| Alternatives to payday loans for the military As a Command Sergeant Major, I knew of Soldiers who fell for an “easy” solution with payday loans. I knew about the devastating consequences these loans can have on military families — how service members get trapped in an endless spiral of debt. And it’s easy to see how it happens. Whether it’s for car repairs, travel, or other unexpected bills, when consumers need immediate money their options are often limited. For service members, the choices can seem even fewer due to time constraints, lower-than-average pay, and a mobile lifestyle caused by deployments, training, and frequent moves. These conditions have traditionally meant that Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines have to borrow money. Since it’s often hard for them to obtain traditional financing, many military families use a credit card, borrow from family members, or get a payday loan. Credit cards, while convenient, can often take years to pay off if the consumer only makes the minimum payment. Borrowing from family members can cause undue stress at home. Payday loans offer short-term money, but the result can often lead to rollovers or the beginning of a long-term debt cycle. Payday loans, which charge from $15 to $30 per $100 loaned, have major drawbacks, as noted in studies by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL).
According to one CRL study, active-duty military personnel are three times more likely than civilians to use a payday lender, and one in five used the service last year. The study also notes that this costs military families more than $80 million a year in fees. While several states are looking to control the rates and amounts loaned by payday lenders for everyone, there is now federal legislation to regulate loans made to service members. Known as the Servicemembers Anti-Predatory Lending Protection Act, the bill caps the annual percentage rate on loans for service members at 36 percent and prohibit automatic rollovers. In response to the proliferation of payday loan products, several agencies, finance companies and banks have developed responsible alternatives for immediate cash needs:
In addition to offering a more responsible solution to paydays, companies are beginning to focus on financial education. Many financial institutions realize that education is the proactive solution to keeping military families out of harmful debt. The Department of Defense is also looking at increasing financial education efforts for those who serve. —————— MilitaryConnection.com thanks you for your patronage. This web site is a portal of all things military, and we are quickly becoming the “go to” web site for all things military. We are constantly adding resources, content and features to benefit our audience. Our web site and all of the resources are free to users, and there is something for everyone. Additionally, we feature finance articles like this to keep you informed. If you belong to a group or organization, we will post your press releases, special events, newsletters, professional conferences and seminars, reunions, job fairs, and videos to help spread the word. One of the areas of our focus is connecting candidates from the military community with outstanding government and civilian employers. We know that candidates from the military community across the board have a work ethic second to none. They make highly valued employees. MilitaryConnection.com has a multitude of employment resources including a Directory of over 30,000 employers, Job Tips, Columns, our new and improved Job Board, Virtual Job Fair and much more. We understand the importance of education. Please check out our new Education section, featuring the most up to date information on the new GI Bill, Education Articles, Education Benefits, and the Scholarship Directory featuring thousands of scholarships. When the next tour is back home, it’s on MilitaryConnection.com. |