So tonight I happen to get on the computer again and in my inbox is an email from Prosper. I had a question from a perspective lender! Whoa! I logged into my Prosper account and 1% of my loan has been funded. Yippee???

Or is it a pitty bid?

If I can manage the time I will go talk to someone at my credit union tomorrow. I might at least call and ask some questions if I don't feel like going in.

Prosper has 20 more hours to come thru.

So after checking into Prosper I decided to try it. I was excited and a little nervous, but I jumped in..

Too bad it's not working for me.
Too bad someone won't be making money from my loan.

Here's the story:
My very low interest rate on CC#2 has ended. I HAD planned on having it paid off by now. When I called the bank they didn't have any lower offers for my account at that time. They doubled my rewards points and told me to keep calling back to check on lowering my rate.
I wonder if they aren't lowering rates now so they can make more money before the new cc laws take effect ???
So I am thinking it would be a good idea for me to consolidate my cc debt to a lower interest rate. Save money and get the balance paid faster. In order for me to save money doing this the new rate would have to be lower then 16%.
This is when I think Prosper would be a great idea. I don't really want another cc to transfer the balances to. And the peer to peer lending seems like a win/win. I mean somebody would like to make 8%, 10%, 12% or even 14% on their money loaning to me, right?
When I sign up and fill out my "profile" Prosper suggests I start my asking interest rate at 24%! In order to attract more "bidders". The web site says your rate will probably be lower due to the "auction process" and you can decline the loan if the rate is too high. It didn't make sense for me to ask for a loan at that rate - That's higher than what I pay on my credit cards!
I ended up posting a request for a loan with a 16% rate. I was clear in my comments what the money was for and for any prospective lenders to PLEASE ask me any questions or comment on how I could make a better posting. I spent about 30 minutes setting things up and carefully posting my request.

And...Nothing...Not a bite or even a comment..Nada..

Meanwhile, I am looking at my credit union's rates. I could get a personal loan for 12% or less. I could get their credit card with balance transfer rates starting at 6%. I have a credit score of 750ish so I'm pretty sure I'd get a good rate from them or another bank if I look around.

Phooey on Prosper..
My dreams of p2p lending going down the toilet.
So Un - Prosper - Us!
lol.

I am looking at getting a loan thru Prosper.
It's a peer to peer lending site, in case you are not familiar. I first heard of peer to peer lending maybe two years ago. I think it's a great idea!

How it works is individuals sign up to fund other people's personal loans. Little or large amounts and they (the investors) collect the interest, not a bank. So if you request a loan it might be funded by hundreds of people!

I would be using the money to payoff the two credit cards. I would get a lower interest rate and the interest money would go to people not the banks.

Has anyone used this service? What did you think?