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The Nest | Pigeon Loans

A summer wedding. A fall vacation. A winter filled with gift exchanges and a few minor home improvement renovations. These are all valid reasons to take out a personal loan.

All of these seasonal scenarios are also followed by spring taxes...and likely plenty of questions. 

Is personal loan interest tax deductible? 

Do I include cash from a personal loan as part of my income?

How do I report a canceled personal loan?

Taxes can be, well...taxing—especially when you’re dealing with a new financial scenario, like a personal loan. Stay tuned as we learn more about personal loans and how they affect your taxes.

Can a Personal Loan Interest Deduction Be Claimed on Taxes?

In most cases, personal loan interest cannot be claimed on your taxes. But, there are exceptions that you may be able to take advantage of when taking out a loan for personal use.

You may be able to claim personal loan interest as a tax deduction if some or all of the interest can be linked to:

We’ll cover these exceptions more in just a bit. But first, let’s start by defining what it means to claim interest on your taxes. 

Meet James. James works hard. In fact, he made $75,000 last year before taxes (great job, James!).

Like all outstanding citizens, James is a taxpayer so James is getting ready to file his taxes for his latest tax year. He knows that the Internal Revenue Service calculates taxes as a percentage of his income. So he starts crunching the numbers based on his cool 75K. 

But wait, James! Don’t you know about deductions? A tax deduction is a reduction of taxable income. You can qualify for a dedication if you’re married, have children, make charitable donations, contribute to an IRA account, install energy efficient appliances, or even when shopping for clarinets (see for yourself). Another common standard deduction is interest paid on loans.

After James applies his deductions, his taxable income drops down to $55,000. And those income tax savings add up to a lot of extra clarinet lessons!

So, What Types of Personal Loan Interest are Tax Deductible?

Let’s get back to personal loans. Similar to mortgage loans, auto loans, and credit cards, personal loans often have an interest rate built into their repayment schedule. But typically, only mortgage interest qualifies for a tax deduction.

As a rule of thumb, interest paid on a car loan, home equity loans, credit card debt, or loans used for personal finance is not deductible. But before you file your tax return, make sure you don’t fall into any of the following three personal loan exceptions.

☑️ Using a Personal Loan for Business Purposes

Business loans aren’t always easy to get, especially if you’re self-employed. If you use any of your personal loan funds to form or run your small business, the associated paid interest can be deducted when you file your personal taxes. Website development, purchasing inventory, and marketing can all qualify as business expenses (FYI, if your small business files taxes, you cannot claim business expenses on both your personal AND business tax forms).

☑️ Using a Personal Loan for Qualified Higher Education Expenses

One in eight Americans have student loan debt. While these loans are one option for tackling the high cost of further education, funds from a personal loan can also be used to pay for college tuition, fees, and associated activity costs. This means that interest payments on a personal loan used to manage certain education expenses, including student loan interest, may be deductible.

☑️ Using a Personal Loan for Taxable Investments

If you use the money from your loan to invest in stocks, mutual funds, or bonds, you may be able to deduct any paid interest on your taxable investments. But keep in mind there may be tax implications in the form of short-term or long-term capital gains and you’ll need to itemize your deductions to take advantage of this deduction, which isn’t common.

Examples of Deducting Personal Loan Interest from Taxes

For the sake of seeing these exceptions in action, let’s check in with James. Did you know he took out a personal loan with a total loan amount of $10,000?

He used $2,000 to buy new equipment for his business. Then he spent $3,000 on his college tuition (business owner and student? Way to go, James!). Then he invested $1,000 in the stock market. He used the remaining $4,000 for personal expenses, specifically an incredible Caribbean vacation (James works hard and plays hard). 

Can James deduct any interest paid on this loan and receive tax benefits? Most likely, yes! 

He’ll want to work with a trusted tax professional to help him with the details, but he can likely deduct interest paid on the portions of the loan that paid for his business expenses and college tuition. He may be able to deduct the interest paid on the portion used to buy stocks, but this is trickier to accomplish since it has to be an itemized deduction. As for the part of the loan that fueled his getaway, because it’s a personal expense, he’ll have to settle for a tan instead of a deduction.

Are Personal Loans Considered Taxable Income?

We know what you’re thinking. If personal loans count as part of your taxable income, are you really saving anything by deducting the associated interest?

