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Flexibility is a key ingredient of a successful financial plan. With all of the financial strategies out there, it can be hard to decide which one will work best for you. As a result, once we find a plan that works, we are often hesitant to make changes, even if our situation changes. Peer-to-peer loans are one of the great ways to bring flexibility to your financial plan, whether you are looking to consolidate debt or invest money.

Our financial situation can change in many different ways. From the loss of a job to the discovery of a false assumption, when our finances change so too must our plan. Even positive changes, such as reaching a savings goal, are reason to reflect on our plan. Financial plans tend to be time sensitive as well, so a periodic review makes sense even if things seem to be running smoothly. Reviewing your plan doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll have to make changes. It just gives you the opportunity to analyze your situation, taking the new information into account, and make adjustments as needed.

Peer-to-peer loans bring flexibility to your financial plan because they themselves are so flexible. By taking out a P2P loan on Lending Club, you can consolidate high interest debt, cover an unexpected expense, or finance a planned purchase at a more affordable rate. Those who are looking to put their money to work for them can take advantage of the above average returns that P2P lending on Lending Club has to offer. The possibilities are endless.

Creating an account with Lending Club is the first step in adding the flexibility of peer-to-peer loans to your financial plan. The process is quick and easy. Joining today will allow you to be ready when changes in your financial life cause you to rethink your financial plan.

Being frugal is more than just giving up coffee, right? When someone is "being frugal," what exactly does that mean?

You'll be happy to know that you can be frugal without giving up coffee! I haven't given up my coffee yet, though I have given up trips to Starbucks.

My definition of being frugal is making the best use of your resources in accordance with your goals in life. Right now my goal is to get out of debt, so I try to cut my expenses, leaving more money available for debt repayment.

Other people may have different goals, but as long as they make the best use of their time, money, space, and other resources, they are being frugal.

You have a goal of getting out of debt by this summer – how close are you? What's your best single debt reduction tip?

Unfortunately I'm not even going to come close to getting out of debt by this summer. We've had one setback after another in the last year. My husband lost his job twice, we got some bad advice from an accountant and owe a large amount of taxes... and the list goes on.

Despite the setbacks, we've still managed to keep paying off debt. At this point it looks like we'll be out of credit card debt by September and hopefully the rest of our debt will be paid off by the end of 2009. That's the new goal.

My best debt reduction tip is never give up. Always keep your goal in mind. You will face setbacks. You might not come close to meeting your first goal. But if you are diligent, eventually you'll get there.

You just started Being Frugal last summer, and it's really taken off since then. What's your secret?

My secret is my great readers! They really keep me motivated, and I enjoy interacting with them. Beyond that, I'm just myself. What you see on my blog is exactly what you'd see if you were to meet me in person. I think readers like bloggers who are authentic and willing to admit making mistakes, and I've had to admit quite a few.

To tell you the truth, the growth of my blog blows me away! If I have a secret, I sure don't know what it is!

You don't seem to be a fan of debt at all (who really is?). What are the worst types of debt that should be avoided at all costs?

You're right. I'm not a fan of debt at all. But if I had to pick the worst kind of debt, it would be going into debt for something that decreases in value. It doesn't make sense to me to pay an inflated price (credit card interest) for something that isn't holding its value. I'm also not a fan of car loans, especially new car loans. I'd rather pay cash for a slightly older car than pay interest on a car that loses its value as soon as I drive it off the lot.

I'm on the fence about student loans. I realize it's difficult to get a college education without one these days, but I'm going to encourage my children to explore every other opportunity before taking out loans for college.

What are a few of your favorite posts? (I was a big fan of "7 Things Women Wish Men Knew About Money")

Thank you! I had a good time writing that post. And I have to thank Ron from the Wisdom Journal for suggesting I write 7 Things Women Wish Men Knew About Money.

Some of my other favorites are:
What Little House on the Prairie Taught Me About Debt
Things I’ve Learned About Money by Not Having a Lot of It
There’s No Shame in Renting

Peer-to-Peer Lending: good/bad/evil?

I'm not a big fan of peer-to-peer lending, because I'm not a big fan of debt. That being said, if I had to choose between dealing with peer-to-peer lending or dealing with a credit card company, I'd choose peer-to-peer lending. I really don't like credit card companies.

Being from Oregon, are you a Blazers fan?

I'm not a fan of basketball, so I can't say I'm a Blazers fan. Now if Oregon had a football team or a NASCAR track, we'd be talking!

Thanks for taking the time to interview me. I enjoy the Lending Club Blog, and it's been a privilege to participate in this interview!

