Prosper

I'm not sure where I first heard about p2p lending but the model is brilliant. It's one of those things that people say "I wish I had thought of that" or "Isn't that illegal, like loan sharking?"
I've made my first loan of 50$ to some guy for 16.5%, I'm guessing that as the 3 year period pans out for most of these high interest loans, either A. the person will default or B. the loan will be paid off early (probably borrower getting a better rate as their credit improves).
I'm going to be putting in roughly $4000 over the course of 2008 and hope to see at least a 11% to 12% return. People need to lend out at least $1000-$2000 to get loan repayments high enough to make other loans (bids on loans must be a minimum of $50 right now). I'll keep track of my progress.

Give yourself an allowance?

This month has been life changing for my finances. I've put myself on a strict allowance by creating a new bank account that receives only spendable money. Money that's post bills, savings, taxes....rent. This small amount is safe money, money for daily stuff, for eating out, movies, magazines, beer...etc. I only carry this bank card around. Since I have $200 scheduled to go in every Friday to this account, it's very easy to mentally tally the balance when making purchases.
This all sounds pretty simple, but it is very effective at keeping me on a budget without feeling like I'm on a budget. I get paid every two weeks through my job, but with my "allowance" I get a $200 weekly payment before I wake up every Friday morning. It sort of smooths out the cash flow going into and out of my life.
I do carry a credit card for any emergency I may have, but the new bank card is what I use on a daily basis. I use WAMU for the rewards and free checking (plus I live down the street from one).