Friday Finance Findings for September 4th – $2,500 Lending Club Contest Edition

If you haven’t heard by now, Lending Club is having a huge contest to celebrate their 25,000th new investor. They are giving away $2,500 to the lucky person that is investor 25,000. That could be you! A contest is nice, but that is just an added bonus because I really like Lending Club anyway. I’ve been investing with them since early this year and I’ve had nothing but a positive experience. In fact, my rate of return right now is over 12% and there isn’t a single late loan yet. Here’s a more detailed review of Lending Club and you can see how it works.

So, if you’re looking for something that earns more than a savings account or CD yet isn’t as risky as investing in the stock market, I’d give Lending Club a shot. You can start investing with as little as $25 so it doesn’t take much to get your feet wet. That’s how I actually started and just invested a small amount in a few loans for a few months to see how it worked. It didn’t take long before I was transferring even more money over. So, sign up today and you can start earning money and possibly even win $2,500!

And with that, here are your finance links for the week:

Stop Allowing Fear To Guide Financial Decisions – Money, or a lack thereof can create a mix of emotions. One emotion that often comes out when money is tight is fear. Unfortunately, fear can cause you to make some big financial mistakes. Here’s not to stop allowing fear to guide your financial decisions.

Save Money Buying Overstock or Returned Items – One place I always look when at a store is the overstock or returned item table. In many cases there is absolutely nothing wrong with these items and you can get an instant discount because the package has been opened or the store simply has too many in stock. Learn how to find the best deals on these items.

How to Save for Multiple Goals – You probably have more than one goal that you’re working towards, so how do you prioritize and save for each goal? My Dollar Plan has a system you can use that will help you keep things organized.

Make Your Own Designer Clothes? The Price of Fashion – I’m not a huge designer clothes fan, but if you are, you probably would like to save money while looking good. Have you thought about making your own designer clothes? Me either, but it can be done.

Debt Traps College Students Fall Into – Going to college is a great experience, but it can also be a costly one. Most college students admittedly make some financial mistakes, but some can be quite significant. Here are some debt traps that a new college student must avoid.

Converting a Principal Residence into a Rental Property – This is a timely post for us since we’re in the process of buying a new house in a little over a week. We’re also going to be stuck with our current house until we can sell it and the idea of turning it into a rental has crossed my mind. We’ll just have to see how things go, but this is a very helpful resource.

What Is FHA Loan? – Another timely post because as we were shopping for a mortgage I learned a lot about FHA loans. I had no idea there were so many unique features, restrictions, and limits that were placed on these loans.

MonaVie is Trying to Sue Me… – MonaVie is a scam and since Lazy Man has pointed that out they are trying to play hardball and threaten him with legal action. Funny how they have no problem ripping people off by selling their overpriced product but the moment someone shares some truth about their operation they have a fit.

Are You a Success Junkie? – Do you spend so much time reading about achieving success that you end up putting your own success aside? It can happen. Steve shares some insight about being a success junkie and how you can learn to take in enough information while still putting some of it into practice for yourself.

How Being A Pessimist Saves You Money – How on Earth can being a pessimist save you money? I had to read this because I honestly couldn’t imagine how being a negative person could actually lead to savings. But Jim makes some interesting observations.

The September Effect- Coincidence or Real? – You may have heard of the September Effect before, but what does it actually mean and is it real? Here’s a good post that outlines the effect and whether you should put any stock into it or not.

Spending Filters – How I Save Money On Just About Everything – How would you like to save money on everything you buy? You can, and Matt has an interesting tactic by using spending filters. Learn more about these filters and how you can create your own to rack up daily savings.

How to Score Free Identity Theft Protection – You’ve heard of free credit reports, but what about free identity theft protection? Kayce from the Chicago Tribune talks about a new service that can help you better understand where you stand in terms of identity theft and then take steps to reduce your chances of becoming a victim.

Related posts:

1. Poll: Have You or Do Use Peer-to-Peer Lending Like Lending Club?
2. Lending Club is Now Open to Lenders Again After Completing SEC Registration
3. Making Money With Lending Club and a Review of Peer-to-Peer Lending
4. Friday Finance Findings For September 21st
5. Friday Finance Findings For September 7th