With veterans facing high unemployment rates and pending budget cuts, Massachusetts organizations team up to provide military personnel with critical financial education services.
March 13, 2014
On Saturday, March 22nd, national nonprofit American Consumer Credit Counseling will participate in a financial literacy conference geared specifically toward veterans, active military members, and their families. The first-ever Operation Money Wise, a free conference hosted by the Massachusetts Office of Financial Literacy, will offer advice on a variety of topics including how to develop healthy spending and saving skills, how to protect assets from predatory lending practices, and what financial tools and benefits are available to service members and veterans.
“We are passionate about helping servicemen and women prepare for a healthy financial future,” said Steve Trumble, president and CEO of Newton-based American Consumer Credit Counseling. “We are proud to work with Operation Money Wise to provide skills in money management, budgeting, and financial literacy because veterans and military members face very persistent financial challenges every day.”
Current political and economic developments are creating an even greater demand for financial education and budgeting resources for veterans, active military members, and their families. According to a recent CBS News article, the Pentagon’s proposed budget cuts could force roughly 90,000 servicemen and women to seek civilian jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data released for January indicates that the current unemployment rate for the latest generation of veterans is at 7.3 percent, higher than the overall unemployment rate of 6.7 percent.
“For service members and veterans, the dynamics of supporting a household can be especially complex,” continued Trumble. “Proper budgeting coupled with other forms of financial planning can mark the difference between making ends meet, or not. We believe that financial counseling plays a critical role in helping this group plan for their current needs and future goals.”
Historically, ACCC has played an important role in providing financial services to those who fight for freedom. In 2013, ACCC launched the Veterans and Military Personnel Online Financial Education Center to provide former and current military members with the information and tools to evaluate their current financial situations, assist with future planning and analysis, and create target plans to manager and overcome their financial challenges.
“The challenges of veterans and active military members are numerous – frequent relocation, separation from family and friends, the stresses of deployment, and returning to limited employment opportunities – just to name a few,” said Trumble. “These challenges combine to make this population especially vulnerable to financial woes, however, programs like Operation Money Wise equip individuals with knowledge of financial tools and the benefits available to them.”
Operation Money Wise will take place on Saturday March, 22nd at Mass Bay Community College in Wellesley, MA. The conference is sponsored by Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services, the Massachusetts National Guard, and the Financial Literacy Trust Fund. For more information and to register, visit www.mass.gov/treasury/operationmoneywise or call (617) 367-9333 Ext. 615.
ACCC’s certified and experienced counselors offer various financial education, counseling and debt management services to help consumers achieve long-term financial health and stability. ACCC works closely with various military and veterans financial education programs such as the National Guards Yellow Ribbon program and the New England Center for Homeless Veterans.
ACCC is a 501(c)3 organization, that provides free credit counseling, bankruptcy counseling, and housing counseling to consumers nationwide in need of financial literacy education and money management. For more information, contact ACCC:
- For credit counseling, call 800-769-3571
- For bankruptcy counseling, call 866-826-6924
- For housing counseling, call 866-826-7180
- For more information on financial education workshops in New England, call 800-769-3571 x1980
- Or visit us online at ConsumerCredit.com
About American Consumer Credit Counseling
American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC) is a nonprofit credit counseling 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to empowering consumers to achieve financial management and debt relief through education, credit counseling, and debt management solutions. As experts in debt and credit management, ACCC is well equipped to assist our US military service members and veterans with the unique financial challenges they face. ACCC provides veterans and current military personnel with the personal finance tools needed to evaluate their financial situation and determine the best possible debt solutions to ease their transition before, after, and during deployment. As one of the nation’s leading providers of personal finance education and credit counseling services, ACCC’s certified credit advisors work with consumers to help them determine the best plan of action to get out of debt and regain financial stability. ACCC holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and is a member of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies. For more information or to access free personal finance resources, log on to ConsumerCredit.com or visit TalkingCentsBlog.com.
