Lending Club Borrowers, Become Debt Free Faster (New Offers)

by Silicon Valley Blogger on 2009-12-2110

This page is specifically maintained for Lending Club borrowers. Here, we’ll be keeping track of the latest offers, initiatives and events that Lending Club has in store for borrowers who are looking to get the best financing rates for their personal loans. We’ll list some of the cool promotions and updates that this peer to peer lending company has up its sleeve to get you going in the right direction if you’re thinking of applying for a new consumer loan.

Lending Club Borrowers Get Lower Rates

Get a Personal Loan Today! Lending Club has announced lower personal loan interest rates for their loans in response to overall rate reductions in the economy. The government continues to control rates to encourage a borrowing climate and stimulate the economy. So at this time, the Lending Club rate of 7.93% has been lowered to 6.78%, which is around 15% lower than previous LC rates. If you’ve got great credit and you’re pretty good with managing your credit cards, one way to pay less on interest is to consider moving your debt over to Lending Club to take advantage of lower rates. It will only work if you’ve got excellent credit though — a minimum 660 FICO credit score. If you decide to do a form of debt consolidation or a balance transfer, then note that the new loan you get from Lending Club has a 60 month term with rates starting at 6.63% APR (based on your credit history).

To apply for a borrower’s account through Lending Club, please visit this link for more information.

Lending Club Extends Their Services To Borrowers

When I covered Lending Club in the past, I had mentioned that certain states were unable to participate in the network. Recently, Lending Club has been able to open their network to borrowers from two new states: Kansas and North Carolina. Here is the map showing where borrowing is available through Lending Club:

Lending Club in Kansas and North Carolina

42 states can now borrow on LendingClub.com. However, there are still some borrowing restrictions through this peer to peer network. This service is still unavailable to residents of the following states: Idaho, North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Tennessee, Mississippi and Maine.

Further, eligibility requirements extend to lenders as well. And while most Americans can invest with Lending Club, those who reside in Texas, Ohio, Maryland, Oregon, Kansas, Vermont and North Carolina are still unable to participate. Lending Club aims to make their network available to all and are working with state regulators to achieve this goal.

Expired Deal: Get A Free $150 Amazon Gift Card

For the month of December 2009, Lending Club had a great holiday offer for prospective borrowers. They gave away a free $150 Amazon gift card to each borrower who applied for a loan through their network and who fully funded the loan by mid January 2010. The offer only lasted for that one month. I am sure that Lending Club will have similar great deals like this in the future.

Expired Event: The Lending Club DebtBuster Challenge

The event I am about to describe is no longer active, but I thought to share with you some of the fun ways this P2P lender gets the word out on their great services. In December, 2009, the company decided to hold a “DebtBuster Challenge”, designed to encourage consumers to reduce their debt faster via debt consolidation loans. This Lending Club program shared the message that becoming debt free means making a commitment. The incentive they gave was modest; they gave away free gifts to get you started with a Lending Club low interest loan.

Try it Now! Join Lending Club.

If you have good credit and wanting some cheaper loan alternatives, then networks like Lending Club may be able to offer you something better. Their DebtBuster Challenge proceeded as follows:

  1. Commit to paying off your debt in 3 years or less.
  2. Check your current balances and interest rates on your personal loans and credit cards.
  3. Check out loan alternatives that may provide you with lower rates. Lending Club is one such option: take a look at this loan interest rates page from LC — are these better than the rates you see in step 2? If so, and if you qualify as a borrower, then getting a cheaper loan should help you make a dent on your existing debt.
  4. Apply to the Lending Club network.
  5. If you qualify for a Lending Club loan, you’ll receive an LC care package with a t-shirt, backpack and pens.

For more details on Lending Club, please visit this link.

Here’s a look at the free gifts you’ll receive as an added bonus if you take out a Lending Club loan:

male vs female college education

You can also get additional information on how to borrow money wisely by checking out our articles on the best debt consolidation loans, on personal loan interest rates at LC, on how to get a personal loan, and our Lending Club review.

While nothing beats reducing your expenses, cutting costs and living frugally, I’ve discovered that there are other debt-beating strategies out there that can also make a big difference. To minimize debt, not only should you cut down on your day to day expenses and manage to make the most out of every dollar you spend, you should also do what it takes to cut down on the costs of supporting any existing debt that you carry. I’m surprised that not more people actually do this.

Copyright © 2009 The Digerati Life. All Rights Reserved.

{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

John DeFlumeri Jr December 12, 2009 at 9:08 pm

That’s a pretty good rate, 6.78% for unsecured money.

John DeFlumeri Jr

Matt Jabs December 21, 2009 at 11:18 pm

Getting rid of debt is an amazing feeling, and one that I hope more will commit to experiencing through this great promotion.

Silicon Valley Blogger December 21, 2009 at 11:49 pm

Thanks Matt. People can certainly make faster strides when they take a more active role with managing their existing debt. Taking care of one’s credit and figuring out the best strategies for low cost debt are ways to ensure that you don’t “bite off more than you can chew” and go overboard with your debt load.

Dape December 22, 2009 at 1:53 am

Personal debt of course can be an escalating problem if we are not prepared to live within our means. The type of debt that causes me concern is National Debt and the tendency of some leaders, politicians and bankers to make light of a problem that will eventually catch up and hit us full-on with a somewhat flippant attitude to economic growth.

Lara December 22, 2009 at 8:04 am

Aside from my mortgage and car loan, I got out of debt a year ago with a loan from Lending Club, which is amazing! I am now working on my car loan and after that reducing expenses (no need for expensive cable, landline, etc). I find that recurring monthly expenses are the ones that drain you the most (once you;ve mastered not to incur impulsive expenses)

JGomez December 22, 2009 at 11:42 am

Getting rid of my debt helped increase my credit score!

Style Advice December 22, 2009 at 3:14 pm

The debt commitment part is pretty pointless. A 3 year goal is nice, but for many people it’s just not achievable. i.e. if you make $30-35K a year, and are $80K in debt (college tuition for example), paying that off in 3 years is next to impossible.

Silicon Valley Blogger December 22, 2009 at 3:39 pm

@Style Advice,
It seems that you are implying that making financial goals is pointless (or perhaps you are only addressing the 3 year time span for debt reduction). I disagree on this matter. Goals are useful in getting you focused and are the first steps to take to help you get from point A to point B. A 3 year debt payment goal may not seem practical for everyone but for a good number of people, it’s pretty doable. Visualizing and setting goals is one way to start taking serious action against something you’ve always wanted to achieve. I’m actually one of those Type A++ people who will attribute a lot of what I’ve done to goal setting and making commitments to the priorities I make. If your resolve is strong, you can do a lot of things you might initially think are out of your reach.

Patrick December 23, 2009 at 7:04 pm

I think companies like Lending Club and Prosper are hidden secrets to help with personal finance. Unfortunately, most people that have financial problems will not qualify for a loan at Lending Club because of their credit score. Lending requires at least a 660.

Nico May 18, 2011 at 11:10 am

I agree, a clear goal and a strong commitment are key factors on the way to a debt-free life!

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