Biography

Curtis Nakamura is the Military & Veterans Editor at Big Daddy Loans, where he leads content for servicemembers, veterans, and military families and signs off on Military Lending Act (MLA) compliance across the site. He graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2007 and served as a Finance Corps officer in the U.S. Army from 2007 to 2013, leaving active duty as a Captain.

After separating from the Army, Curtis earned the Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®) designation with a military focus and joined the Army Community Service (ACS) financial readiness program at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. Over four years there he delivered one-on-one counseling sessions, led unit financial-readiness briefings, and built a budget curriculum used across multiple installation directorates — with particular emphasis on the debt traps that catch junior enlisted soldiers early in their careers.

From 2018 through 2024 Curtis served as a contracted financial counselor under the Army's Soldier for Life Transition Assistance Program (SFL-TAP), helping transitioning soldiers across multiple installations understand VA loan eligibility, GI Bill interactions with existing student debt, and the gap-period finance risks that come with moving from military pay to civilian income. He delivered regular sessions on MLA-covered borrower status and the 36% MAPR cap.

Curtis joined Big Daddy Loans in 2025. His review focus: making sure every page that touches a servicemember or veteran correctly reflects the protections and programs available to them — and that no lender presented to a covered borrower would exceed the MLA rate ceiling.

Credentials

Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®) — military focus
AFCPE Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®) · Active since 2014
BS (Bachelor of Science)
University of Hawaii at Manoa · 2007
Military service
U.S. Army Finance Corps, 2007–2013 · Honorably discharged as Captain
Years of experience
11 years at Army Community Service and Army SFL-TAP transition assistance

Areas of expertise

  • Military Lending Act compliance — covered-borrower definitions, MAPR calculation, active-duty alerts
  • SCRA protections — interest-rate caps on pre-service debt, lease and mortgage relief, credit-reporting rules
  • Army financial readiness — ACS money-management programs, unit briefings, command referrals
  • Veterans transition assistance — SFL-TAP counseling, VA loan basics, GI Bill interactions with student debt
  • Military family budgeting — PCS move costs, BAH changes on relocation, spousal employment income gaps

Articles reviewed by Curtis

Curtis authored or reviewed:

Conflict of interest disclosure

Disclosure. Curtis holds no financial interest in any lender, lead generator, or financial-services firm reviewed on Big Daddy Loans. His compensation is a salaried editorial role with no application-referral component. He has no paid consulting relationships with commercial lenders or debt-relief companies. He volunteers informally with a veterans service organization in his community. Nothing on this site or on Big Daddy Loans constitutes VA-benefits, legal, or financial advice.

Contact

For military-content questions, MLA-compliance flags, or interview requests, contact [email protected].