Shilling
Last year around this time I decided to check out Prosper; I've been fascinated with the concept of microloans since I first heard about them several years ago, but I never really had any money to lend, nor was there an easy framework to do so. Prosper provides a fairly clunky method of lending money, but it works and I am confident enough in the risk that I signed up, funded an account with a thousand dollars, and bid on a couple loans. Kiva's out there, too, but there was some reason why I didn't sign up there initially, probably that it was soon enough after Katrina that I felt like helping domestically.
Thus far I've made a little over 10% on my investment, although by the end I should've made a bit more than that. The thing is, while I feel a little creeped out by the somewhat usurious interest rates (one is at 13.21%, the other at 17%, and I just reinvested some of the income on an 18% loan), I figure I'm helping people that simply can't get loans any other way, at any rate.
So, in the interest of full disclosure, the below doohickey gets new lenders $25, and me $50. I think. At any rate, it seems like a good deal for everyone. You know, kind of like the Bush Presidency...
(You should certainly check out Kiva, too, although neither of us gets any money that way.)
UPDATE: Kiva is non-profit, and charges no interest, ergo you earn no interest. And while I would like to get involved with that, I can't afford to have what little available money I have sitting around collecting no interest.
posted by jwer at 2:11 PM
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