This could be a valid point—except personal loans are not considered taxable income. Taxable income is defined as money you earn after deductions from your adjusted gross income (AGI), primarily received through either  a job or investments. Because personal loans are funds received with an intent to pay back, they do not increase a borrower’s taxable income.

What Happens if Your Personal Loan is Canceled?

If you took out a personal loan and then defaulted on your payments, you’ll have to take a few extra steps come tax time. 

Depending on your lender, upon default, your lender will issue you a cancellation of debt, or COD. You’ll then receive a 1099-C tax form that will need to be submitted to the IRS with your return.

While a loan in good standing doesn’t count as taxable income, unpaid and canceled debt does. Here’s why. 

When you borrow a dollar, but give a dollar back, your bank account remains neutral (assuming there were no origination fees or a high amount of interest). But when you borrow a dollar and only pay back fifty cents, you’re essentially ahead by two quarters. Unlike personal loans in good standing, unreturned loans qualify as income in the eyes of the IRS, and are taxed accordingly.

By the way, taxes are hard. When it comes to deducting personal loan interest, we recommend that you always work with a trusted tax professional (James does) for accurate tax liability purposes.

When taking out a personal loan, don’t count on paid interest being tax deductible. At the same time, knowing when interest paid on personal loans can be deducted will ensure you’re not handing over more money than you have to to good ole’ Uncle Sam.

Want to read more related content? Check out some more of our awesome educational pieces below:

Lending Money? Borrowing Money? Avoid Tax Pitfalls

Balance Transfers vs Personal Loans: Here Is The Difference

4 Tips To Successfully Navigating Loans with Friends & Family

Are you looking for more ways to claim tax deductions, tax credits, or other tax benefits? Did you know that interest from your personal loans may qualify you for tax savings? Learn about the ways you can use personal loan interest to your advantage on your taxes.

What Types of Personal Loan Interest Are Tax Deductible?

How to make tax-savvy loans with family, friends, and loved ones.

This article was written purely for educational purposes, this does not constitute legal, or financial advice. Consult your lawyer, tax, or financial advisor before making any decisions based on the information you’ve read in this post. The tips outlined below are applicable to the United States, Internal Revenue Service.

Everything we do seems to have some tax implications. Loans between family, friends, or loved ones are no different. If you are thinking about lending your friend money to help them buy their first car you might want to read this article before charging 0 percent interest rate on that loan. We have experience making informal & unsecured loans, so we have compiled some tips you should think about before making your next loan:

1. The $10,000 USD Rule (AKA the De Minimis Exception)

This is the magic number. The IRS will consider a loan that is smaller than $10,000 USD as a “small” loan as long as the Borrower doesn’t use any of the money from the loan to generate additional income. Generally speaking, “small” loans will be subject to less scrutiny from the IRS, and the following rules that we outline in this article will likely not apply to them. So, if you want to lend money to loved ones, keeping it below $10,000 will help avoid tax complications and IRS headaches.

Straight from the source; check out the US Tax Code 26 USC § 7872.

2. Charge an Interest Rate Equal to or Above the Applicable Federal Rate.

Things get a little trickier when creating loans larger than $10,000 USD. At this point, loans above this amount are no longer considered “small” by the IRS. Above the $10,000 USD threshold, you want to make sure you are structuring your loan properly. One way to do this is to charge an interest rate on your loan that is equal to, or larger than the IRS-approved applicable federal rate (AFR) set during the month in which your loan agreement started. It gets a little complicated so we’ve broken it down below:

What is the AFR and which rate do I choose for my preferred interest ?

Every month, the US government establishes a list of minimum interest rates for debt instruments. Based on the context of the US economy at that time, these predetermined rates are meant to reflect a fair market rate.

AFRs are broken down into short, mid, and long term rates, so you should pick the rates that align best with the term length of your intended loan. Short term rates should be used when making a loan that will be repaid in three years or less. Mid term rates should be used when making a loan that will last between three to nine years long. Long term rates should be referenced for loan agreements that will be longer than nine years total.

Straight from the Source. Monthly Applicable Federal Rates (AFRs) can be found here.

It is important to note that while AFRs are changed monthly, the only rate that is applicable to your loan is the rate of interest that is set during the month your loan agreement is signed. For example, if in August, the mid term AFR interest rate is 0.41%, and in August you agree to loan Becky $15,000 USD over 4 years, she should owe you at least a 0.41% interest rate on that loan term.

