Posted by Lending Club :: March 18, 2008 @ 12:49 pm
If you had an extra $10,000 right now...what would you do with it?
It's an interesting question that I love posing to groups in various amounts ($1,000 to $100 million). With my family members the answer is often vacation-related (we like to work), with friends it's often a new TV. From the more financially savvy, "I'd invest it" or “I’d pay off my credit card debt” are the responses I tend to receive.
Leave your response…and win a $100 bonus in your Lending Club account!
I’d like to give a little extra incentive to answer the question. Leave a comment explaining what you would with $10,000 and why. Lending Club will award a $100 bonus for every fifth response to this post, up to and including the 20th comment received. The money will be deposited into the responders’ Lending Club accounts based on the email address supplied when submitting the comment.
If you don't have a Lending Club account yet, sign-up here and then leave your answer in a comment below. Open to US residents only, 18 years of age or older. The contest will be closed when 20 comments have been received, or by March 25, 2008, whichever comes first.
What would I do with $10,000?
I'd invest it in loans at Lending Club, of course : )
So, what would you do with $10,000?
We will publish all comments once we have 20 or more comments.
Print This Post
68 Comments
Wow, $10,000 doesn't go very far doesn't it. I was thinking about
all kind of things like paying off debt, contributing to Roth IRAs,
increasing my position in peer-to-peer lending, etc. Then I realize
$10,000 doesn't even cover my entire debt (not including mortgage)
right now. So I guess the short answer is to pay off debt (personal
loans from family).
I would take my wife on a nice beach vacation away from all this
cold. This "maine winter is getting old"
I would use it to help knock out the rest of my car loan.
With a upcoming wedding 10k could be used for a lot of things.
Paying for any of the wedding things, the honeymoon, a car for my
fiancee, getting a new apartment squared away. Let's be honest
starting a life right out of college and getting married is not the
easiest thing to do. Oh yea there is also that 40K of school loans
that we have...hmmm where to start.
With $10,000 I'd be able to get completely out of debt and put a
nice chunk in an emergency fund.
Well, realistically I would end up paying the IRS a bunch of money
if I had an extra 10K. Although, I'd really love an Xbox360
too....sigh.
It would go completely to my emergency fund. I've knocked off the
current debt, aside from my home loan, and 10k against that
wouldn't go very far.
I'd knock out the last 2500 of my student debt and then pay to have
my mom's house repainted and some landscaping done. I went to visit
last week and about cried. I know she has other priorities right
now (retirement and medical bills), but no one wants to see the
house they grew up in looking neglected.
I would be happy just to get 1 of the $100's for a coment!!
If I got $10,000 I wasn't expecting?! Please... I'd invest it in
LendingClub.com of course and watch it grow while helping other
people get reasonable rates from peers like you, like me. -Jeff
[...] Link… Good luck! [...]
I would invest it in P2P lending since I think it delivers the max
returns with manageable risk to an investment newbie.
$7000 would go to buying a Piaggio MP3. (It will save on gas
money!) $1000 back into LC $1000 to HSBC savings $1000 to common
stocks. Sorry guys, I have no major debt. What if nobody posts
after me because they know they will not get the prize....
I would give it to my child and together we would invest in the
Lending Club so he could see how money grows. This will be his
kitty for his future. Maybe oneday it will become a few million
dollars for him when he needs it.
Pay off the rest of my loan for my startup company and then take
the rest - $200 and invest in marketing. The last $200 is for a
long overdue night out with the wife.
I'd fully fund mine and my wife's Roth IRA's for the 2007 year and
take reduce my 2007 taxes.
Oh, and it looks like comments are moderated, so you don't really
know what comment number we are on. Might as well post your comment
and take the chance.
I would put it all on my mortgage. By doing so I would save more
money on interest and payments then I would if I invested it at
Lending Club. Though believe me when I say I would be tempted to
put it all in Lending Club!!
You're right. It's not fair that I have to post after you so I'll
make some recommendations in my next few posts. #1: I would
recommend that someone pay down their credit cards and the
remainder balance (shame if you have more than $10k!!) should go
towards their emergency fund.
#2: Invest it in a Roth IRA. You might pay a bit of a tax on the
investment but over the long term at 8-15% it will grow tax free
and be worth much more and thus a bigger gift from whoever gave you
the $10,000 to start with!
#3: Refuse it. Yes, if you are THAT bad at handling money sometimes
it's best to never of had it at all. Just flat out refuse it.
#4: Donate it. Yup, give it to your favorite charity. Your heart
will just melt with joy and really... what's better than that!?
