third of Gen Z (29%) are living paycheck-to-paycheck, with most of their money going to funding their basic needs, making it increasingly difficult for them to achieve financial milestones like homeownership while saving for their financial futures.

THIS AVOIDABLE SPENDING HABIT IS CREATING A RETIREMENT ‘CRISIS,’ FINANCIAL EXPERT WARNS

“Thirty-six percent of respondents cited high debt or low income as the primary reason they are not saving for retirement,” Surya Kolluri, head of the TIAA Institute told FOX Business. “Gen Z is spending more on essentials than previous generations.”

Anxiety at work

Inflation is weighing on Gen Z’s finances more than prior generations, data shows. (iStock / iStock)

Kolluri said it is true that Gen Z is bearing the brunt of inflation more than the generations that preceded them, noting that as of this year, the annual inflation rate for Gen Z was half a percent higher than it was for other generations at the same age. 

SILVER CEILING: CAREER EXPERT WARNS DELAYED RETIREMENT TREND COULD HAVE ‘RIPPLE EFFECT’ ON YOUNGER GENERATIONS

But Kolluri pointed to some positive findings in the data, too. He said that while only 1 in 5 reported saving for retirement, 66% of those who are saving for retirement are doing so through 401(k)s

There is also at least an awareness amid Gen Z’ers that it is important to save for the future. Eighty-four percent report saving a portion of their income each month (albeit not for retirement), and 57% say they have a budget that they stick to.

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Kolluri noted 52% of Gen Z reported putting savings into savings accounts because they value the liquidity that supports current financial freedom. 

“They do not equate saving for retirement as helping to ensure their financial freedom later in life…and ‘freedom’ is a concept that is very important to Gen Z,” he said. “They want flexibility and access to savings if and as they want.”

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After rejecting Google takeover, Wiz says will IPO when ‘stars align’

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Wiz co-founder discusses the company's expansion into the UK

LONDON — Cybersecurity firm Wiz is seeking to hit $1 billion of annual recurring revenues next year, the company’s billionaire co-founder Roy Reznik told CNBC, adding that the firm will go public “when the stars align.”

Wiz makes software that connects to cloud storage providers like Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure and scans for everything it stores in the cloud, helping organizations identify and remove risks in their cloud environments. It was founded by four Israeli friends while they served in 8200, the intelligence unit of Israel’s army, and most of Wiz’s engineering personnel are still based in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Earlier this year, the company rejected a $23-billion acquisition bid from Google, which would have marked the tech giant’s largest-ever takeover. At the time, Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport said the startup was “flattered” by the offer, but would remain an independent company and aim to list instead.

Speaking with CNBC at Wiz’s new office space in London, Reznik said that the company has received offers from “many people that want to get their hands on Wiz stock” — but that, while “very flattering,” the firm still thinks it can do it alone by going public.

“We’ve already broken a few records as a private company, and we believe we can also break a few more records as an independent public company as well,” Reznik said.

Four-year-old Wiz has raised $1.9 billion in venture capital to date, including $1 billion secured this year in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Thrive Capital at a valuation of $12 billion.

In 2022, Wiz said it had reached $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), up from just $1 million in 18 months. At the time, the startup said it was “the fastest software company to achieve this feat.”

Reznik, who is the vice president of research and development at Wiz, said the firm now hopes to double from the $500 million of ARR it achieved this year and hit $1 billion in ARR in 2025, which CEO Rappaport cited as a key condition before the company goes public.

UK expansion

Wiz has been expanding its presence internationally, with a particular focus on Europe, from where it sources 35% of its revenues. Last month, the firm opened its first European office in London.

Wiz co-founder discusses the company's expansion into the UK

“I think the talent here is amazing, and the ecosystem is amazing,” Reznik told CNBC. “We have always been very much involved in Europe — and specifically the U.K. — and I feel like it’s a natural evolvement of Wiz to double down even more here in London and the U.K.”

The U.K. represents a major growth opportunity when it comes to cybersecurity, Reznik said, adding that recent events like the cyberattack on National Health Service hospitals and an incident affecting Transport for London have “roof topped” the level of interest in the kinds of products Wiz offers.

“The cloud market is going to reach $1 trillion over the next next few years,” Reznik, who moved from Israel to the U.K. just three months ago, told CNBC. “This year is going to be around $700 million, while security is just 4% out of that, I would say. So that makes it a $30 billion market, which is huge.”

Speaking about the U.K. market, Reznik said: “We see a lot of interest here. Many of the largest banks and retailers, are Wiz customers. But we’re also seeing a huge potential for growth.”

Wiz’s customers include online retailer ASOS and digital bank Revolut as customers in the U.K.

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