Why is charging an interest rate a good idea from the Lender’s perspective?

If your loan exceeds $10,000 USD, then the IRS will expect you to have an interest rate, regardless of whether you actually have one in place. As the Lender, the IRS could end up taxing you on an interest rate that you could have charged but did not, also known as “imputed interest”. By taxing the Lender on an interest rate they did not collect, the Lender would end up unnecessarily losing money with their loan.

Why is paying an interest rate a good idea from the Borrower’s perspective?

Making a loan in which you do not pay an interest rate, or you pay an interest rate below the respective AFR, would categorize your loan as a “Gift Loan” or “Below-Market Loan”. As a result of your actions, the IRS will calculate the difference between the AFR and the interest rate you charged, apply that to your loan, and consider this discrepancy in funds a “gift” from the Lender to the Borrower. “Gifts” can then be taxed, and the Borrower will have to pay the applicable tax rate. If however, you apply at least the respective AFR to your loan, you will not have to worry about this headache.

Straight from the Source.Gift Tax Guidance can be found here.

3. For Any Loan, Have the Appropriate Documentation

This is the most important action you can take to avoid getting into tax trouble. Regardless of the size of your loan, you will want to have a comprehensive loan agreement, agreed upon and signed by both parties, as well as proper documentation of your timely payments. This is important not only because you have to be able to prove you have a high enough interest rate, but also because if you forgive the loan, you might have to prove that the loan forgiveness was not planned from the start.

Of course, the IRS knows that loan forgiveness can happen, but it will only allow for loan forgiveness as long as it is proved to be unexpected. In other words, the IRS does not want you to give Becky $30,000 USD as a present and avoid gift taxes by making a loan which you will forgive anyways.

Having a legal signed loan agreement, as well as documentation of your payments, is a great way to show that the loan was legitimate. Luckily, Pigeon Loans makes it very easy for you to get a signed agreement that will help steer you clear of tax trouble.

There's quite a few tax consequences to consider when lending or borrowing money. Whether it be from friends or family, make sure you know the laws in your neighborhood about these transactions.

How to loan someone money, maintain your relationship, and get paid back.

When it comes to making a loan with friends or family, there are two extremely important components of a loan that Lenders care about:

The likelihood that the money being given out as a loan will be paid back in full.

The hope of maintaining a good standing relationship with a Borrower after a loan is complete.

When thought of together, these two intangibles are powerful forces within the loan process and often work in conjunction with each other to influence the numerous outcomes of a given loan.

Many of us are aware of this reality, and have even run into a scenario like: your best friend didn’t repay you back a large sum of money which ultimately ended your friendship. Or, in this same experience, the reverse is also true — a relationship falls apart while your significant other is indebted to you, so the chances of you seeing your money again are slim at best. Often times, because of these two factors, lenders who want to support and help their loved ones are left taking on a great level of risk, both financially and relationally.

Now what if I told you there are ways to combat, and maybe even prevent these struggles…

According to a Bankrate 2019 survey, statistics show that nearly 60% of Americans are benevolent lenders when asked to be. When it comes to helping out a friend or family member financially, 3 out of 5 people will sacrifice their own well being to help their loved ones in need. And as you might guess, about 35% of those compassionate supporters were negatively harmed in some way, albeit financial or relational. However, interestingly enough, a caveat exists within this world of lending and borrowing. An additional 35% of surveyors report having experienced no harm at all when it came to making a loan with someone they trust. Very few statistics exist as to what goes into a loan that yields only positive results, but when we think about human nature and an individual’s relationship with money, we can be sure of a couple of things.

Achieving a goal is more attainable when people are held accountable. Analogous to the world of interpersonal loans, when building a new business, entrepreneurs are 65% more likely to succeed in meeting aspirations for themselves when they designate a second or third party dedicated to holding them accountable to their own commitments. In thinking about your relationships and life experiences, we can all recall a time where we accomplished a great achievement and did so because we had a peer, organization, friend, family, or neighbor to hold us accountable over time. In the same way that these moments in our lives were made possible because of an increased sense of accountability, this phenomenon can also translate over to and influence the world of loans when dealing with people you trust.

