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Office of Work-Life Programs -
Financial Management Program

Who is Eligible for this Program?
The Financial Management Program is available to the following members of Team Coast Guard:

Active Duty, Reservists, Retirees and their dependents
Civil Service employees
Exchange System and MWR employees

Purpose of Program
The Financial Management Program is intended to provide practical information and financial planning tools to eligible members experiencing financial difficulties.

Program Confidentiality
Discussions of individual personal finance are confidential.

Services and Resources Available

Employee Assistance Program Coordinator (EAPC)
EAPC's are located on the Work-Life Staff at each Integrated Support Command and the Headquarters Support Command. EAPC's can assist you with obtaining help with financial issues, and with any problems that may accompany those difficulties. Information on contacting your EAPC is provided below.
Employee Assistance Program (1-800-222-0364) Financial Consultation Program
Offers objective, targeted information on a wide range of issues including retirement planning, education funding, debt management, estate planning, savings and investment strategies. Also offers counseling regarding any problems that may accompany the financial difficulties. Registration required.

Related Program Information
Often financial difficulties are accompanied by other problems. Anyone experiencing financial problems is encouraged to talk to their regional EAPC, or call the EAP toll-free number at 1-800-222-0364. In addition to addressing the financial issues, the EAPC or EAP counselor can help you identify and address any other problems you may be facing.

Related Web Sites
The following web sites provide information related to the Financial Management Program:

