About a year ago I began investing in peer to peer lending loans via Lending Club.  My NAR (net annualized return) was around 11% until I let a defaulted loan slip by unmonitored.  Even with the default my current NAR stands at 8.3%, which is still a solid ROI in today's economy.

After having the default lower my NAR I now carefully watch the loans I invest in and am quick to offer them up on the secondary trading platform if the borrower looks like they're getting into financial trouble.  I have successfully dumped 2 other troubled loans, reclaiming about 80% of the value as opposed to losing the entire amount.  All in all, I highly recommend investing through Lending Club.  If you'd like more info on this, read myLending Club review.

That brings me to todays tip for readers… if you're trying to get out of credit card debt I recommend checking out ReadyForZero.com.  It is not a debt settlement company but rather a free service that helps people eliminate credit card debt.  The reason I'm mentioning their service in tandem with my Lending Club investments is because Lending Club uses Ready For Zero to verify the credit card debt of loan applicants.  After reading about it I thought I'd mention here in hopes that it may benefit someone.

From the Read For Zero site:

“Are you ready to get out of credit card debt? ReadyForZero is a free online financial tool that lets you track your credit card debt, explore options, and make and follow a plan to eliminate it. This is a gimmick-free program, not a debt settlement or similar service.”

If you end up signing up and using it… be sure to share your experience in the comments.