Invest in Your Community

Hey all! Happy Hump Day. I hope everyone is happy and healthy today.

In my readings today, I found a great article about investing in businesses in your own community. The article can be found here. This is a wonderful thing that has happened as a result of the economic crisis and the resulting tightening of guidelines among banks. If there's something that's great that has come out of this downturn in the economic culture of America, it's the togetherness that has been created and the "lets turn to our community" attitude that has come about.

Necessity is the mother of invention. That's the truth and when businesses and people need the resources, why not turn to your community and friends to help you? I think that's awesome! Banks today have tightened guidelines for credit cards, home equity loans, personal loans, mortgages, etc. I work for a major bank and can attest that this is true to the nth degree. It's tough to get a loan now. It requires more money, more financial resources, more patience, and more energy.

This is not so different from the new trends in lending that exist on line now. Sites such as Prosper.com offer borrowers and also investors great opportunities to help peers that need financial assistance/ are looking for good returns from their peer group. Another great site that I've read a lot about and have seen others have good success with is the Lending Club. It's great to see that people are banding together to create solutions to economic problems that exist. If you can't tell, I'm excited about where things are going with all this bonding and community gathering. This may not last forever, but I'll bask in the energy for now.

With that being said, have a great end of your week and help out in your community where you can.

Cheers!