<$Friday, March 30, 2007$>
Adventures in Prosper-ity
| Prosper.com is a pretty recent discovery for me, having only learned of its existence a few weeks ago. But in that time I did a lot of researching, soul-searching and discussing with my husband (you can read all about it here, I signed up and went through the borrower verification process in the hopes of borrowing enough to consolidate my credit cards. On Monday, I finally posted my listing. I was immediately advised that the interest rate I asked for is too low for my credit grade (when you sign up, Prosper obtains your credit score from Experian and assigns it a letter grade. Mine is a high D). With only two days until my listing expires and only three bids, I suspect that they're right. Now I'm a little uncertain on how to proceed. Once my listing expires I could relist at a higher rate, on the theory that the high interest rate will make my listing more attractive to lenders, it will have no problem getting fully funded with time to spare, and at that rate the competition will kick in and my interest rate will get bid down to something more manageable. But I'm paranoid that that last part won't happen, and I'll get stuck with a rate that's almost as high as what I'm already paying, and monthly payments that are also just as high, and that would defeat the entire purpose of taking out the loan. I'm wondering if I should try to get a bank loan before I relist. We haven't even tried that option, because we both just kind of figured that with our low credit scores we wouldn't be able to get one without a co-signer, and we really don't want to involve a third party if we don't have to. I just think co-signing on a loan is a bad idea and not something to be done, and I hate the idea of asking anybody to do it. At this point, though, do we have anything to lose by applying for a lower rate bank loan? I don't really see how we do. I'm also concerned/immeasurably pissed off about the over limit alert that just hit my credit report, thanks to Discover heaping service charges (one of which, an identity theft protection charge, I didn't even realize I had signed up for) on top of my not-quite-but-almost maxed out account right before closing the statement so that I couldn't possibly post a payment in time to fix it. When I posted my listing on Monday, my credit grade was low, but my report was totally clean going back five years. I don't know how this new pimple will affect my chances for getting a loan with either a bank or Prosper. I'm just praying that it won't impact my score, and I'm also disputing it and trying to get it removed. So anyway, that's where I currently stand with Prosper: 3% funded, two days to go, and having doubts as to whether that's really the way to go, at least until I've tried another option. I've got the weekend to think about it and talk it over with my husband, but if anybody's got any advice that could sway my decision either way, I'd really love to hear it. Labels: credit cards, debt consolidation, evil, Prosper |
<$Thursday, March 29, 2007$>
The Blogroll
| These are all of the personal finance blogs that have inspired me, taught me, motivated me, and helped me save money and take charge of my finances. You'll find a permanent link to this list over there in the sidebar, and I'll update this post whenever I discover any new blogs worth adding. Adult ADD and Money - This was the first finance blog I ever read regularly, and it was the ADD aspect that drew me in. John is a small business consultant who posts helpful links and advice target to those who, like me, can identify Attention Deficit Disorder as the root of most of their financial woes. Get Rich Slowly - I've been making daily visits to J.D.'s blog for a while now, and it's probably been the most motivating and informative for me. It's through this blog that I discovered most of the links that follow. Every time I start to get down because it seems like I'm never going to do more than make ends meet, I visit this blog, and I always come away feeling motivated and optimistic about my financial future. Blogging Away Debt - This is another blog I visit whenever I need a shot of optimism. Tricia is a young wife and mother who's using blogging about the progress she's making toward paying down her debt. She's some one I can relate to a lot. Lifehack.org - A blog about productivity and getting things done, this contains a lot of good tips and tricks for making life a little easier, as well as a lot of good money-saving "hacks." Getting Finances Done - I visit this blog less regularly, but this is where I found advice on how to organize a budget that really helped me pull my own budget together. Generation X Finance - This blog is pretty new to me, but it contains a lot of good info and analysis aimed at my generation. Curbly - Not really a blog or a personal finance site, but this community is full of creative, outside-the-box ideas for inexpensive decorating and home improvement. Budget Vino - Also not a personal finance site, but a must for any wine enthusiasts on a budget. This blogger samples and reviews wines that cost a mere $10 or less, and proves that being a wine connoisseur doesn't have to be an expensive hobby. Bless him. I love a glass of wine after dinner, and thanks to this guy I can drink it without any spendy guilt. That's my list as it stands today. Like I said, I'll update it as time goes on. In the meantime, if you have any favorite personal finance sites that you think I should visit, share them with me in the comments. UPDATED 4/11/07 I've come across a few more that grabbed my interest enough to ensure that I'll return to them. Free Money Finance - This is an openly Christian finance blog that uses Biblical principles as a foundation for financial management. If you're wondering what scripture has to say about a particular financial issue, this is a good place to start looking. Money Changes Things - I'm brand new to this one, but I like the idea: once those debts are paid off, those finances are all straightened out and you've arrived at "enough," then what do you do? This blogger looks for creative ways to maintain your newly accomplished wealth, and reminds us that there's a lot more to riches than money and possessions. Gen X Personal Finance - Another Gen-Xer tailoring financial info and advice for my generation, in easy-to-understand terms. UPDATED 6/25/07: Lazy Man and Money - I have a pretty broad lazy streak myself, and I'm also pretty particular about how I spend my time, so naturally I love Lazy Man's perspective on making your money work so you don't have to. (See also: Lazy Man and Health) Labels: finance+blogs |
A clean, well-lighted place
| Hello and welcome! If you've come here from my daily blog, Life In Sparkle Motion, then you already know that I've become so obsessed with improving my finances and money management skills that I just can't shut up about it for very long, which, I think, means it's become a topic that deserves its very own blog. So here you go. If you stumbled in from elsewhere, hi. I'm Jean, and I'll be your host. Over the next couple of days I'll be telling you a little about myself and my financial history. After that I'll be telling you all about my goals, and what I'm doing to achieve them. Along the way I'll also be sharing items of interest, opinions, frustrations, and all the usual blogger falderol. My title for this blog is a double entendre referring to both my journey of growing up in terms of my attitudes toward and handling of my finances, and to the more evident meaning of trying to make my money grow. Right now I'm mainly doing that by trying to make my debt shrink, but more about that later. Hopefully you'll get some good information from this blog. At the very least, maybe you'll get a little inspiration. Either way, I'm glad you're here. |
<$Thursday, March 1, 2007$>
"A Vague Disclaimer is Nobody's Friend"
| This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact me at jeanjeanie AT gmail DOT com. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. This blog abides by word of mouth marketing standards. We believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post will be clearly identified as paid or sponsored content. The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest. To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org Labels: disclosure, PPP |