Archive for May, 2008

I know that many people have been anxiously waiting for an update on the debt sale.  We’ve been working very hard toward finding a more favorable bid, as well as considering alternatives, but we’ve met with some severe obstacles.

Once bids with unacceptable contract conditions were eliminated the highest bid we received was only 1.5 cents on the dollar.  To put this in context, “Out of Statute” paper - consumer debt that is time-barred by the statute of limitations, where the debt holder has not received a payment in 3 to 15 years - gets prices in the range of 0.5 to 0.75 cents. 

The problem is that there is so much credit card paper available in the market, that no one is interested in a “novel” asset such as Prosper loans.  More than one bidder had told me that in this market, they’re only spending their money on consumer debt paper they’ve had experience with.

We believe the prudent course of business is to not sell at this time.  Instead, we are going to consider the loans as charged off, and keep them and continue to try to collect them as charged off debts.  You will continue to own the loans as we apply post charge off collection techniques to these accounts.  We recognize that this is different than our normal process, but firmly believe that it will result in a higher return for our lenders.

One of the key arguments for selling bad debt quickly and without applying “post charge off” collection techniques, is that it reduces the value of accounts that don’t respond.  However, given the very low price we’re currently faced with, that’s not really a concern.

Several people have expressed concern regarding how 121+ dpd loans are reported.   We are working to create a new loan status of “charged off”.  Loans in this status will not have their balance “zeroed” out (so that they can still accrue interest), but they will not be eligible to revert to a “current” or “delinquent” status even if a payment is received.

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Doug Fuller is the Vice President of Operations at Prosper.

Spring is a beautiful time of year, one of new life and new beginnings. It is also the start of the wedding season. My wife and I were wed almost two years ago, and I clearly remember how new and exciting those first few months together were. While your first few months together will be filled with many wonderful experiences, there may be some challenges along the way.

Perhaps the biggest challenge you will face concerns your finances. In fact, the single greatest cause of divorce in the US stems from financial difficulties. Because of this, it is important to start your married life on the right foot.

Start with a plan

One of the first things you will need to do is to decide whether or not to combine your finances. My wife and I combined our finances, but that may not be the best answer for everyone, at least not right away. Regardless of whether you combine your finances or not, you should always manage your finances together. The two of you can decide exactly how you want to do this, but it is highly recommended to share in the responsibility so both people know exactly what is going on.

Know how much you earn and how much you owe

Once you have decided how you will handle your finances, you and your spouse will need to have a clear picture of how much the two of you earn and how much you owe. Start with your recent paychecks and other sources of income (keep in mind your taxes may change slightly). Then, list all your recurring bills and expenses. An accurate list will help you both understand your key expenses and hopefully prevent surprises from jumping up and biting you!

Make a budget and decide how to pay bills

Now that you have a plan on how to handle your money together and a definitive list of all income and expenses, it is time to make a budget. Your budget will probably need some adjustments the first few months of living together, so remember to be flexible. When your budget is in place, you will need to decide how you will pay the bills. Will one person handle the majority of the bills, or will both people be responsible? Many people set up a joint e-mail account dedicated to handling e-mail reminders and electronic bill statements. This is a good way to keep all bills and important reminders in one place.

Create financial goals

Now that the two of you are on your way to financial harmony, you should start working on some financial goals. As newlyweds, there are likely many things you will want to do in the near future: buy a house, have children, travel, buy a new vehicle, and many other things. These all take money, and a lot of it! The only way you will achieve these financial milestones is to create a goal to achieve them. This will take a clear objective, a plan, a time frame, and a collaborative effort from you and your spouse.

Marriage can often be very similar to finances: It is not always easy, but it does not have to be hard either. When you are married, you are two people working as one. And your finances should be the same way.

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Patrick is the author of Cash Money Life, a blog about personal finance, career management, and self-improvement. He served in the United States Air Force, has traveled to over 35 countries, and is a fantasy baseball champion. He is an active lender at Prosper.

So you’ve found that special person in your life and now it’s time to buy an engagement ring. Buying the right engagement ring can be a costly endeavor and you may find yourself in need of a little financial assistance.  Prosper is the right choice for you.

The community at Prosper provides the support you need in helping you to obtain your dream. With Prosper, there are no stuffy bank staff for you to deal with. Instead it’s everyday people helping everyday people. And the best part is, you can choose your own rate and loan amount. You may even have the rate driven lower as lenders bid on your listing. You remain in control of your transaction, unlike with a major financial institution where they are in complete control. If you want to plan the perfect engagement and need assistance financially, Prosper is the best choice for you. The community at Prosper will help your engagement dreams a reality.

