Last week, I wrote about how I had applied to borrow money through Prosper to consolidate my two worst credit card balances. My goal was twofold: reduce the number of outstanding balances I have and reduce the interest rate I pay.

I set up my loan request on a 7-day auction. I started the bidding at the recommended 15.66%, which was ultimately bid down to 11%. This literally slashes my interest rate in half. One of the balances that will be paid off is currently charging 22.74%; the other balance is charging 20.99%.

Not bad for a couple hours of my time.

Here’s a screen shot of the auction listing summary…

There were a total of 427 bids, which seems to be many more bids than the average listing receives. This is probably also why my interest rate was bid down so much.

Bottom line: I’m happy.

If you haven’t researched Prosper, you might check them out.

If it’s your first time listing an auction, the minimum amount of time you should list for is 7 days (in my opinion). This will give you time to verify your bank account and jump through the other “identity verification” hoops. (If I had listed less than 7 days, I’m not sure I would have been able to provide all the documentation in time.)

Oh, and one last thing: if you have any questions about my experience with Prosper, feel free to leave a question below. Just click on “Comments.” Thanks.