In 2006 I decided to take a leave of absence from teaching and open a new business with my brother.  Opening and running the business proved much tougher than expected, and in the meantime, I’ve run up some personal debt to keep the business afloat.  While trying to use only business revenue to make the payments, I fell behind on two of the credit cards and they subsequently increased my interest rate substantially.  Prior to that, my credit history was spotless for 20 years.

My husband and I have now taken on the debt personally, caught up on the payments, and are in the process of selling off our portion of the business and our home since he is being relocated out of state.  I have gone back to work tutoring part time for $30/hr with my old employer, and will resume teaching full-time in the fall.  

The purpose of this loan is to pay off one of the credit cards at a much more reasonable interest rate.  I have contacted the credit card companies about lowering the rate back down now that I am caught up, but they have stated that I must wait 6 months.  I’d prefer not to pay the high interest rates for 6 months so that is the reason for coming to Prosper.  My debt ratio is obviously out of whack right now, since my income is currently low, and all of our joint accounts are included in the calculation.  My husband will be making the payment on this loan until I go back to work full-time in the fall.  If you are curious about his credit, you can view a previous Prosper loan that he took out to help me get started with the business here - http://www.prosper.com/lend/listing.aspx?listingID=74636.