Aside from the time and effort put into lending money to a loved one, what is the overall cost of making this kind of loan? Expenses to consider might include, legal fees and bookkeeping. Considering the time it might take you to educate yourself on the best lending practices or even the potential tax pitfalls of a new loan, you will have invested a significant amount of your well being into helping out your loved one in their time of need. Reducing all of these costs, whether directly or indirectly, is paramount to increasing the likelihood a loan being repaid. The ideal reality for the world of lending would include a free platform for Lenders to track their money given out, a manner for Lenders to easily protect their loan legally without incurring the costs of formal legal counsel, and a readily accessible source of information on how to best navigate the entire loan process. By creating this ecosystem of tools and resources, the overall cost of making a loan is greatly reduced and as a result of this reality, all parties involved can focus more on maintaining a healthy relationship and repaying their loan on time.

Even though it may seem impossible to create and manage a happy, healthy, and simple loan with your friends and family, there is light at the end of the tunnel. At Pigeon Loans, our easy to use online platform handles all of the little logistics that irritate and ultimately hinder relationships and the loan process as a whole. Our ecosystem, handles payments, reminders & notifications, complicated bank transfers, and the creation of contracts. At little to no cost at all to the Lender, the worry regarding whether or not their loved one will remember their next payment installment is nothing more than a thing of the past. Pigeon Loans acts as a third party, seeking to hold Borrowers accountable for their responsibilities, so Lenders don’t have to text, double text, or even call a forgetful family member about any money still owed. The key to navigating a loan successfully lies within the logistics, and using Pigeon Loans provides lenders with the most comprehensive solution to the pains of an interpersonal loan.

By adding an element of accountability and reducing the indirect and direct costs of making a loan with someone you trust, we believe only good can come out of your next act of financial kindness. So whether you just want to help out your friends, or whether you want to help someone grow their business, structuring and managing your loans through Pigeon Loans is a no brainer. Lenders all over the world are joining our platform each and every day, so why not you?

A comprehensive guide on how to loan someone money, maintain your relationship, and get paid back - all while helping out someone you know and care about.

Pigeon Loans: A Flight Path for Lenders

Between mortgages, student debt, and credit card purchases, the average American is over $90,000 in debt. Being in debt is stressful. Between keeping up with monthly minimum payments, tracking rising interest rates, and protecting your credit score, it may seem like an impossible task to rid yourself of seemingly insurmountable debt.

Balance transfers and personal loans are two great options to consider when tackling debt or trying to avoid suffocating interest. Here’s why you might need each one: 

If you’re balancing multiple credit card accounts and want to focus on debt management, a balance transfer is a great option to consider (the best balance transfer scenario includes a promotional window with a low interest rate).


If you’re coming up against an uncommon but substantial expense, like a wedding or major home renovation project, a personal loan provides instant access to cash you can use as you see fit.

To understand which is best for you, let’s dive into balance transfers and personal loans a little more.

A balance transfer is a way to manage credit card debt. The goal of a balance transfer is to quickly pay off a balance, especially one that’s hit your credit limit, while avoiding interest. In some scenarios, transfers are made to take advantage of rewards offered by a new card company.

The balance transfer credit card process looks something like this:

A credit card holder with a balance on one or multiple cards seeks out a credit provider offering balance transfers.

They submit the required information to apply for a transfer.

If approved, they review the proposed terms.

Should they decide to move forward on a balance transfer offer, all necessary paperwork is completed.

The transfer takes place and any applicable balance transfer fees are applied to the account.

The new terms take effect and a payment schedule begins.

Balance transfers are an appealing approach to debt consolidation, especially to those stuck under high credit card interest rates. While there are certainly benefits to enjoy, there are also disadvantages to consider when transferring high-interest credit card debt to a new credit card.

The average credit card interest rate is 16.22%. In what is likely its most appealing benefit, many balance transfers offer a promotional window with a 0% interest rate, usually lasting between 12 and 24 months.

Not everyone transfers a balance solely for a low fixed interest rate. Some switch a card’s balance to a new credit provider offering better rewards or enhanced cash back programs. 

If you have more than one credit card, transferring multiple balances to a single account can simplify your personal finance and debt management plan.

If you’re unable to make your payments on time or pay off your entire balance before the introductory period closes, you could end up paying a higher interest rate than your original card included. You could also end up with more debt than you started with if you continue to charge purchases on transferred accounts.

Balance transfers can come at a price. Transfer fees can be as high as 5% of the total amount transferred. Additionally, your credit score can take a hit when applying for a transfer.