#5: Finally, you could gamble it away. I don't recommend this
route, but its a risk that some might be willing to take. After
all, if you have a good night you could be a millionaire! Put all
$10k on black and let it ride!
an engagement ring....Actually it would only go towards one as a
hefty down payment. Those things are friggin' expensive!
1. Pay off medical debt ($8500) 2. Pay down student loan ($9000)
Focus on building savings.
I would put $5000 into my online savings account. Put $2500 into
stocks and put $2500 into lendingclub. I have almost no expenses or
debt at this time, so investments is where it would go.
I would invest it, hopefully with better results than I have had in
the past! Some would go into LC, and the rest into a solid, blended
mutual fund.
$10,000 would be added to stock market. Good time to buy some
bargains. Or may decide to payoff the rest of my student loans
(interest rate of 4.5%).
Is that $10k pre-tax or $10k post-tax ? That's not an insignificant
For me, it's a question of maximizing the long term
difference.
benefit of the money. Letting it sit in cash exposes it to loss of
value due to inflation. Putting it all in the stock market exposes
it to near or even intermediate term significant volatility. So,
I'd take one of four paths. (1) Pay off existing debt - always
first. (2) Home improvement - do something that adds long term
value to your home. The value stored in your home should help keep
pace with inflation while getting some enjoyment out of the money
in the interim. (3) Emergency fund - I already have entirely funded
my 9-month emergency fund. Should a severe economic downturn hit
and I lose my job, I've 'squirreled' away enough to carry me and my
family for 9-months (at current cost of living). (4) Allocate the
money across existing investments. To help reduce volatility, put
part of the money in a CD, part in a good mutual fund, and part in
lower-risk, higher yield investment such as a Lending Club Lender's
Account. Given that I've taken care of 1-3 pretty well, any extra
money goes into option (4) for me.
I would put it in to capital improvements in my house. I have 5
kids and live in a 900 sq. foot ranch. We need to fix it up
marginally so we can move!
What would I do with 10,000 dollars (besides investing it in loans
on lending club)? I use the money to help fund my current education
expenses, including all the field work costs that I have to cover
for myself. With the rest of the money that I didn't use for field
work (collecting plants from around the US) I would set it aside
for doing home improvements.
That would take care of the rest of my credit card debt!!! Oh a
girl can dream
Just like DebtKid, I would invest in loans at Lending Club. I would
do that because my retirement savings are in a good place, I have a
healthy emergency fund, no debt, and like the risk/reward profile
of a balanced portfolio of p2p loans.
If I won $10,000 I would split it between two things. 1. I owe my
previous employer some money for grad school, so I'd put half of it
towards repaying that. 2. When I finish my master's degree, I want
to go on a giant road trip! I want to drive down the west coast,
visiting friends along the way, then drive all the way down to Cabo
and hang out and surf there for awhile. Then, drive back to the
states and visit my mom in Arizona. If I am not out of money yet,
keep driving east all the way to Charleston.
Well, since I have a loan in funding.... I'd wait until it's
funded, and then make a pre-payment of $10,000! (Forcing all my
lenders to find ANOTHER loan to fund with the extra proceeds....)
If you hit me with this question a year from now, my answer would
be to pay off my loan, and invest the rest at LendingClub.... You
just have to pay off the high-rate debt first.
I would invest in loans at Lending Club as well with $10,000.
Everytime I look at the site(6-10 times per day) I read a person's
reason for the loan and want to help them out. I know I have
limited funds to lend. I will also use the money to invest in a
Brownstone. I love visiting my relatives who reside in Brooklyn,
NY. They live in a Brownstone that has a new owner and they are now
paying a higher rent. I will use the money to help them buy their
own Brownstone. Of course I would save some of the money. Finally,
I would travel. I'm currently looking at going to Italy in 2009
through a local College EF Tour trip. I have no debt and want to
continue to diversify my money.
I'd probably take a grand of that and put it towards some equipment
I've been meaning to buy to help in my volunteer work. The
remainder would probably get saved or invested, or used to pay down
debts that I may be incurring soon. (I'm about out of college, so
I'm expecting to take some bigger hits as I get settled into the
real world.)
I'm assuming this is 10k after taxes. I would: Take ~5k and use it
and other monies I have to pay off my car loan Add 1K to the
emergency fund Use 3K for my 2008 Roth IRA And invest the last 1k
in lending club
I'm saving up for a down payment on a new house, so it'd probably
go into my emergency fund/down payment fund.
too easy.
I'd spend it actively promoting LendingClub's referral program. -t
I would save $5000 into my online savings account, $2500 in stocks
and put $2500 into lendingclub. I have no debt right now so
investments is the direction I would go with it.