In my post titled Retirement Healthcare Costs, I described how a recent study calculated that a 65-year-old couple retiring this year would need $225,000 to cover healthcare costs. Due to the enormity of this number, the report also included some tips about how to plan for such a large expense. Here are the highlights, with my analysis of each point:

1. Create an individual retirement plan

We often stress the importance of planning to reach your financial goals here on the Lending Club blog. As everyone’s financial situation is different, so too should his or her retirement plan be tailored. Taking your financial and physical health into consideration will help to assess your expected healthcare costs. Understanding your expected costs can in turn help to define your saving plan.

2. Start early and maximize opportunities to save

As with all investments, such as a person-to-person loan portfolio from Lending Club, the early you begin, the more time you’ll have for your investment to grow. Your retirement portfolio will likely see its share of ups and downs; the earlier you start saving, the more likely you’ll be able to overcome any downturns. Taking full advantage of tax-deferred and matching benefits of your employer will allow you to maximize your savings opportunities.

3. Assess health status and become a smarter consumer of health care

Preventative health care measures can lead to big savings. Use all of the tools at your disposal to become informed about your health and make the most of it. If your employer offers a gym membership reimbursement, for example, taking advantage of that not only saves you money on the membership itself but regular exercise will probably also lead to lower medical bills down the road.

4. Be aware of the details of any employer-sponsored coverage

Benefits change on a yearly basis at most companies, so it’s important to stay current on the latest retirement benefits in the area of health care coverage. Even if you know what type of coverage will be available in retirement, make sure you know the costs of that coverage as well. In many cases, retirees who can continue employer-sponsored coverage in retirement can only do so at an elevated cost.

5. Understand the financial impact of health care costs on Social Security income

As part of the cited report, Fidelity found that “a 65-year-old worker today, who is earning $60,000 and decides to retire this year, should expect that 50 percent of his or her pre-tax Social Security benefit will be used to pay for personal health care expenses in the next 17 to 19 years.” Not factoring these costs into your overall plan could leave your retirement seriously under-funded.

Seeing a number like $225,000 for retirement healthcare costs can be so overwhelming that you might decide there’s nothing you can do about it. Understanding what your costs will be, and making a plan to address your situation, will help to bound the problem and allow you to move forward. These five tips, and the background provided for each, should help you to plan this critical area of your retirement.

Have you ever found yourself sitting in a restaurant or at the hairdresser, frantically trying to figure an appropriate amount to tip? Should you play it safe and overtip? Should you factor in the quality of the service? You fear coming off as cheap, but you don’t want to give out free money, either.

Everyone struggles at one time or another with tipping, and these are only some of the issues that can affect one’s tipping decision. Gratuities have risen in the past decade, and remembering what amount is appropriate can be a tough task.

Fortunately, Lending Club sets a prime example for tipping etiquette. Lending Club helps connect people who need a personal loan with those who are seeking a rewarding investment path. The site’s annual average performance for a personal loan portfolio is over 12 percent, and the top performing portfolios earn lenders on Lending Club over 18.5 percent on their investments.

That latter number seems to be a perfect antidote for the oft-puzzling problem of proper tipping. For those who struggle with just how much to give in gratuity, the Lending Club return of 18.5 percent is a happy medium.

CNN Money reported on the appropriate amount to tip in certain situations. For the most part, the average tip was 15 percent, which remains a pretty standard rate in today’s service economy. Some businesses demand higher rates, and the type of service received can also fluctuate the percentage, according to the article.

Paying 15 percent might be normal, but doing things the Lending Club way is commendable. No one likes a thrifty tipper, so keeping to the 18.5 percent gratuity can make a big difference. Here are five situations where the Lending Club tip rule can safely be applied.

Tipping 18.5 percent at restaurants

Years ago, the standard tip at a restaurant was 10 percent. Today, if someone were to attempt such a paltry gratuity, he would be seen as cheap or rude, or both. Fifteen percent seems to be the acceptable norm, and anything less would speak to poor service by the wait staff or poor math skills by the customer.

Tipping 18.5 percent, then, would appear generous, benevolent, and downright charitable. Dinner guests would find you charming, fellow diners would find you wealthy, and the waitress might find you a free dessert next time you visit.

Figuring the tip is relatively easy, too. Let’s assume the bill comes to $23.50 (you took your date to a pretty cheap restaurant). To calculate a 10 percent tip, take the total and simply move the decimal point one space to the left. A 10 percent gratuity on a bill of $23.50 would be $2.35. Doubling the 10 percent tip would give you the amount for a 20 percent gratuity ($4.70). A few cents less than that would be the 18.5 percent Lending Club tip ($4.35 to be exact).

