Prosper.com is a personal loan and investing site with over one million members and over two hundred fifteen million dollars in personal loans funded since 2006. Using a unique person to person lending model, prosper.com connects borrowers and lenders and allows them to establish a mutually beneficial financial relationship. Prosper offers borrowers rates as low as 5.9% and lender returns as high as 10.1% (this varies, of course based on your borrowing and lending situation).
There’s been a movement the past couple of years to move to a smaller home in order to save money. It’s understandable with the economy the way it is and all. Still, many people look to the time when they can get a bigger home. Sometimes you just need more space. Some just want the bigger place. I still see homes being torn down and re-built into much larger houses. Thing is, when you buy a bigger house you aren’t just paying a bigger mortgage. With a bigger house comes some other expenses and costs that increase.
Here in America, we view the housing market as one of the main pillars of the economy. As a result, when the real estate market moves slowly, our leaders are concerned about what could happen to the economy. This was a big concern in late 2007 and early 2008 as signs of a housing meltdown really began manifesting. Even before the financial crisis, leaders were trying to prevent a real estate market collapse, and they began offering a first-time homebuyer tax credit to encourage citizens to buy homes.
So a couple of weeks ago I splurged and bought an eReader – The Barnes & Noble NOOKcolor. I never thought I’d be one for electronic books but so far I’m loving it!
I always thought the idea of eReaders were kinda neat but I liked the romanticism of turning the actual pages. As I said, I never thought I’d get into an eReader.
I had seen the Amazon Kindle, both on the Amazon site and in Staples a few times. It looked really cool but I couldn’t justify the cost.
What changed? I started the school semester, late January, with an economics class. The professor required us to buy this online package so we could submit our homework online (this was required) and it also included the online edition of the book. There was no option for just the homework submission. Not wanting to buy a physical copy (there weren’t any used copies of the book out there to get) and not wanting to read it all on my laptop (I sit in from of it all day already) I started to look into eReaders. Note: I could have also printed out the book but I didn’t want to blow up my printer. Bringing a file to a printing store was also an option too (but I kinda got myself psyched up for an eReader).
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I just finished reading Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuck. The full title of the book is actually Why NOW is the Time To Crush It! Cash In On Your Passion. I kept hearing about this Gary Vaynerchuck guy all over the place and hearing about this book (Inc. listed it as one of the top books for business owners in 2009). I would also hear people talk about how they “crush” this or that. I figured if I can get a copy at the library then I’ll give it a read. Glad I did. Awesome read!
This book is a primer on how to build your own personal brand and why you have to. It’s a quick and inspiring read that is well worth you time, whether you aren’t happy with the work you are doing or you are looking for ways to really grow what you are about.
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When life becomes more complicated, so do your taxes. As you claim dependents, purchase a home, or are involved in a major loss or theft you can claim specific items on your taxes that will reduce your tax burden. Other reasons such as owning your own small business, earning money in more than one state, or if you have investments or property that can be claimed as a loss then your taxes become slightly more difficult to file. Most single people will file a Form 1040-EZ, but if you have any type of deduction that is greater than the standard deduction it may be best to file using a Form 1040. So when should you itemize on your taxes? The following will provide some major reasons for itemizing.
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Have you been wanting to invest your money but haven’t been sure how to go about it? There may be a simpler, easier way to do it for those who those who want to invest but don’t know where to start or think it is too difficult for them. That answer may be Betterment. Follow along in our review…
For the last couple of years, we’ve heard about the tight credit market. It’s been more difficult to qualify for credit. Even credit card issuers reduced the amount of money they were providing. However, mailboxes are starting to see an influx of credit card offers, and things are getting a little bit easier (although we are still far from the heady days of easy money seen in the years leading up to the financial crisis). It might be a little easier to get approved for a loan or credit card now than it was last year, but that mean it’s a good thing?
Are you trying to cut costs? Did you have a sudden drop in income? Are you a college student trying to avoid student loans?
One of the most common suggestions personal finance authors make is to move to a cheaper location to save costs, but does it really save that much? How long do you have to be in the new location to reap the rewards of moving?
My husband and I currently live in a spacious, 1,000 sq. foot, two bedroom apartment. We live in an urban area and find our $1,000 a month rent competitive with the area. We have not had a rent increase in two years, and most two bedroom apartments cost more than ours does. I will use our current situation as the example for the purpose of this exercise.
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