What is this About?

I am a first generation college graduate and am actively employed as a Career Counselor in a public school district.  I have been with this employer for the past 10 years and I love my job.

You are probably here because you are researching ways to get better profits from your investments.  I also want to make my money go further and I am hoping we can help each other reach those goals.

I have researched ways to invest money, save money, and get out of debt and realized there are no programs out there that are tailored for me.  Investment earnings are miserable and the interest on debt is outrageous.  With this in mind, my first priority is to get out of debt. I borrowed ideas from several programs and with the help of a financial professional; I am putting together my own program.  I am tired of relenting to the demands of big business.

To reach my financial goals I am doing two things.  The first thing I have done is hired a financial professional to be my representative payee service.  In this way I am having my finances monitored, evaluated and paid regularly.  There is a plan in place with the most direct, effective, and cheapest path to reaching my goal.  When the average person does this, we let our emotions take over and don't always make the best decisions.  A professional gives you an unbiased opinion with valid and logical reasons for making these choices.

When I look at the big picture, my income/debt ratio does not look bad.  But when I started looking at individual creditors and the interest income they were earning from my account I decided it was time to make a change.  I don't like it that I am sending my money out of the community to big businesses that do nothing for us locally. 

This brings me to the second change I am making.  I want to change my creditors.  The people who are making money right now are the ones that are loaning it.  In my research I found a few nontraditional ways of borrowing and loaning money.  After I sorted through the scams and incredibly stupid offers, I found a program that benefits investors and people wanting to borrow money.  It is called peer-to-peer lending.  This allows private investors (everyday people), to bid on what interest they would like to earn by lending money.  Furthermore, it allows people wanting to obtain loans to have the opportunity to get a fair rate.

I like this idea but the one I found was internet based and not local.  Additionally, in order for someone to get a loan, everyone bidding on it has to agree on one set interest rate and many times this won't happen. Then the loan is resubmitted and the process starts all over again.  With the help of a financial advisor, I have decided to do this on my own.

FYI - A normal saving account is earning less than 2% right now.  The highest earnings I found were 1.81%.  If your $1000 is in a savings account, you won't even make $10 on it in 12 months.

As an investor you can decide how much you want to lend, how long you want the term to be, and what interest rate you would like to earn on the loan.  Although it will all go to one account, it will be dispersed on the terms you are requesting and each investor can do what they feel is fair.  For example, my mom may choose to partner with me but she isn't going to want to ask a high interest rate because she's my mom.  But someone just wanting to make an investment that doesn't know me may ask for a higher interest rate because it isn't worth the risk without the higher earnings.  Additionally, someone may only want to research how this is going to work and will only want to loan $100 for 3 or 6 months at 10%.  My friends and family may want to bid $1000 for 24 months at 4% interest.  The terms are totally up to the lender but making a bid does not guarantee that I will accept the offer.

Let me take a few more minutes to explain how local investing will benefit both of us.  Suppose an investor bids a $500 loan at 12% interest for 12 months.  Then I use the loan to replace a $500 debt that I am paying 16% interest on.  This has saved me $11.30 and the investor has earned $33.09.  On just this one $500 loan, $41.39 has been generated locally.  I envision my previous loan's interest being used by some big business executive to help finance his west coast weekend yacht trip.  That same business executive could be one asking for a big government bailout, financed by us again. 

I hope this gives you a picture of how this local investing will work.  My goal is to be debt free the quickest and cheapest way possible.  If your goal is to make investments with higher interest, then you should consider partnering with me.  The legal documents and payment dispersal will be handled by a local professional financial representative.  If you would like information from me to determine if you would like to invest, email [email protected].  Use this same address to submit a loan value, length of term, desired interest rate, and how you would like me to contact you.

My income is guarded with accumulated sick days and additional disability insurance.  All loan offers will be considered but only those equal to or lower then I already pay will be accepted.  My total consolidation goal is $17,000 for 36 months.  My yearly gross income is $52,000 with monthly outgoing bills/budget (not including consolidated items) totaling $1,378.00.  My financial representative will validate with documentation my ability to repay the loans.  References are available upon request.

Thanks for considering this venture and let the bidding begin!