Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Step1
Register on Prosper.com. The only requirement is that you must be a U.S. citizen over 18 years of age with an active bank account.
Step2
Fund your account. The money should be available within 2 to 4 business days. The only accepted method of funding your Prosper account is via an electronic funds transfer from your bank account.
Step3
Browse and view listings. Make a list of loan applicants on whom you want to bid (how much you want to contribute and at what interest rate).
Step4
Choose your final listings, depending on how much you want to start with and place your bids. The minimum bid on any individual loan is $50.
Step5
Wait to see if you are outbid. This happens when the loan is fully funded and someone else is willing to accept a lower interest rate than you. The loan will be funded at the highest accepted interest rate of any one lender, so you will only pay a lower rate if others also bid lower. Therefore, bid the lowest interest rate that you will accept, even if the current rate is much higher than that.
Step6
Win a bid, or several, make your loans and watch your share of the interest start trickling in.
