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May 20, 2006    |      1 comment

Credit Card Debt Update – $31,965

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I’ve been waiting all month to get the statement for Credit Card #2 today so I could update my debt. As you can tell in my little “chart” there is a significant change from April 30. Today has actually been a bummer of a day for other reasons (I’ll write later on that), but seeing that number puts a smile to my face.

I have to give a lot of credit to my tax return. It really gave a jump start to reducing my debt. Now, from this point forward, the only way I will be able to reduce that number is from our income and possibly from selling some personal items. I no longer have large chunks of money coming to use towards debt.

I admit, I am a little nervous but I’m so ready to see where this goes and see what happens. I wonder how I will feel when I can write, “Credit Card Debt Update – $0”. I smile ear to ear just thinking about it 🙂

May 20, 2006    |       9 comments

Could Prosper Help Someone Like Me?

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If you haven’t heard about Prosper yet, it’s a people to people lending site. If you need money – it’s a way to get it. If you have money – it’s a way to help someone out and make some money from the interest the borrowers pay.

All and all, I think the site was started with a great thing in mind.

I’ve been curious about it because I have been trying to get the balance off of Credit Card #2 so I can transfer it back on for a lower rate (the rate is currently 16.49%). I tried going to a bank once for a loan, and that didn’t work. Could something like Prosper work for me?

As of this moment, there are not many people with funded loan requests. And those with funded requests appear to have the lower debt to income ratios (less than 20%). My ratio is 52% and I think that would be too high for lenders to even take a second glance at me. I can’t blame them – I know if I had money to lend, I would fund loans of people that I felt would pay back. The harsh reality is that a higher ratio means you are more likely to default.

It will be interesting to see if the site will gain more attention and possibly more loans will be funded for those with a ratio similar to mine. I think for now I will pass on the possiblitiy of using Prosper, but I will keep a watchful eye on the site’s progress. Who knows – maybe in a few years I can be on the Lender’s side of the site 🙂

For more reading, there is an article in the Wall Street Journal written by someone who is lending money to others via Prosper.

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