NEWS AND
INFORMATION ABOUT MILITARY LOANS - READ THIS PAGE BEFORE
APPLYING FOR A MILITARY LOAN
Effective
October 1, 2007, the Department of Defense final regulation of
the Talent-Nelson amendment has imposed restrictions on
certain types of consumer lending. The final regulation
focused on predatory products, such as payday loans, car title
loans, and tax refund anticipation loans. The most
significant restriction is a 36 percent APR cap on loans to
Service members and their dependents, protecting military
families from excessive APR rates.
These new restriction will severely limit certain lenders
(payday and car title lenders especially) from continuing to
do business with Service members and their families.
Before
You Apply for a Military Loan
Before you apply for a military loan from a loan company check
with your base assistance office. In some cases, loans may be
available from military base assistance offices or
organizations such as the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society.
If you will be applying for a military loan from a military
loan company please see the list below. The list identifies
companies that adhere to the 36 percent cap and also
companies that don't.
THE
IMPORTANCE OF DEBT PRIORITIZATION
By
Karen Von Der Bruegge, Chief Marketing Officer for Pioneer
Services, a Division of MidCountry Bank
Credit is a fact of American life. Whether it’s a credit card,
mortgage, car payment, or even a business
needing extra funds to make a new product, almost all of us
look to various forms of borrowing to get
what we need and want.
The thing to remember is that not all credit is bad. It’s how
that credit is treated, prioritized, and paid
off that makes the difference.
It can be difficult for the average consumer to organize debt
effectively - confusion about interest rates
versus annual percentage rates (APR), not knowing payoff
amounts for certain debts, and the need
to balance monthly payments with long-term financial goals can
make the entire process too time
consuming and hard to grasp.
There are some strategies, however, that anyone can use to
prioritize debt and start conquering that
mountain of bills. Which ones you use will depend on your own
financial status, your goals, and other
such factors. But regardless of the strategies you employ, the
key is to start now and start making sense
of your debt.
Also note that in this article, “debt” includes more than just
loans or credit cards - it’s any revolving,
recurring bill you have each month. For this reason, utilities
and even rent are classified as “debt.”
Paying off debt
If you're not having issues making your monthly payments and
just want to reduce your debt load - or
you see a day coming when paying bills will be difficult, such
as when extra pay (combat pay, etc.)
ends - there are several different ways to do so.
Which one you choose will depend on your current financial
situation, and mixing and matching
methods from each is also effective.
Long-term strategy
This strategy looks at which bills will cost the most over
time. The goal is to pay the least amount
overall, over the course of years, rather than worrying about
month-to-month costs. It’s the most
fiscally responsible way to pay off debt, since it reduces the
amount of interest you pay overall.
With this strategy, you look at the total amount paid
throughout the lifetime of the obligation,
including interest and annual fees. For this reason, credit
cards should be at the top of the list when
using this strategy.