Coast Guard Mutual Assistance - CGMA offers financial assistance and counseling. To learn more about these services visit the Coast Guard Mutual Assistance web site.
Air Force Crossroads - This Air Force website provides links for everything from Car Buying and College Planning to Personal Investing and State/Federal Taxes. A good portal to a wealth of useful information.
The Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB) - This organization has a program devoted to providing Coast Guard and DoD members and civilian employees and their families with consumer education, related workshops and advocacy. It provides custom educational materials, breaking news on consumer issues affecting the military, access to BBB reliability reports and complaint systems, and subscriber information for a free monthly BBB Military Line e-newsletter. In addition, all 165 local BBBs and branches stand ready to assist callers.
The Department of Defense (DOD) Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP) - Applies to eligible service members of all branches, including the Coast Guard, and federal civilian, including non-appropriated fund, employees. The program is administered by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and is designed to assist eligible homeowners who face financial loss when selling their primary residence homes in areas where real estate values have declined because of a base closure or realignment announcement. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) has temporarily expanded the HAP to cover additional situations impacting service members required to permanently relocate during the home mortgage crisis.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) - FDIC is an independent agency of the federal government whose mission is to preserve and promote public confidence in the U.S. financial system. Their website provides a wealth of consumer information related to the banking industry. The site also offers resources to educate and protect consumers including the Money Smart Computer-Based Instruction (CBI) course, a friendly and easy to use learning tool that teaches the 10 modules of the Money Smart curriculum through a computer. Each module generally takes between 20-30 minutes to complete. Students receive ongoing feedback and, upon successful completion of each module, can print out a personalized certificate of completion.
Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection - Offers a wealth of information related to consumer issues including health care products and services, shopping for energy efficient appliances, child safety issues on the internet, and home mortgages among many others. FTC’s brochures are free to the public. To order up to 50 copies of each go to http://bulkorder.ftc.gov.
Federal Trade Commission’s Free Annual Credit Reports - Useful information and links from the FTC on how you can access your credit report for free every 12 months.
Feedthepig.org - Sponsored by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and The Advertising Council. The goal of the Feed the Pig campaign is to encourage and help Americans aged 25 to 34 to take control of their personal finances. This site is a lot of fun and its “spokespig,” Benjamin Bankes, is a real hoot.
Free Tax Returns - For taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes of $58,000 or less. Qualifiers can use any of the private companies and nonprofits that are participating in this Internal Revenue Service-sponsored program. What to do: go to www.irs.gov for more information, then visit the individual company websites linked there to find out each firm’s requirements for participation.
Military Saves - A Joint DoD and Consumer Federation of America initiative committed to helping and supporting military members and their loved ones to build personal savings arsenals to provide for their immediate and long term needs. The site provides information on how to save on auto purchases, save for emergencies, save for a home, get out of debt, and manage savings and investments.
MyMoney.gov - This web site was created by The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act of 2003. The FACT Act established the Financial Literacy and Education Commission which consists of 20 federal agencies. The Commission helps develop national policy on financial literacy and coordinates Federal financial education resources so people can better access needed education. Provides access to an extensive array of financial tools and educational materials.
National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) - A great site for useful information and services related to debt management. NFCC is the nation's largest and longest serving national nonprofit credit counseling organization. Coast Guard Mutual Assistance has long partnered with NFCC and will pay reasonable fees for counseling services provided by their member agencies, Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) offices, nation-wide. To find a CCCS office near you go to www.debtadvice.org/TakeTheFirstStep/locator.cfm or call 1-800-388-2227.
National Military Family Association - This organization's website provides information for military families concerning their rights. benefits and services available to them. Includes links for services available through the military branches. It also advocates on behalf of military families.
PayDay Loan Website - Consumer Federation of America (CFA) has developed this site to make people more aware of the pitfalls of payday lenders. It is excellent and has information broken out by state.
SaveAndInvest.org - SaveAndInvest.org is a great source for objective answers, unbiased investing resources and straight-talking financial information and tools. It's a free service of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Investor Education Foundation, formerly known as the National Association of Securities Dealers’ Investor Education Foundation and was designed with military members in mind. Includes lots of sound advice.
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) - While protecting the United States during the war on terrorism, some servicemen and servicewomen may face difficulty in meeting certain financial obligations at home, such as rent or mortgage payments, if they are activated for military duty. This Department of Housing and Urban Development website describes SCRA and provides information that servicemembers can use to avoid losing their home.
The 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy - A public service website of the American Institute of Certified Professional Accountants. It offers 260 different financial tools, over 300 articles on financial topics and answers to over 500 frequently asked questions. Information is tailored to “Life Stages” including “Military and Reserves.” A unique and completely free additional feature is that visitors can submit financial questions and receive answers from volunteer Certified Professional Accountants. Click on “Ask the Money Dr.”
Treasury Department Technical Assistance Center - (202) 622-9372. This link and telephone number will put you in touch with extensive information on establishing and improving financial literacy programs.
The USAA Educational Foundation - Helps consumers make informed decisions by providing information on many life topics including Vehicle, Family, Financial, House and Insurance. See helpful booklets on Families Dealing With Deployment, Balancing Family and Career, Managing Credit and Debt, When A Loved One Dies: Coping With Grief.
Veteran's Administration (VA) Home Loan Guaranty Services - The Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2008 gives the VA the authority to restructure subprime mortgages. Veterans with conventional home loans now have new options for refinancing to a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) guaranteed home loan. Veterans who wish to refinance their subprime or conventional mortgage may now do so for up to 100 percent of the value of the property. The maximum loan amount for these types of refinancing loans has also been raised from $144,000 up to $729,750. To obtain help from a VA Loan Specialist, veterans may call VA at 1-877-827-3702.
What’s The Cost? - What's The Cost contains free financial calculators which let you calculate the “true” long term costs of financial products such as loans, mortgages, credit cards etc., and costly habits such drinking and smoking. You can reduce your debt faster by calculating how much you could save by overpaying on a mortgage, which debts to pay down first and more.

Point of Contact
If you are unable to contact the Employee Assistance Program Coordinator on your Regional Work-Life Staff, or need additional assistance beyond the information provided here, please contact the Headquarters Employee Assistance Program Manager, Ms. Lisa Teems, CG-1112, at (202) 475-5157, Fax: (202) 475-5907 or email at Lisa.A.Teems@uscg.mil.

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Last Modified 1/26/2012

Security Levels

Office of Work-Life Programs - Financial Management Program

Office of Work-Life Programs -
Financial Management Program