Best Personal Loans for Veterans, Plus Other Financial Help

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How to choose the best personal loan for veterans

There are a few things to consider as you compare personal loans.

Annual percentage rate: The annual percentage rate includes the loan’s interest rate and any fees, and it’s one of the best ways to measure affordability. For example, a two-year $5,000 loan with a 15% APR would cost $818 in interest. The same loan with a 10% APR would cost $537 in interest. The lower the APR, the cheaper it is to borrow the money.

Monthly payments: Consider a personal loan only if you're certain you can afford the monthly payments for the full term. Missing loan payments can lead to costly fees and lower your credit score, so make sure there’s enough room in your budget. Use our personal loan calculator to estimate your monthly payment.

Repayment term: Repayment terms on personal loans usually range from two to seven years, though longer terms are available from some lenders. If you choose a longer repayment term, you’ll have lower monthly payments, but you’ll also pay more in interest.

Funding time: Online lenders tend to fund loans faster than banks or credit unions, which can take a few days to a week to deposit the money into your account after you’re approved. Many online lenders promise next- or same-day funding.

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Special perks: Lenders will offer other benefits that may appeal to you. For example, if you’re using a loan to consolidate debt, you may want to search for lenders that offer direct payment to creditors, meaning they’ll send the money to your credit card companies so you don’t have to. Other lenders may include free financial education or a free monthly credit report as part of their loan product. Some lenders may offer special perks to active duty or retired military, like a rate discount.

How to qualify for a personal loan for veterans

Qualifying for a personal loan depends on your credit score, income and debt-to-income ratio. Here are the steps to boost your chances of qualifying for a personal loan.

Check your credit: It’s important to know your credit score before you apply for a personal loan since that may determine your loan options. You can get your free credit score at AnnualCreditReport.com or by signing up for a NerdWallet account.

Look for quick ways to improve your score before you apply. This may include disputing errors on your report, paying down your debt (even a small payment can help) and asking for a credit limit increase.

Pre-qualify: Pre-qualifying is one of the best ways to check to see if you qualify for a loan. It gives you access to potential loan terms, including the loan’s interest rate, loan amount and monthly payments, with no harm to your credit score since there’s no hard credit check.

By taking the steps to pre-qualify, ideally with multiple lenders, you have the advantage of comparing loan products to select the most affordable option. Though not all lenders offer pre-qualification, most online lenders do.

» MORE: Pre-qualify with lenders for free on NerdWallet

If the lender you’re interested in doesn’t offer pre-qualification, consider calling and asking to speak with a loan officer. Express your interest in the loan and ask what their qualification criteria are. You may be able to get information like a minimum credit score that can help you decide whether it’s worth applying.

Explore other loan types: If you have bad credit (629 credit score or lower), you can also boost your chances of qualifying by exploring options like a joint, co-signed or secured loan. Joint loans and co-signed loans involve adding another person — ideally with better credit or a higher income — to your loan application. A secured loan involves tying collateral to the loan, like a car or an investment account.

How to get a personal loan for veterans

Once you’ve pre-qualified with multiple lenders, it’s time to pick one and apply.

Personal loan applications are typically available online. You’ll be asked to provide basic personal information, including your Social Security number, and contact information like a home address, phone number and email address.

You also may be asked to show proof of identification and proof of employment and income.

» MORE: How to apply for a personal loan

After submitting your application, approval time can be instantaneous or take a few days, depending on the lender. Funding time also ranges from same-day to one week.

Once your loan is funded, you’ll want to make a plan for managing your payments, so you don’t fall behind on the loan.

Financial assistance, grants and resources for veterans

Veterans seeking personal loans or short-term emergency cash may have other resources such as grants, which provide free money with no repayment required, and financial assistance.

The below options are just a few of the many resources available to veterans. A complete list of veterans service organizations can be found through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Federal benefits

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: The VA’s annual guide to federal benefits for veterans, dependents, survivors and caregivers offers information on disability compensation, housing grants for disabled veterans and educational assistance.

U.S. Government Guide to Military Pay and Benefits: The U.S. Government maintains a webpage dedicated to military pay and retirement benefits (including pensions), plus tuition assistance, health benefits and burial and survivor benefits.

Job training and placement

Blue Star Families: This nonprofit organization has provided free resources and services to more than 1.5 million military families, including long-term job opportunities for military spouses.

Hiring Our Heroes: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation launched this nationwide initiative to help veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses find employment. Hiring Our Heroes hosts hiring fairs and education and networking programs, and offers a corporate fellowship program.

Grants

VFW Unmet Needs Program: The Veterans of Foreign Wars offers this program for military families who have financial difficulties stemming from deployment or other military-related activity or injury. It provides grants up to $2,500 and can be used for eligible expenses, which include household expenses, vehicle expenses, utilities, childcare and medical bills.

American Legion Temporary Financial Assistance Program: This nonprofit veterans organization awards cash grants of up to $1,500 to children of current active duty military or American Legion members to help meet an urgent need like shelter, food and health care costs.

Business grants and resources for veterans: Veterans who are looking to start a business or who are existing business owners can seek financial assistance through the Small Business Administration, which offers funding, training and federal contracting opportunities for veterans, as well as resources for military spouses.