Tonight we did a bunch of back-end work and made a couple of changes that you might notice…

Lender overview changes

We’ve received a lot of feedback from lenders that the “Active loan summary” box on the “Your Account > Lending” page is confusing and unclear. Furthermore, it looks like some of the items should add up, but then they don’t, which is frustrating.

We changed the data which is displayed there to simplify the display a little, and allow you to get gory details (all of your repayments can be split into principal, interest, and fees, for example) if you want to, but otherwise just see the rollup figure. You’ll also now be able to see the daily interest accrual on your loan portfolio.

Go to the lender overview now »

Borrower payoff guidance

As part of their loan detail, borrowers will now be able to see the estimated amount of their final payment, and the estimated date on which that payment will be due.

This helps increase the visibility to late borrowers of the impact of late payments (incurring late fees and insufficient funds fees) on their final loan payment. For borrowers who are paying their loan on an accelerated schedule, the due date will move forward as more and more is paid down early.

Referral program changes

We changed the referral award for new borrowers from 0.5% of the loan amount to a flat award of $35 per new borrower who gets a loan funded and makes his or her first monthly payment.

Refer your friends now »

Marketplace Performance page performance improvements

(Say that five times fast - I dare you.) There aren’t actually any changes to this page, except that you quant geeks will find it a lot snappier as you tweak criteria and reload the page for all the combinations and permutations you can stand.

Enjoy the speed: Marketplace performance page »

Tax season is coming

And we’re improving our year-end statement and tax reporting documents for when we deliver them in January. Rather than sending tax forms by snail mail (like we did last year), we’ll be delivering tax forms for most members electronically - you will be able to download a consolidated form 1099 from the “Your Account > Statements” page.

If you’re a Grinch who has already looked past Christmas to tax season, or are just a glutton for punishment, you can read more about tax reporting on Prosper. Or read the details of the electronic consolidated form 1099.

API Additions - Marketplace object

The API now includes a Marketplace object, which includes featured listings, a table of recent interest rates by credit grade and loan amount, the number of members on Prosper, and the total loan volume on Prosper.
Learn more about the API »

Those are the biggies. Enjoy the holiday season, and we’ll see you back in the new year with more improvements and changes based on your feedback.

Best regards,
Andrew

Andrew is a Product Manager at Prosper.

The holiday season is right around the corner. If you’re like many Americans, you’ll probably be traveling across the country to be with your loved ones during this wonderful time of the year. The average family can easily spend thousands of dollars traveling to and from their holiday destinations. This year you don’t have to!

Here’s a list of 6 Easy Ways you can save money traveling this holiday season.

1. Always negotiate hotel room prices. One of the best kept secrets in the travel business is that hotel rooms are highly negotiable. If a room isn’t used, that’s money the hotel room isn’t making. Take advantage of this fact by asking for a deal if you stay in a hotel. Don’t take no for an answer!

2. Stay with friends or family. You can save a ton of money if you can sleep at your family or friend’s house. Tell them you’ll bring a sleeping bag so you won’t displace anyone. Offer to pay to help with the food costs while you’re staying there.

3. When flying, bring your own snacks and EMPTY water bottle. Food at the airport is marked up dramatically. $2 for a doughnut? You gotta be kidding me! Buy some snacks and pack them in your bag. Bottled water at airports is super expensive, so bring an empty water bottle. As soon as you get past security, fill up your bottle at the water fountain.

4. If you’re driving, buy snacks at grocery stores. Instead of stopping at convenience stores where items are marked up, drive a little further into town and find a grocery store. You can find the same things there for cheaper.

5. Be flexible. You never know when opportunities will come up to save money when traveling. If there’s an offer for a travel voucher if you take a later flight, go for it!

6. Christmas shop your way to your holiday destination. If you have a mileage reward credit card, do your Christmas shopping with it and cash in the miles to buy your ticket to your holiday destination. Remember to bring the gifts you bought to your family!

—

Brett McKay is the author of The Frugal Law Student. Check it out for daily money saving tips!

Not long ago, I received this question from a reader. It tells of how he incurred debt while still in college, a common time for people to begin racking up debt:

How Do I Handle My College Debt?

“I have just gone through your blog and have a query. Actually in my college days I spent lots of money and am now under deep debt. Sometimes I took payday loans. So now I want to get rid off these. I have started debt consolidation. Can you give me some other strategies to handle my debt?”

Debt can creep up on you as time goes on, and can be overwhelming after some time. But it can be vanquished with discipline, determination and commitment. Here are my suggestions for wiping this monkey off your back!

Strategies To Get Out Of Debt

1)  Don’t incur any more debt, stop financing your purchases and start using cash for everything. Cut up and throw out your cards and then use cash instead.

2)  Stop spending on things you don’t need. Spend only for the essentials, and avoid impulse purchases.

3)  Embrace thrift and look for ways to cut costs.

4)  Try to build up your income. Are there paid jobs or projects you can take to improve your cash flow? Opportunities abound but you’ll need to scout them out.

5)  Develop both spending and savings plans. Create a budget as part of your spending plan and begin an automated savings program to help you clarify and execute your financial goals.

6)  Visualize the debt as just another opportunity to establish a savings plan. The money you use to pay down your debt can eventually be rerouted into a savings account once you are in the black.

7)  Pay more than just your minimum balance on any loans you own. At the very least, pay more than the minimum towards your credit card balance.

8)  Consolidate your debt and move your balances from high interest cards to those credit cards with the lowest interest rates you can get. For this, shop around for low interest credit cards and read all the fine print before signing up for any cards. You can also be resourceful and find ways to borrow money under more favorable terms, say through person-to-person lending via Prosper.

The Silicon Valley Blogger (SVB for short) is behind the The Digerati Life, a blog that covers personal finance, business, investment and real estate topics along with the occasional Silicon Valley tech story sprinkled in. SVB is a married mother of two young kids who juggles a nine to five job in the IT industry along with raising a family and various entrepreneurial pursuits.

I read about Prosper in a brief MSNBC/Newsweek story on July 31, 2006 titled “Money: Lend Me a Little?”  I figured, I should check it out.  As a young working professional, working at a non-profit organization, it’s not like I have the many thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars most other investment opportunities require to ‘buy in’.  I decided to start off with $250 in late August 2006.  A small start, for sure.  I found awesome loans right away; so a month or two later, I put another $250 into Prosper loans.  Here’s the three amazing things:
 
(1) It’s easy — even for someone like me, who is not a business and finance guru;
(2) It’s a win-win — as borrowers propose loans they feel are reasonable given their circumstances, and investors pick and choose loans to bid on based on what they feel is reasonable given their circumstances; and,
(3) It’s enriching — as my $500 has grown by 15% while, during the same 1-year period, I had a CD (with a major bank) at 5% APR.
 
Prosper staffers: Expect more investment from a satisfied ‘low budget’ investor, as Prosper loans fit well with other investment options: CDs, mutual funds, IRAs, etc.
 
Thank you, sincerely,
omahajay

Kirk Inglis, Chief Financial Officer of Prosper.  Quote: “The $100 million milestone is a reminder that Prosper’s rich and unique set of historical performance data has the potential to benefit both lenders and borrowers.  The free flow of information is the cornerstone of any successful marketplace and Prosper is committed to making its marketplace data transparent and accessible.”

Read the rest of this entry on Yahoo! Finance>>

Kirk Inglis is the CFO of Prosper.