A good way to consolodate debt and maybe even invest (friendly PSA)

[Ksandra]

So, I got a loan through the Lending Club a few months back, and didn't want to make a thread until it really did seem like the loan was going smoothly. It is, and I know I have seen people post about debt on BG in the past.

For me, I always wanted to consolidate debt, but often companies who do it have pretty bad raps (lending tree, etc.). I use to search all the time but everything always had terrible reviews. And honestly, I am stupid as I always assumed lending club and lending tree were the same and didn't think anything of it when I got spam snail mail from them.

Around November I did a random google search on consolidating debt again. Once hubby and I both had jobs I really wanted to get our debt cleared out. I was surprised at all the reviews for lending club so I looked further into it.


If you are like me and haven't paid any attention, Lending Club is a peer-to-peer lending company. Meaning you can both loan from them, and even be a loaner for a profit. Now, I have not loan money through them, so I cannot speak for how good it is, but it's something people may want to look into.

As for loaning, it has been great. The interest rate was a lot lower than all but one of our cards/loans. The application process was easy, and everything seems to be going smoothly with automatic payments. Note: to make extra payments outside the monthly you do need to either call in or mail a check.

I will say, though, do not expect this as a quick cash service. It took about two weeks from applying for them to approve and get backers for the loan. As well, my monthly payments were raised about $80 from the total minimums I was paying on all loans. But I will pay them off much faster with less interest being owed.

I should also mention my credit score finally went back to excellent from sitting at good for about three years.

So ya, if you are looking for something to help you cut out your interest payments, I would definitely say looking into this. Would be cool if others posted their experiences with this or other lenders to help bg people. I am really interested in knowing if anyone has invested through them, as that is something I am considering once our loan is paid off.

[Buffy]

This type of micro-lending is becoming insanely popular, especially overseas. I've been using Kiva for a while, as a loaner, and I'm averaging about 12% return for the last three years. I've gotten burned on two loans - didn't get paid back at all.

[Ksandra]

This type of micro-lending is becoming insanely popular, especially overseas. I've been using Kiva for a while, as a loaner, and I'm averaging about 12% return for the last three years. I've gotten burned on two loans - didn't get paid back at all.

Even with the defaults you are getting 12% per month? That makes me wonder if I should start doing a little lending now and help earn money back from our interest (~7%).