Peer-to-Peer lending is everywhere these days. You can start a business, get student loans and consolidate high interest debt. Still, borrowing money from your peers is a new experience for most of us, and for many people new things are daunting -- which makes this borrower's look at peer-to peer-lending by Matt Jabs at Debt Free Adventure all incredibly useful.

After the interest on three of his credit cards jumped, "due to bad economy", he looked into LendingClub.com to consolidate his high-interest debt into a lower fixed-term loan. But he didn't just consider the interest rates and say to himself, hmm, I'll chase that lower rate and who cares about the fees! Instead he compared the total cost and by doing so saved himself over $500. His story covers the details of his process, including his interest rate savings, 10% on one card. You'll also find links to help you figure out if you can save by consolidating to a lower rate loan the same way he did.

For me one of the biggest benefits to switching to a Lending Club peer-to peer-loan which was not covered in Jabs' article is that it is a fixed-length loan. While credit card debt can drag out year after year, a Lending Club loan gives you a specific payoff date. Having an end in sight can be a huge motivator to tackling your debt. I also like that you can't add to this debt over time and that there is no prepayment penalty.

While I have not personally used Lending Club or a peer-to-peer lender, this type of information,is leading me to look at a peer-to-peer solution to consolidate my current credit card debt when my promotional 0% rate expires.