My 3rd Loan Closed Through Prosper

Ok, so loan #3 closed.

I invested $100 at 9.45%.

The borrower has "A" credit and minimal debt.

The purpose of this loan is an "interesting" story. Apparently, the borrower want to help his brother get on track and is willing to extend his credit on behalf of his brother.

I will let you know how this plays out.

Touch Screen Ipod?

Ok, I know this isn't exactly financial info but I do use my Ipod a lot for money and investing audio books.

This story caught my eye regarding rumors about the next Ipod. It looks great if it is true.

Here is a good Ipod website too: www.IpodDetails.com

Person to Person Lending -- Let's See How It Goes

So, I have talked about investing in the past (see this post).

I happen to stumble across a site by the name of prosper.com. This site creates a person to person lending system.

This means...Joe Blo can post a loan needed and Frank Smith can offer to lend it. These are unsecured loans so the risk can be high. Especially if the borrower's credit stinks. I mean there is no carrot in place to encourage them to pay.

It's an interesting concept for sure. My gut feel says defaults will be higher than the national average but time will tell.

So, I dropped $1,000 bucks and opened my virtual bank.

My first 2 loans have closed. Here 's a short summary for each loan:

Loan #1

I invested $100

The borrower has a "B" credit grade which means he/she still has a decent FICO score.

The purpose of the loan is to fund an ongoing business

The loan closed at 13.75%.


Loan #2

I invested $200. I really meant to invest $100 but made an error and duplicated my bid. Oh well.

This borrower has a "C" credit grade which is still a somewhat decent FICO score.

The purpose of this loan is to consolidate debt.

The loan closed at 14.99% and 15.24%.....I actually outbid myself...ooopss.


I plan to post about my experiences from these loans. Hopefully Prosper turns into a solid vehicle for people to borrow and invest. But only time will tell....

Here are some of my favorite links...

Beer

Rock Climbing

Article Announcements

High Dividend Paying Dividends

China Can't Compete 'Cause You Can't Ship Rocks

You may have heard of Cramer (not the guy from Seinfeld) but the stock guru guy. He's a maniac that shouts and screams stock tips.

I ran across a recent article of his that has some interesting info. If you are looking for investment opportunities, this is something to consider. Here's an excerpt:

Start Article:

"I will do anything to help you make money, including working on the chain gang," Jim Cramer told "Mad Money" viewers Friday. Cramer told viewers that there is a boom in road building, or highway construction, in the U.S. He said there has been a 13% increase in highway and street spending, and new highway contracts were up over 25%.

In California, according to last week's Los Angeles Times, there's $140 billion worth of highway construction to be done, he says.

It's the perfect kind of pork we like on 'Mad Money' because it creates jobs," he said and promised to explain to viewers how to play the road-building boom during the remainder of the show.

The first way to play the pork is by buying stock in the rock companies.

Full Article: Investing in Rocks

How To Make Money Easily -- A Tired Topic?

How much money do you make on a daily basis? Are we talking minimum wage, or a nice fat salary? The truth is that we all make various incomes, and work in a number of different fields. However, this doesn't change our desire to make more. What is it with cold hard cash that drives us further and further? You could be like Bill Gates and raking in the billions, but for some inexplicable reason it's never quite enough. Well, we might as well chalk it up to a human flaw and move on. It's not like this desire hasn't been there since the beginning of time. In fact, I'll bet cave men were trading off all their teeth just to get more riches, regardless of if they needed them or not. Anyway, the point is we all strive to make money. The more capital, the better. Fortunately these days we can make money easily and do it from the comfort of our own homes.

Are you anxious to make money easily? Of course you are. The trick is finding out how to go about it. I believe that it all starts with an idea. If you have a great one, then take advantage of the World-Wide-Web and get it out there. You may want to hurry, before someone else does. I still kick myself for not starting a company like Pay Pal. I mean, come on! This was a brilliant idea to say the least. What innovative concepts or services do you have up your sleeve? Maybe you're looking to start your own landscaping business, or wanting to just learn the stock market game and make money easily from your sofa. One of the cool things about cyberspace is all the revenue. Did you know that people with websites can earn revenue? It all has to do with intriguing content that others are actually interested in viewing and web traffic. How many hits can you acquire in one day? Start your own websites and find out. This is a contemporary way to make money easily, and do it while you're lounging on a beach somewhere. Wow, you've got to love cyberspace.

If you're interested in more ways you can make money easily, then get online now. Find out just how much business is done from home these days. I think you'll be shocked to learn that you have the ability to make money easily, and do it without slaving away for "the man." There is a sea of green out there waiting. It's all about choosing the right vehicle to reach it.

Should You Be Forced to Buy Health Insurance?

This a controversial topic. It is my feeling everyone should be required to have health insurance. Here are my thoughts.

There are presently 45 million Americans that do not have health insurance. Are you one of them? There are many reasons why people do not buy health insurance. The number one reason and most obvious is the cost. However the cost to you and your family if you do not have insurance and are struck down with a major illness may mean complete bankruptcy. Another leading reason why people do not buy health insurance is when they switch companies and have a pre-existing condition. Often times a new company will not insure a person that has been diagnosed with a disease or chronic condition because they are considered a high use risk. Even though companies want you to buy health insurance they do not necessarily want you to use it. There are many alternative programs in most States in the United States that offer plans to people that have been denied insurance due to a pre-existing condition. These are not always well publicized but certainly worth looking into if you or a member of your family fits into this category, and not an option to overlook as you buy health insurance.

