Military Loans Information

"A thing is worth only what someone will pay for it."

If you want to know how much your car, house, or dog is worth, put it up on craigslist and see if you get any bites.  We always tend to think our possessions are worth more than they really are, and we're surprised when no one wants to buy our shiny new Hummer for the edmunds.com private party price.

The only real way to see what kind of military loans you can get is to go shopping.  See what offers you get.  We can put up target rates all day long, but until you price them out, it's all fantasy.

The Goat here to give you the quick and dirty on military loans again.  Time is precious so let's help each other save it with some to-the-point nuggets of truth.

You want a FICO credit score above 720 or so.  That usually qualifies you for the best loan rates.  Lower is worse, and below 600 or so you should spend all of your effort cleaning and repairing your credit.  A 680 FICO loan costs $1000 more than a 720 FICO loan on a $25,000 auto loan.  Most loans go up about 1% (about $1000 on a 25k loan) per 40 FICO.  If you did the math, the time you spend repairing your credit might be worth over $50 an hour.  Think about it, but not too long.  Better you take action and take control.

Today's rates (APR) for the best military loans:

VA Home Military Loans: 6.4% APR

Auto Military Loans: 6.7% APR

Payday Military Loans: Don't!

 Below are a couple of tools that you may find useful for running the numbers and getting the latest info (these are not specific to military loans, but rather loans in general).  We do not endorse the links that these widgets go to, so click at your own risk!  Enjoy:

Generally speaking, loans are a type of debt.  Anything can be lent; but for the purposes of this website, we are focusing exclusively on monetary loans--specifically military loans.  A loan is primarily defined by the distribution of monetary assets over a period of time with regards to the borrower and the lender.

The Military Loans Borrower

A borrower will initially receive some money from the lender, which they will pay back.  Usually this will be in the form of regular installments to the lender, however it does not have to work this way (if other arrangements are made).  These services are almost always provided at a cost to the borrower, commonly referred to as interest.  In addition, the terms of the loan typically subjects borrowers to certain restrictions or loan covenants (defined in the contract).  Military loans are special because they typically provide both the borrower and/or the lender some sort of protection during the loan process.  For the borrower, this could mean lower interests rates (i.e. federally regulated), less restrictive loan covenants, or preferential treatment for qualification.

Payday advance military loans (also called payday loans or paycheck advances) are short-term loans for small amounts of money (relatively speaking) and are meant to cover cost’s until your next payday.  Usually they range from $100 to $500 with two weeks until they are due.  They are marketed by the lender in terms of fees, as opposed to interest rates, due to their short term nature.  For two week loans, fees are usually $15 per $100 (however, they do commonly range from $10 to $30 depending on the lender).  Another term referencing this type of loan is cash advance, however this is usually referring to cash from an existing line of credit like a credit card.

Below is a compilation of several links regarding military loans.  Feel free to browse these links and let us know if there is something we should add.  Thanks.

Start here if you want to ask a question or share some advice on military loans in general or specifically general purpose military loans.