Personal finance reading.

Learn more about P2P lending.

Numerous stories are popping up around the personal finance blogosphere with regard to the fact that Chase is raising the minimum payment on its credit cards. Last month, I wrote a post about things are about to get ugly for consumers in terms of their credit card accounts. So it was no surprise when that post (although a month old) saw this recent comment from a reader, Lisa:
Yesterday (6-25-2009) I got a notice saying my “minimum” monthly payment was going from 2% to 5%. That means my payment of $345.00 will start to be $810.00 in August. I will not …read more

Prosper may allow you to lend to banks.

Not too long ago, I was introduced to Lending Club. I find it an intriguing way to invest, and have enjoyed buying a few notes. While P2P lending isn’t for everyone, I think that there are benefits to the process for those who are interested in helping others while making a return — as long as they can stomach the risk that comes with such an investment.
Funding an IRA through Lending Club
I was interested, therefore, to learn that Lending Club now offers an IRA option. You can fund a retirement account through Lending Club. Here is something from an email …read more

I’ve got a randomly selected winner for the $100 Lending Club giveaway:
Betty C.
Congratulations! I’ll be emailing you shortly with the details of how you can collect your $100 from Lending Club.
Thanks everyone who left comments and entered the contest. Hopefully, at the very least, you all learned about an interesting new opportunity through P2P lending.

Go to the Lending Club review and leave a comment on THAT post to enter for a $100 giveaway. You have until tonight, Friday, March 13, 2009 at 11:59 pm Eastern to enter.
Good luck!

Last week I mentioned that I was trying out Lending Club. And, now that I’ve given it a spin, here is the rundown of what Lending Club is all about. Oh, and one of you lucky readers can have a free $100 in your Lending Club account. Here are the rules of this $100 giveaway from Lending Club:

Leave a comment on this post by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time this Friday, March 13, 2009. Make sure you have a valid email address, or I won’t be able to contact you — if you win.
Sign up for Lending Club. It’s free. But …read more

I just received an interesting proposal: Try out Lending Club and get $100 for one of my readers! The only condition is that I try that site out (they’ll give me $50 to put in my account), and the write about my experience.
I’ve toyed with the idea of microfinance through such organizations as Kiva.org. Now that I’ve connected with Lending Club, I’m excited to be entering the world of P2P lending, and sharing my thoughts.
I don’t have all the details worked out, but when I do, I will post contest rules. Stay tuned, you may be the one to get …read more