There are many companies and options to buy health insurance. Most of the major companies offer a free on line quote. Many of these companies also offer to provide comparisons for various plans within the company and also will compare the price of similar plans to their major competitors. The comparisons usually look at the type of deductible you are willing to pay as well as co-pays. A major flux in price from one plan to the next is whether or not prescription medications are covered or offered at a reduced rate with co-pay. Prescription coverage may not be necessary when you buy health insurance if you or your family members are not prescribed daily medication. The elderly that are more likely to have prescribed medications, have Medicare options to cover this area, so this is not as important of an issue for them when buying supplemental health insurance to pick up where Medicare ends. If you decide to have a price quote done it is important that you fill out what state you reside in when filling out the information for United States Citizens because at this time you can only buy health insurance from providers from the State you reside in. There is a bill in legislation at this time trying to amend this policy; however there is not a great deal of support for it. The state of Massachusetts is trying to pass a law that it be mandatory for all residents of that state to buy health insurance or face penalties, similar to the mandatory laws to have car insurance. The main debate with this type of legislation is what is affordable to one household is not affordable to another.

The crisis of millions of Americans without health insurance is costing tax payers millions of dollars annually. Individuals and families need to be protected so buy health insurance. If each person does buy health insurance the over all costs for everyone will decrease, because those with insurance do not have to pay higher cost for premiums to pay for the costs of those that do not have health care coverage.

So what do you think?

eBay: Post Negative Feedback - Get Sued

Whatever happened to the freedom of expressing your opinion? This guy wasn't too happy about the negative feedback an eBay buyer left -- so he sued. Go figure.

START ARTICLE

When an eBay seller threatened to sue Bruce Ingrassia for leaving negative feedback, Ingrassia thought he was bluffing.

Two months later a warrant arrived at his Santa Clara home from a small-claims court in a tiny town in a remote corner of Virginia. The seller accused Ingrassia of defamation of character and asked for a judgment of $1,945.

Read Full Article: Ebay Feedback Gets You Sued

A Word On Bottled Drinking Water

Do you drink bottled drinking water? If you do you’re not alone. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), more than half of all Americans buy bottled drinking water, to the tune of $4 billion yearly. Those majestic snow capped mountains and glaciers lead us to believe that bottled water is pure and safer to drink than tap water, but this may not always the case as presented on NRDC’s website at www.nrdc.org. Another reputable source on bottled drinking water is the World Health Organization, and you can visit this site at www.who.int for more information from another point of view. Not all bottled drinking water is under scrutiny, but not all is safe and pure either. You may just be buying tap water that has been bottled and then sold at like 10,000 times the cost of what you pay for your own tap water.

Why do consumers spend so much on bottled drinking water you ask? Some city tap water is less than desirable; it smells bad and tastes funky. That would be enough for me right there. But there are other reasons why people choose to buy bottled drinking water. It’s convenient too. Not everyone feels like carrying around a Nalgene bottle everyday. It’s just one more thing to keep track of throughout the day. Bottled drinking water is always an option to soda or other caloric beverages, and probably better for you even if some of it is just tap water. There has been much discussion the past few years about the contaminants present in public water supplies, which is why companies that package bottled drinking water are doing so well. Bottled drinking water just has the image of being safer and purer than what comes out of our tap. In all reality, we just shouldn’t have to choose bottled drinking water over tap water, even if it is trendier.

Before you start making regular expenditures for bottled drinking water you may want to check out the brand you care considering consuming great quantities of. Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water for instance, has a very customer friendly website at www.arrowheadwater.com where you can find answers to most if not all of your questions about this popular brand of bottled drinking water. Just check out the label of the next bottle of water you pick up to see if they have a website and just what type of information they provide to consumers. If they don’t provide what you want to know, then I’d be checking out another brand, or just sticking with the tap water. It’s cheaper.

It's Time To Get Out Of Debt!

Have you ever felt like the bills are weighing you down? Maybe those common expenses are getting out of hand. Are you maxing out credit cards just to keep up? Well, if this sounds all too familiar, then you're not alone. Many of us struggle with the hardships of finances and debt. This doesn't have to be the rain cloud putting a damper on your life. There are ways to get out of debt. It's time to hop online and do a little research before those bill collectors start breathing down your neck.

When I finished college I was certainly excited to be done with professors, tests, and books. Finally I could get a decent job and have a normal life with my family. You know, with a house, nice car, and 2.3 children. If it were only that easy. It was time for me to come to reality with my student loans and credit card bills. I had to figure out a way to get out of debt and live again. My first plan was to consolidate my student loans. This made it much easier to handle the monthly payments. I found a job fairly quickly, which was good. Now how long would it take me to actually get out of debt? Well, it was looking rather bleak. This is when I decided to jump online and see what other options I had. After some browsing through cyberspace, I came across some new ways to get out of debt. Did you know that there are grants for those who can't handle their debt or bills? The government will actually help you get out of debt in order to start living again. They have cash available to those who qualify and wish to open their own business.

Struggling to get out of debt can be an uphill battle for anyone. It is always prudent to exhaust your resources before throwing in the towel. Have you ever considered other ways to produce more income? With the Internet at our fingertips, our homes have become useful locations to make money. Try starting an online company, or selling via Ebay. A close friend of mine was in debt up to his eyeballs with credit card bills. He now sells laptop parts from the privacy of his own home in California and still makes a great living. He's out of debt and stress free, and he's his own boss. Computers have done wonders for those who need to get out of debt fast. Get online today and surf the web for answers to your financial problems.

Should Your Boss Be Concerned?

This is a funny one:

Gambling addict blew £1m of firm's money on internet bets

BRYAN BENJAFIELD’S bosses at a construction company were happy to see him hunched over his keyboard, beavering away at his job as an account administrator...Continue Reading

technorati tags:work, boss, internet, gambling, employee, gamble, money, fraud, steal, working