Check Out These Financial Literacy Programs for Veterans

Make sure you know how to protect the money you earned serving your country

Katherine Gustafson,

AARP Experience Counts

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Published August 01, 2024

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Since 2016, the Department of Defense has been required by law to provide financial literacy education to all members of the U.S. military through its Office of Financial Readiness (OFR). OFR offers many resources and educational materials and makes personal financial managers and counselors available to servicemembers.

But once members of the armed forces enter civilian life, they may find they need a bit more training and assistance to design a healthy financial future. There are a number of high-quality financial literacy programs that are either designed for veterans or serve many veterans.

Check out the options below to see which might fit you needs:

VeteransPlus financial literacy programs

VeteransPlus is an organization that helps former military and their families learn how to successfully manage their finances. Veterans can receive one-on-one personalized phone coaching on money management and free financial planning advice.

Former servicemembers can also tap into the Military and Veterans Family Outreach program, a curriculum developed by financial experts and approved by the DoD to educate on financial issues that the military community is likely to face at each phase of deployment and reintegration into civilian life.

Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) Financial Education program

The WWP’s program provides veterans with opportunities and financial resources such as webinars, assessments, and articles that help them achieve financial wellness. It is available to all those registered with WWP and their family support members.

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Additionally, the organization’s Warriors to Work program helps veterans take steps in their career to contribute to their financial health. And the WWP Benefits Services team helps veterans ensure they’re getting all the benefits they are entitled to.

USAA Educational Foundation

The educational arm of USAA insurance and banking company provides financial literacy resources designed to help the military community achieve financial health. Topics include planning, budgeting and saving, credit and debt, insurance, and retirement and estate planning. Take the organization’s online financial health assessment to get started.

San Diego Financial Literacy Center (California)

The San Diego Financial Literacy Center offers one-on-one financial planning help to at-risk, low-income communities in San Diego through free clinics. Certified Financial Planner (CFP) professionals provide confidential advice and guidance. Many of the beneficiaries of this program are active military or veterans.

Veterans Financial Literacy Program (Florida)

This program, which took place for the first time in fall 2023, is a joint venture of the Business Law Section of the Florida Bar’s Pro Bono Committee and Financial Literacy Task Force, and Mission United Broward and Legal Services of Greater Miami. Volunteers helped veterans learn about financial management and how to address monetary problems. There is no information about whether this program will recur.

Khan Academy Financial Literacy Courses

While Khan Academy’s course of study in financial literacy isn’t focused on the military or veterans, it is free and excellent. Offered by one of the most prominent and high-quality online education sites, the course provides a solid foundation on the subject to participants anywhere in the world. This self-guided, 11-unit financial literacy content is engaging and teaches 40 skills to help you better your financial future.

Finance for Everyone: Smart Tools for Decision-Making

University of Michigan offers this free online course that provides a practical overview about how to make everyday financial decisions. Taught by a finance professor from the university’s business school, the self-paced course can take around six weeks and doesn’t require any special knowledge. Participants walk away with fundamental tools and skills for managing money and a better understanding of the time value of money.

Personalized financial advice for veterans

While financial literacy training and education programs are a good option for those looking for a broad overview on the topic, many veterans will eventually need more personalized financial guidance.

There’s a resource to help with that, too: the Military Financial Advisors Association provides access to fee-only (no-commission) advisors who specialize in guiding military members, reservists, and veterans in managing their finances.

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Katherine Gustafson is a freelance writer specializing in creating content related to technology, business, finance, the environment and other topics for companies and nonprofits such as Visa, Adobe, Lumeon, Skift and the World Wildlife Fund. Her writing has appeared in a variety of publications including Slate, TechCrunch, YES! Magazine and Forbes.