If your credit history is less than perfect, you may not be approved to transfer your entire balance. You may also be denied entirely.

This debt management approach isn’t right for everyone. But if you tick most of the boxes below, transferring or consolidating your credit card balances via a balance transfer could be a smart financial decision.

Have a credit card balance with difficult to manage payments and/or high interest rates 

Have good or excellent credit in order to to qualify for 0% interest promotional windows and voided balance transfer fees

Have a cash flow that matches proposed payment terms to ensure balance will be paid in full within promotional window

A personal loan is a one-time cash payment from a lender to a borrower. Terms vary by loan and borrowers may use the money for home renovations, to pay off debt, or for one-time expenses like vacations or weddings. Lenders can be banks, credit unions, or even a friend or family member. 

A personal loan process often looks like this:

A borrower seeks out and applies with a lender.

Terms are discussed, negotiated, and ultimately agreed upon.

The lender distributes the agreed loan amount to the borrower, enacting the loan.

The borrower makes payments, with or without interest, until the life of the loan has expired.

Personal loans are a type of installment loan. They offer several advantages, making them an option for just about anyone in need of a quick line of credit. But there’s also fine print to be aware of. 

Personal loans are flexible and versatile. Borrowers with good credit have a multitude of lender options. This means they can find a loan with terms that match their needs, like a low introductory APR. The funds can also be used at their discretion.

Personal loans offer lower interest rates compared to other types of loans. For example the average personal loan interest rate in 2021 is as low as 9.3% while used car APRs for the same survey period can be as high as 21.07%.  

Personal loans are simple to understand. Once a borrower understands the total amount being loaned, when it needs to be repaid by, and what the origination fee and interest rate are, there are very few risks for surprises for borrowers.

Personal loans can come with higher payments and shorter repayment windows. 

Personal loans can be dangerous for over-spenders. The cash can feel like a windfall while it’s being spent and leave borrowers unprepared for payment terms when the time comes.

Personal loans are not ideal for those with poor credit. If you have a low credit score and are still approved for a personal loan, you can expect an exceptionally high interest rate. This is one reason why securing a personal loan from friends or family members is often preferred over a financial institution.

Personal loans are a great way to secure cash at a low-interest rate without the temptations of a credit card. If you meet the following criteria, a personal loan could be for you.

A strong candidate for a personal loan typically has these qualities:

Needs cash for a big purchase or to pay off different types of debt

Has good credit to avoid high interest rates

Has the cash flow to meet financial obligations before repayment period ends

In addition to having a willing lender, borrowers should also make sure their loan is taking place through a secure platform. For example, Pigeon Loans (the platform you are reading this article on) is a software tool that enables interpersonal loans, so anyone can get a loan from a friend or family member with ease, trust, and security.

Balance Transfers vs. Personal Loans - Which Is Right for You?

You know that your finances could benefit from either a balance transfer or a personal loan. The question is, which is the better option? 

The answer depends on your unique financial situation. A meeting with a financial advisor can be beneficial (in fact, we highly recommend it because #wearenotfinancialadvisors). But if you’re searching for instant clarification, here are a few scenarios to consider.

As long as you crunch all the numbers (i.e., not just your monthly payment but total cost of repaying the transfer/loan, including fees, interest, and repayment terms) and understand what you’re agreeing to (i.e., the fine print), you should have all the information you need to make an informed decision between a balance transfer and personal loan. 

It goes without saying that all available options should be explored when trying to pay down debt or tackle a big expense. Remember, financial institutions aren’t your only resource. There are safe ways to borrow from friends and family that can be more beneficial than going with a corporation.

Both balance transfers and personal loans can have a positive impact on your financial situation, especially if you’re trying to pay off student loans or tackle a large amount of debt. They’re even more effective when they offer an interest-free promotional period or a low annual percentage rate. If you’ve been discussing the possibility of taking out a personal loan from a friend or family member, see how we can help simplify and secure the process of borrowing from your loved ones.

Are you trying to manage credit card debt, or build your financial health overall? Learn how to choose between a balance transfer or personal loan.

Balance Transfers vs Personal Loans: Here Is the Difference

Well, here we are, Pigeon Loans has officially been alive and kicking for 5 months now, and has grown tremendously since our launch. We now have thousands of people visiting our site at any given time, and a boatload of users signing up every day from multiple countries around the world. We’ve seen numerous loans come to a close, with many ending in full repayment; we’ve released partnerships with brands all over, and quite honestly…we are just getting started! We believe in the phrase “it takes a village to raise a pigeon” and so far you all have been our village, so thank you.

