Reader story #2: Introducing Logan, an engineer from Colorado

In our last edition of Reader Stories, we met Huntly from New York City. For this one we get to meet Logan, an engineer from Colorado. The continued purpose of Reader Stories is to add a bit of emotion and humanity to this entire online-only enterprise, helping to warm the nation to peer to peer lending. Also, I do enjoy sending bags of gourmet Stumptown coffee by mail.

While Logan’s returns are a bit inflated because his account is so young (read more: the return curve), his story gives a great look into the motivation as to why people are getting excited about peer to peer lending. Also, it is great to see another investor who is diversified in over two hundred notes.

Meet Logan: a Lending Club Investor from Johnstown, CO

#1. In a sentence, where do you live and what do you do for work?
I live in Johnstown, CO, am married, and work as a network engineer.

#2. How did you discover peer to peer lending?
I discovered Lending Club about a year ago while searching for investments online. It sounded interesting at the time, but I had little money to invest so I did not look any further into it.

#3. What convinced you to take the plunge and open an account?
Once I had some money to invest, I took another look at Lending Club and did a lot of research to figure out if this was the right investment for me. From everything I read, the returns were better than the average returns on the stock market and it sounded a lot more enjoyable investing in people than in stocks.

#4. What is your return today? Are you happy with it?
Lending Club shows my NAR at 20.99%. I calculated my XIRR and it is 13.57%. Either way, I am happy with the return I am getting. My goal is to maintain a return of 12% or more. The average age of my notes is 57 days.

#5. What does your family or friends think of your investment?
My mom does not know a thing about investing, but she liked the idea of Lending Club enough that I got her to invest a few hundred dollars to try it out. A friend of mine has done the same and plans on adding more soon. My younger brother has invested nearly $8,000 in Lending Club so far, and likes it so much that he is going to continue adding money as it becomes available. My wife also loves the idea and fully supports me investing our money in Lending Club.

#6. Has anything been disappointing or unexpected?
I think I did enough research that I pretty much knew what to expect. But I am surprised at how popular Lending Club has become lately, which means the good loans get funded fast!

#7. What is the best part about peer to peer lending?
It’s fun! I like that I can see information about who I am investing in, and that I can be as picky as I want. It is also nice to know that I can make a double digit return while helping somebody else consolidate their debt to save money.

Thanks Logan!

Share Your Story on LendingMemo – Get Coffee

Getting spotlighted on LendingMemo is simple. In 1-3 sentences each, answer the following questions:

In a sentence, where do you live and what do you do for work?
How did you discover peer to peer lending?
What convinced you to take the plunge and open an account?
What is your return today? Are you happy with it?
What does your family or friends think of your investment?
Has anything been disappointing or unexpected?
What is the best part about peer to peer lending?

Email your answers to readerstories|at|lendingmemo.com with (1) a picture of you or your family & (2) a screenshot of your Lending Club or Prosper home screen.

Note: I am looking to spotlight people over 45 years old. I do enjoy people like Huntly or Logan because they are similar to myself, but the average reader on this site is retired. Let’s hear from you!