| July Edition |
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In July, some people did actually get swine flu, England are yet to disgrace themselves in the Ashes, and it was the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing. The scorching month predicted was a complete washout, Harry Potter and Bruno battled it out at the box office, and festival season got underway. In other news, baboons have been issued with ASBOs in Merseyside for theft, while across the pond, this video of an unusal wedding has been watched 7.5 million times, and Pepper the penguin has been left heartbroken in San Fransisco. At Zopa HQ, our first PRIME loan hit the headlines with a piece in This Is Money earlier in July. We also featured in The Times, The Sunday Times, and in Money Magpie this month, and last weekend we appeared on Radio 4's Moneybox, which you can listen to here. In the last week, we also recruited our 300,000th member - meaning that we're now officially bigger than Belfast! Don't forget, you can befriend us and follow our random musings on Facebook or Twitter. And if you have something you'd like to say about your Zopa experience, you can leave a review for us on Moneysupermarket. |
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Thursday night was an important one in the Zopa diary - our first annual pub quiz. With it being summer and all, we had planned a Zopa sports day, but after the weather threatened to spoil our fun we headed indoors (to the pub, naturally) for a quiz. After several tense rounds of 'Whose haircut is it anyway?', 'Guess the lyrics' and 'Zopa: The Inside Story', Team Speccie pipped the Three Little Pigs and Small Is Beautiful to the post to walk away with the top prize. We'll put up pics of the event on our Facebook page. |
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Did you know... that the three wealthiest families in the world have more assets than the combined wealth of the 48 poorest nations?
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Last month, we asked you whether you used our forums and read our blog. While most of you stay away from forums, a worrying number of you claimed addiction (you know who you are). Meanwhile, the majority of you just look at the blog from time to time. If there's anything you'd particularly like to read about, get in touch! We'd like to pick your brains on some random topics again this month. Click on any of the links below to place your vote, and to see the results of previous polls: Do you save money every month? • Yes, I save a specific amount monthly• Not monthly, but when I can afford it • Not unless I want something specific • No, I never save anything How much money do you have in your current account? • More than £3,000• Somewhere between £1,000 - £3,000 • More than £0, less than £1,000 • I'm in my overdraft |
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Did you know...that males constitute 80% of all the arrests in the UK?
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We disbursed our 10,000th loan this month, and as promised, we're paying all of the interest for our lucky borrower! That's right, rpwillie,who received the loan, won't be paying a penny of interest. Rob, from Lincoln, was pretty chuffed when we broke the good news, saying that the savings will enable him to jet off on holiday - and he might even lend some of it on Zopa. He said: "I chose Zopa because it's fair and ethical, had competitive rates, and because individuals, rather than banks, would profit from my interest. "Zopa's not just about making a profit - it's about being socially aware. I will certainly become a lender one day, and am currently trying to persuade my parents to invest some of their savings in Zopa!" Don't forget to use your Tell a Friend link if you persuade them Rob! |
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Yes, we're still multiplying - and this month it's all happening over in the tech team. Last month we were joined by Qerim, our technical architect. When he's not doing complicated things with computers in the office, he's playing on them at home - claiming addiction to Battlefield 2142. He's also a huge U2 fan and plays the acoustic guitar - a skill we'll have to put to the test. Originally from South Africa, he was named after a general in the Boer War, and went to school in Pretoria. He speaks fluent Afrikaans, and swears in a wide range of other African languages. Six months ago he became the proud dad of baby Gabriella, and we can vouch for it - she's very cute. Qerim managed to escape on his holidays before we cornered him with the camera - we'll get him next month! |
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Lots of our borrowers here at Zopa are looking to finance home improvements - so we reckon that you must face the same problems that we do finding a good tradesman to do the job. That's why this month we've teamed up with website MyBuilder, which puts homeowners in touch with reliable, local tradesmen - over 28,000 of them in fact! It's really easy to use - all you have to do is post your job, for free, on their site. Local tradesmen will then come to you with a quote, saving you time and money. Or if you want to be more proactive, you can search for local builders in your area, read other homeowner's reviews and invite them to quote for your job. Best of all, it's totally free, so why not post your job and get started? |
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Did you know...that the fear of touching money is called chrematophobia?
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School's out for summer! Everywhere you go will be swamped with small people for the next six weeks - there's just no avoiding it. But if it's your own children you've got to keep entertained for six long weeks, have a look at some of our ideas for keeping them quiet for hours at a time. • Educational toys:Yellow Moon • Cheap theatre tickets: Theatre Tickets Direct • Learn about your family history: Find My Past • Design a photo album: Greetings by PhotoBox • Try something new: Red Letter Days • Learn a language: TELL ME MORE |
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If you'd like to be interviewed for next month's edition, or if you have any good ideas for stories, please send an email to jennifer@zopa.com |
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If you prefer not to receive communication like this from Zopa, no hard feelings. Sign in to your account and choose the types of emails you receive. Just so you know it's us, your username is <%user.Nickname%>. |
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Zopa Limited. |