The first step in living a fiscally responsible life is to understand what financial products are available and how they fit into your goals. Or at least that’s the idea behind the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recently launched Financial Coaching Initiative that aims to assist certain groups of consumers become financially independent and knowledgeable.

The new program, which targets recently transitioned veterans and economically vulnerable consumers, will place 60 certified financial coaches at Dept. of Labor American Job Centers around the country to provide individualized financial education services.

The initiative was created to provide the millions of economically vulnerable consumers and transitioning servicemembers the needed resources to reach their financial goals.

More than 100 million consumers are considered underserved financially or living below the poverty line, according to the CFPB.  By making coaching services readily available, the Bureau believes these consumers may be able to more easily obtain traditional services they currently lack, such as affordable and appropriate financial products.

As for the nearly 250,000 servicemembers who leave active duty each year, the Bureau hopes to make the often challenging transition easier.

While the Department of Defense offers a Transition Assistance Program (TAP) for military personnel leaving active duty, the CFPB says many of those servicemembers still lack experience in money management and find they may need help revising plans made while in TAP.

“At this point a trusted source of financial information and advice could make the difference in a successful transition to a financially stable post-military life,” the Bureau says.

And that’s exactly what the Financial Coaching Initiative has set out to do.

Coaches for the program, which will be located at an array of nonprofit organizations and Department of Labor American Job Centers around the U.S., are trained in financial coaching techniques, and will be accredited by the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education.

“Having a trusted, well-informed financial coach can increase your odds of financial success,” Richard Cordray, director of the CFPB says in a statement. “Our project aims to provide financial coaching services at critical points in consumers’ lives, especially as they transition from military service or from being unemployed.”

CFPB Launches Financial Coaching Initiative [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau]

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