# Sophia Underwood, AFC® — Military & Veterans Editor | PayKedge > Sophia Underwood: USMC veteran, Naval Academy grad, and AFC® with 7 years guiding servicemember finances — heads PayKedge's military and MLA-compliance content. Источник: https://paykedge.com/authors/sophia-underwood/ --- # Sophia Underwood, AFC® Military & Veterans Editor at PayKedge. A USMC veteran and Naval Academy graduate, she holds the AFC® designation and brings 7 years of financial-readiness counseling for military members — overseeing MLA-compliance review and content for active-duty personnel and veterans. SU **Sophia Underwood, AFC®** · USMC veteran 2008–2014 **On this page** Biography Credentials Areas of expertise Articles reviewed Conflicts of interest Contact ## Biography Sophia Underwood is the Military & Veterans Editor at PayKedge, where she leads content for servicemembers, veterans, and military families and signs off on Military Lending Act (MLA) compliance across the site. She graduated from the United States Naval Academy and served as a United States Marine Corps officer from 2008 to 2014. Following her active-duty service as a captain, which concluded in 2014, Sophia achieved the Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®) credential with a specialty in military needs and became part of the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society as a financial advisor. For over four years she conducted budget analyses, zero-interest loan evaluations, and pre-deployment finance sessions at bases across the US, offering guidance to more than 900 military and spouse families. From 2020 through 2024 Sophia served as a Military OneSource personal-financial counselor, contracted through the Department of Defense to deliver on-base and telephone counseling to active-duty, Guard, and Reserve members worldwide. She delivered hundreds of MLA briefings — including covered-borrower mechanics, the 36% MAPR cap, and the practical traps service members fall into with rent-a-bank and tribal-evasion structures. Sophia started with PayKedge in 2025. Her editorial priority: ensuring any content relevant to a service member or veteran is precise, practical, and acknowledges the distinctive financial stresses of military service — and that any lender shown to a covered borrower stays under the MLA ceiling. ## Credentials **Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®) — military focus** AFCPE Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®) · Active since 2015 **BS (Bachelor of Science)** United States Naval Academy · 2008 **Military service** United States Marine Corps, 2008–2014 · Honorably discharged as Captain **Years of experience** 7 years at Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society and Military OneSource ## Areas of expertise - **Military Lending Act compliance** — covered-borrower checks, MAPR calculation, safe harbor - **Military relief societies** — Navy-Marine Corps Relief, Army Emergency Relief, Air Force Aid Society, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance - **Deployment finance** — SCRA protections, dual-income gaps, family-readiness budgeting - **Veterans benefits** — VA education, VA home loans, disability compensation interactions - **Military family-readiness counseling** — PCS budgeting, spousal employment, OCONUS finance ## Articles reviewed by Sophia Sophia authored or reviewed: - [15 Payday Loan Alternatives Ranked by Cost](/beyond-payday/) — military section - [Payday Loans Online — Compare 23+ State-Licensed Lenders (2026)](/payday-loans/) — MLA review - [Payday Loans in Texas: Laws, Rates, Limits & Alternatives](/by-region/texas/) — military bases - [What is a Payday Loan? Plain-English Explainer](/money-guides/what-is-a-payday-loan/) - [Online Payday Loans](/payday-loans-online/) - [Payday Loans Near Me](/payday-loans-near-me/) - [Same-Day Payday Loans](/same-day-payday-loans/) - [Installment Loans](/installment-loans/) - [Title Loans](/title-loans/) - [Cash Advance](/cash-advance/) - [Bad-Credit Loans](/bad-credit-loans/) - [Compare to Payday Loans](/beyond-payday/) - [All Loan Products](/loan-products/) ##### By location - [All 50 States + DC](/by-region/) - [All Cities](/city-directory/) - [Texas](/by-region/texas/) - [California](/by-region/california/) - [Florida](/by-region/florida/) - [Ohio](/by-region/ohio/) ##### Learn & tools - [What Is a Payday Loan?](/money-guides/what-is-a-payday-loan/) - [Payday vs Installment](/money-guides/payday-vs-installment-vs-title/) - [Loan Cost Calculator](/tools/cost-calculator/) - [Eligibility Checker](/tools/state-eligibility-checker/) - [Scam Spotter](/tools/scam-spotter/) - [All Tools →](/tools/) - [If You Can’t Repay](/guides/what-if-you-cant-repay/) - [Borrower Stories](/stories/) ##### Company & legal - [Our Experts](/authors/) - [Editorial Policy](/editorial-policy/) - [Fact-Checking Policy](/fact-checking-policy/) - [Corrections](/corrections/) - [Ownership Disclosure](/ownership-disclosure/) - [Privacy Policy](/privacy/) - [Terms of Use](/terms/) - [All Pages (Sitemap)](/_sitemap.html) - [Do Not Sell or Share My Info](/privacy/#do-not-sell) PayKedge is owned and operated by PayKedge Labs, LLC. PayKedge is a lead-generation service, not a lender. We do not make credit decisions, do not lend money, and do not broker loans. PayKedge matches applicants with state-licensed third-party lenders. APRs vary by lender, by state, and by product. You are not obligated to use any offer presented. PayKedge does not represent or guarantee that any specific applicant will be approved. We do not charge applicants any fee. Payday lending is restricted or prohibited in several states. Where a product is not legally available, PayKedge shows lower-cost alternatives instead of a lender offer. See each [state guide](/by-region/) for the rules that apply to you. If you are a covered borrower under the federal Military Lending Act (10 U.S.C. § 987), federal law caps the Military APR on most consumer credit at 36%; PayKedge screens MLA status at application and will not refer covered borrowers to lenders that would exceed the cap. Privacy practices: see our [Privacy Policy](/privacy/). PayKedge does not sell your personal information outside the lender-matching purpose for which it was collected. California (CCPA/CPRA), Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia residents have additional privacy rights. This page is for general information only and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Consult a licensed advisor for individual decisions. Machine-readable listing: [pixelsforbots.com](https://pixelsforbots.com/)