I don't know why this is based on every fifth post. There's only
one post after an hour, so if I were a lendingclub member, I would
want it to be the first four posts so I wouldn't have to sit around
waiting to be the fifth post. Anyway, I would put the $10,000 into
a "high-interest" savings account to use for a mortgage
downpayment. I want to avoid PMI if I can.
$10,000 would go to my grad school tuition to avoid (as many)
loans.
I like having liquid assets. $10,000 would go into a high interest
savings account. I also might make early car payments with it,
because I don't like having 3-1/2 years left on my auto loan.
$5000 to fully fund my 2008 Roth IRA $5000 to cover summer expenses
I'm on a 10 month contract, and I just raided my summer savings to
fully fund my 2007 Roth IRA. I'll be able to build it back up over
the next two months, but $5000 would do the same thing without
pinching my budget.
I would buy a few things that made my home more energy efficient,
such as better insulation and windows. Since I already have a
savings account, I would invest the rest at my Lending Club
account, based on the awesome potential for return at not that much
risk.
I would first make some ridiculous impulse buys, have a huge party,
then use the rest to move to Puerto Rico after I graduate.
Fulfill my lifetime goal of hiking the Appalachian Trail this
summer. I just graduated college and am moving on to med school
next year. This might be my best opportunity to achieve this, but I
need to earn some money this summer. I could spend 3000 on the
trip, and have 7000 left over to add to my savings. 10,000 would be
pretty sweet right about now, actually.
Id pay off my college loans and buy a new car
I just recently moved to AZ after living in England for six years
and THAT is a huge financial burden, on top of that I just started
working again after getting laid off for four months! I would pay
off all my debts and help pay on my boyfriend's student loans, he
was an AMAZING help while I was looking for a new job.
Invest in Lending Club loans. Of course.
I'd invest it. Same thing I do with all our extra money!
Assuming it's an extra $10k after tax, then I would probably use it
to pay for something my wife and I are currently saving for: a
bathroom remodel. We never take on additional debt beyond our
mortgage, so we are waiting to give our master bath a face lift.
If I had 10k I would invest it in my sons future. By the time my
sons goes to college it will be at least 5 times more then what it
is now. This will help to get my sons savings jump started.
I would invest half in my Roth IRA and the other half in my sons'
529 plans (Iowa gives a tax deduction for the first $2500 per
child).
I would pay off credit card debt or start a business. I'm hoping
this "10k" is already after uncle sam took his part.... lol
I would purchase a viatica... the definition of a viatica is An
arrangement in which someone with a terminal disease sells his or
her life insurance policy at a discount from its face value for
ready cash. The buyer cashes in the full amount of the policy when
the original owner dies. Sounds morbid, but who knows.
I think i would put it on Black
I am in school and really pinching pennies. I've been with the same
girl for quite some time now, and I would buy her the engagement
ring she deserves, then use the rest for some fun for the two of
us!
i would give 10,000 dollars to the arbor day foundation.org and
plant 10,000 trees for the world.
With $10,000 I would be able to pay for some of my college and get
a car that is more fuel efficient.
Being selfish, I would buy a Quaterback filly in Germany. Not being
selfish, I would pay for a relative's propane for the winter and
see that she had anything else she needed.
I would invest 2500.00 in my emergency fund. I would invest 2500.00
into lending club. I would invest 2500.00 in an etf while good
quality etfs' are still cheap. (probably spy or dia or a
combination of both. With the remaining 2500.00, I would pay off a
large chunk of my credit card debt.
I would invest in a give back company like lending club and buy a
reasonable car. I would also take a short trip and put some of it
into a new home.
Right now I am in Buy/Sell and I also do eBay. In able to make
money, I need to have capital/investments.. I have enough to keep
the business running though. Extra $10,000 sounds tempting to
spend, but I'm definitely investing it. I'm 20 y/o. My first option
is to invest it in intermediate or long term stock. I will be
patiently waiting for the stock to rise, and give me a nice return.
Second option would be put the money in a bank CD. It's not huge
return, but at least I know my money is safe. Say the bank gives 5%
returns, that's 2500 in 5 years. Not bad for someone not doing
anything, I'd say. Third option, I would invest about $1000 for
education and get into real state investing. The money I have
saved, plus the extra $10,000, I would have enough to buy a house,
or at least a down payment, and start renting it out. I have no
debt or loans or IOU's whatsoever. I'm very careful with that. =)
I would pay to have Paul the Octopus predict something important
like war in Irak. He is absolutely the strongest psychic .
come on guys really? spend it on awesome stuff like snowboarding
trip vacation or something super cool!
Leave a Reply