Veterans Resources from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The following resources appeared in a post by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sent at 04/26/2021 12:00 PM ED. We are re-posting them for your convenience.

Misadventures in Money Managament (MiMM):

MiMM is a virtual learning experience that fills a critical gap in financial education topics for all servicemembers. The training uses the style of “graphic novel meets choose your own adventure” and lets people practice making financial choices and see the outcome of those choices. The program covers topics including understanding:

the importance of building savings
how to avoid impulse purchases
how debt can affect a military career
financial decision-making

Borrowing money: Your rights under the Military Lending Act (MLA):

The MLA applies to active duty service members (including those on active Guard or active Reserve duty), spouses, and certain dependents. It limits the interest rates that may be charged on many types of consumer loans to no more than 36% and provides other important protections.

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA):

The SCRA limits the amount of interest you can be charged for certain loans or other obligations you took out prior to entry into active duty military service to 6 percent.

Servicemembers, arm yourself with basic car buying skills:

Read our four-part joint blog series with the Federal Trade Commission on how to shop for auto financing, how to decide whether to buy a new or used car, how to trade in a car, and how to stand your guard when it comes to costly auto add-on products.

Dealing with debt collection (PDF):

For service members, trouble with your personal finances can put your duty status, potential promotions, and even your military career in jeopardy. Your first instinct may be to hide or ignore the situation and hope it goes away. But that can make things worse. Instead, take action to protect yourself – and protect your rights, by knowing what’s OK for a debt collector to do and what’s not.

Strategies for tackling student loan debt (PDF):

Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), servicemembers can reduce their interest rate to 6 percent on all pre-service obligations, including student loans, while they are on active duty. The lower interest rate can be requested up to 180 days after leaving service, and the lower interest rate will be applied retroactively for the entire period of your active-duty military service.