Tipping 18.5 percent at the hairdresser

Barbers and hair stylists have a largely thankless job. They are only really recognized when they do something wrong, like shave a cartoon into the back of your head or cut your ear. A good haircut is supposed to say, “Don’t bother looking at my hair because it is normal, socially acceptable, and not nearly as visually appealing as the fact that I work out.”

Yet the importance of this service is immeasurable. With the options of never cutting your hair or doing the deed yourself, a salon provides a pretty necessary function. And shouldn’t its employees be rewarded for it?

An 18.5 percent tip would be an appropriate compensation for making sure you don’t look like a Neanderthal, 80’s train wreck, which is exactly what would happen if you took scissors into your own hands. Plus, the barber might even let you double-dip in the lollipop jar.

Assuming the haircut is a 50-dollar visit, an 18.5 percent tip would result in $9.25 extra for your hairdresser. Figuring other tip amounts is simple. For every 10 dollars, just add or subtract two dollars from your tip total. A 40-dollar haircut would yield a 7-dollar tip, a 60-dollar trim would call for an 11-dollar thank you, and so on.

Tipping 18.5 percent at the spa

For many, the spa is a great way to relieve stress and treat oneself, so those doing the work for you should be justly rewarded.

Whether the spa day includes just a massage and soak or if the visit turns into a day-trip with mud packs, manicures, and the works, an 18.5 percent tip would be an appreciated gratuity for the people who work so hard to make you feel so special.

A big spa day could cost $150, so a Lending Club tip will be a fine tip for the spa staff. At 18.5 percent, you would be giving out 28 dollars—a price tag that feels a lot better after that nap in the sauna.

Tipping 18.5 percent to the pizza delivery guy

One of the most widely debated tips is the one given to the pizza delivery guy. Some people throw a few bucks his way, and others treat the service like a standard restaurant tab. Still others choose not to give the poor guy anything.

Customers choose their different gratuities for a wide variety of reasons. Some believe that the delivery charge is included in the price. Others don’t really see the value in the service. A few find it easier on the conscience to stiff someone at home rather than in their place of business. But regardless of the justification, pizza delivery is a valuable service that should be rightly compensated. These people bring food to your homes; how great is that? The delivery man saves you the hassle of driving out to get dinner, waiting in line, fighting traffic, and wasting valuable free time. That is worth an 18.5 percent Lending Club tip right there.

A 12-dollar pizza is an easy two-dollar tip, and no one should be cheap enough to deny the deliveryman that.

Tipping 18.5 percent to the taxi driver

Getting around a big city can be hectic, stressful, and time-consuming, which is exactly why taxi drivers deserve Lending Club’s 18.5 percent tip.

For many urban dwellers, taxis are their only means of transportation. City buses only go through certain routes, and riding a bike doesn’t always fit in with a schedule or dress code. Taxis also provide a great service for out-of-towners, businesspeople and tourists.

As such, tipping 18.5 percent seems more than reasonable. Though some might feel that the fare is enough price to pay for a ride through traffic, taxi drivers offer a service that is quite important, if not appreciated.

Tipping 18.5 percent on a 20-dollar fare is $3.70 out of your pocket, which is a fine price to pay to avoid morning road rage.

Be sure to check out the article for more tips on tipping!

On March 5th, Fidelity Investments [fidelity.com] released the results of the company’s study on the costs of retirement. The conclusion was that a 65-year-old couple retiring this year would need $225,000 to cover healthcare costs.

What makes this number even worse (it’s up 4.7% from last year) is that retirement savings have to go to more than just healthcare. Rising life expectancy also means that other costs, like food and housing, will require more savings in retirement as well. The study included costs for Medicare premiums, co-payments, deductibles, and prescription costs not covered by Medicare.

The good news is that not everyone will face such high costs. The study assumed that the couple did not have retiree health insurance from a former employer. Some people, particularly those who worked in the public sector, do have such benefits. The only other good piece of news is that this year’s increase (4.7%) is less than the average increase (5.8%) since the study began in 2002.

As part of the release, Executive Vice President of Fidelity Investments Brad Kimler said, "With health care costs continuing to outpace wage increases and companies trimming retiree health benefits, financing health care has to be central to retirement planning. Given current economic conditions, this is especially true for those planning to retire in the next few years or before they qualify for full Social Security or Medicare benefits."

These latest results stress the importance of proper retirement planning. Gone are the days when fat pension checks and benefits for life were the norm. Taking personal responsibility for your retirement isn’t just a smart option; in many cases it’s the only option. If credit card debt is getting in the way of fully funding your retirement accounts, get rid of it quickly by consolidating with a person-to-person loan from Lending Club. Your ailing future self will certainly appreciate it.