Now keep in mind, Prosper is not a place to come if you have extremely bad credit and want to avoid heading to the bank. It is still important that you have and maintain a decent credit score. So even though Prosper does not require a perfect credit score for you to get an engagement loan, if you do have poor credit, you may want to consider working on improving your credit before you join the community and apply for a loan. This will help you have a better chance of getting your Prosper loan, because those with an average or above average credit score can generally get more bids on your loan.

Once you take some time to browse around the Prosper website and check out the tutorials, you will quickly see how well person to person loans can work and how beneficial they can be to both parties involved. Choosing to use Prosper can be a great way for you to help pay for your engagement ring, so that you may be able to get the diamond ring of your choice for your future bride.

If you are completely unfamiliar with the concept of Prosper and person to person loans, it is definitely in your best interest to browse around and see how things work. Take some time to view other borrowers’ profiles and perhaps see if you can find one that slightly matches the situation that you are in. The more you know and the more prepared you are, the better chance you have at successfully gaining a loan from Proper. If you’re looking for a unique, affordable way to find the perfect engagement ring and plan the perfect engagement event, join Prosper today and let our community of lenders help you get on your way to achieving that goal.

These days, many couples who are planning to get married want to pay for the wedding costs themselves.  After all, some couples are getting engaged and married later in life, rather than in their early 20’s.  Therefore, a great number of these men and women have well-developed careers with substantial incomes — so, they feel that they should pay for their own wedding costs.

This usually comes as a relief to the bride’s family, as most people are simply not in a financial position to easily afford to pay for a wedding and the bride’s family has traditionally been responsible for the wedding costs.

So, this arrangement works out well for everyone involved — at least at first, anyway.

Marrying couples feel the financial strain of paying for all of the wedding costs.  Costs quickly add up to the point where they can become stressful.  Very few things associated with weddings are inexpensive… most are quite large budget-drainers.  To make matters worse, it has been suggested that vendors price gouge anyone that they think is planning a wedding.

Couples don’t want to head to their families and ask for money, for a couple of different reasons.  First of all, the couples realize that their families really cannot afford to help out with the wedding costs.  Secondly, couples may feel as if going back and asking their families for monetary help would be like stepping back into their childhood when they would ask Mom and Dad for cash.  It just isn’t a good feeling as an adult to go back to your parents to ask for financial assistance.

Instead, couples often opt for obtaining a loan.  Prosper is a great place to get that personal loan.

Why Prosper?  Well, Prosper is an active online community where lenders and borrowers meet.  Marrying couples can join Prosper as individuals and get an individual loan for the amount they need to cover the wedding costs.  This way, they can still pay for their own wedding costs without turning to their families for assistance.  If their families want to help they can join Prosper as a lender and help by bidding on the loan and giving an endorsement as a friend.

Getting a loan through Prosper is simple and quick, too.  Borrowers simply need to join the community and post a listing telling why they need a loan.  Then, lenders make bids for the loan.  The borrower gets to choose their interest rate, and most loans close within a few days (listings are 7 days in duration.)  The loan money is then directly deposited into the borrower’s bank accounts.

This can be immensely helpful to marrying couples.  After all, applying for and receiving bank loans can take a great deal of time and effort.  Wedding services don’t wait for their payments – they want significant deposits and payment prior to delivery.  In addition, a borrower may be able to acquire interest rates through Prosper that are much better than those they could get at their local banks.

Prosper loans are incredibly convenient to repay as well.  Automatic payments are set up through the borrower’s bank account.  This is a great feature for newlyweds because - let’s face it - their minds aren’t likely to be focused on bills, are they?

Marrying couples who are in need of financial help should definitely consider joining Prosper and borrowing an individual personal loan.

A sincere and respectful thank you to all the veterans past and present.  Your sacrifice for our freedom is greatly appreciated. 

Here are some of the best posts from around Blogosphere this week…

BloggingAwayDebt opens up her family dynamics with finances in What Role Does My Husband Have?

LazyMan has a 6 Word Memoir: Money — Freedom to do Almost Anything.

Cash Money Life has been changing jobs and offers some insight into The Exit Interview

The Digerati Life asks rhetorically Have No Estate Plan? Try This Guide to Wills & Trusts

Me vs Debt says No Spending + Money Making = Major Debt Reduction

GenXFinance offers 67 Year Old Advised by Accountant to Not Enroll in 401k - Should He Find a New Accountant?

brip blap announces the new Carnival of Careers.

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RateLadder is a Prosper lender and has been since July, 2006.  He has a passion for p2p lending.  He owns RateLadder — My Prosper.com Journey and other P2P Lending Adventures, P2P No Bank the P2P Blog Aggregate, and ProProsper — Professional Tools for Prosper Lenders featuring SQL access to Prosper data.