Snow Storm!

If you're wondering how it is that I can post three times in one week, when I haven't previously posted in many months, it is due, in part, to "snow days." Yesterday, I telecommuted, and today I'm doing the same thing. I did have to go into work yesterday for a wedding rehearsal and that was a bit treacherous, but managable. Today, though, I plan to walk to the library and otherwise just hang out at home, reading, writing, and doing some more shoveling.

We've had quite the snow storm! There's probably at least two feet of snow on the ground. I realize that some of the Colorado folks are not going to be impressed with these numbers (given the gazillion feet you've had), but up until this point, we've had about 10 inches of snow all year, so we've doubled what we've gotten so far. We're planning to go skiing tomorrow, too, which should be fun. Last week, I rented skis from REI and Juliana and I went skiing twice! Super fun.

Sierra came over last night (to stay the night, rather than risk life and limb driving back to Minneapolis), and we played cribbage, ate a good dinner together, and watched some Six Feet Under. Perfect things to do in the snowy weather! Oh yeah, and did I mention I beat her at Cribbage?! We had set up a little competition that whoever got stunked (if it happened) would have to get up early and shovel the sidewalk and clear out the snow so Sierra could get her car out. No one ended up getting stunked, but I still got up early and helped clear out the snow.

So how much snow did we get? Here's a before and after picture from this morning, as I cleared snow from the front yard and Sierra's car

And here's a picture of the happy shoveler:

Prosper on Prosper? Thoughts on peer to peer lending...

Do you all know about this relatively new website, Prosper.com? It's a person to person loan operation. The loans are actually originated through Prosper (not you personally), but at lower interest rates than many credit card companies. I just created an account and am transferring a couple hundred dollars in. I'm really curious about it. You can see applicant's credit ratings, their specific request (ie, what they hope to do with the loan), and whatever other information they want to post. Prosper takes a .5% percent cut as their share, but then you get monthly payments as the person pays back their loan. The interesting (fun?) part of this gig is that, sorta like Ebay, you bid on people's loan. You can bid starting at $50. When the bidding is done, the lowest bid, on the interest rate the lender is willing to accept, based on the applicants credit rating, is the rate that's set for that loan.

Here's a bit more detail from Prosper.com: "Borrowers create loan listings for up to $25,000 and set the maximum rate they are willing to pay a lender. Then the auction begins as people who lend bid down the interest rate. Once the auction ends, Prosper takes the bids with the lowest rates and combines them into one simple loan. Prosper handles all on-going loan administration tasks including loan repayment and collections on behalf of the matched borrower and lenders."

I still like my IngDirect Account (4.3% interest) for stability, and the stock market for long term gains, but it seems like you might be able to get 12-15% returns (including some defaults), without too much difficulty on Prosper. I'll stick my toe in and let you know how it goes. Seems like it could be a way to help folks get a lower rate, and make some money yourself. I don't know if I'd ever use it, though...

Speaking of peer to peer lending, click on over to Kiva to check out something really remarkable. You can lend as little as $25 to help someone in Ghana, or Honduras, or wherever, start or expand their business. It's basically an interest free loan that will be repaid (about 98% percent are repaid, per microlending date), that you can then invest in someone else and their family or business. I'm planning to sink some money in this too, because you know what? The reality is that I've got everything I need in my life (except some good kitchen knifes!), and I can afford to 'share' a hundred bucks to do some good in the world. Go poke around. See what you think. Then chip in $25 to help someone create a better life for themselves and their family.