If you are reading this, you are among the first to join the Pigeon Loans community, so, because of your support we wanted to give you the inside scoop on our latest developments. As we grow, we hope you’ll follow along and take flight with us. So without further ado, welcome to the first edition of The Carrier, and (wow!) do we have a lot for you to digest.

First and Foremost: Find us on Product Hunt!

Product Hunt is an awesome community that showcases and highlights trending startups, and it is a great place to learn about new ideas and technology.

Despite the common misconception that birds and cats don’t get along, we decided to debut on Product Hunt. We recently launched on the platform, and encourage you to go check out our Pigeon Loans Page and give us some feedback on our creation! It is a great place for conversation, so feel free to post a comment, ask a question, or crack a joke; the Pigeon Loans community will be there to answer you.

Alternatively, if you simply want to show your support you can “Upvote” us to let us know you are out there rooting for us in the stands (woooooooooooo!).

So if you didn’t already know we launched a pretty big giveaway late last year. It’s been a few months since we had our coming-out party to the world, so the time has finally come to announce the winners of the inaugural Pigeon Loans x Champion Sweatshirt Giveaway.

The opportunity to enter closed on Jan 31st, and we had many people enter this sweepstakes. This week we sent out a “congratulations email”, to the lucky few that won our custom made sweatshirt and the $500 cash prize, so make sure you check your inbox, because you might have an email from us!

And of course, congratulations to the winners!

Can you guess how long it took for us to integrate HelloSign’s API?

HelloSign, a Dropbox company, recently interviewed us and featured us on their website. You check out how long it took, Brian Bristol, CTO, and co-founder, to fully integrate the HelloSign API by heading over to their testimonials page.

HelloSign & Dropbox then followed up on the testimonial by releasing a multi-page case study (👈 Pssst…read me)into our patent-pending, innovative technology! So if you want a better understanding of Pigeon Loans’ “behind the scene” you can read up about it, by clicking the link above.

Fun Fact Alert: Did you know Pigeons and humans have lived in close proximity for at least the last 10,000 years? The first written records of humans and pigeons cohabiting date back to around 3,000 BC and describe ancient Mesopotamian (modern-day Iraq) and ancient Egyptian societies feeding pigeons!

Our founder is a Junior Achievement Alumnus

Junior Achievement is a globally reaching, education focused, NGO non-profit, that seeks to “inspire and prepare young people to succeed in the global economy”.

Turns out, one of our founders is a Junior Achievement Alumnus himself. We connected with the non-profit, shared stories, and spoke about Pigeon Loans. They loved our company, so they blasted Pigeon Loans all over their networks; go check out their website and their social media to learn more!

Of course, if you are a Junior Achievement Alum, please reach out, join the Gather network, and say hello, we would love to connect!

The Carrier is going to become a regular occurrence for us here at Pigeon Loans. We have so much more exciting news and announcements lined up for next month that we can’t wait to share with you.

Stay tuned, stay safe, and keep on chirping!

Welcome to The Carrier - Pigeon Loans' monthly newsletter dedicated to updating you on all the news, notes, and developments happening in our community.

Welcome to The Carrier

September is a month for fresh beginnings: classes for all the little children are starting back up, people are going back into work (or are they?), the leaves are changing and preparing for Fall. And most importantly, you can find pigeons all around the world, eating lots of food and getting ready for cuffing season (hmm…should we build a Tinder for birds next?).

With September, finally wrapped up and behind us, our team can finally breathe a sign of relief. We’ve been putting the finishing touches on an enormous variety of developments that we are finally ready to share with you! Like we say, literally every month, we think this is going to be the most shocking, jaw-dropping, flabbergasting, just plainly rootin’-tootin’ wild edition of The Carrier yet. So, grab your popcorn and your favorite pumpkin flavored drink, sit back, relax, and try to forget that we sent out this “September” newsletter on October 1st 🤦‍♂️. Welcome toThe Carrier— big birthday edition!

For our first magic trick of this illustrious birthday edition of The Carrier, we would like to welcome to the stage our brand new Pigeon Loans website !!!

Yeah, we made this the first update in the newsletter because we figured some of you smart folks (we know, we got a few lil Einstein wannabes in our community) might have already noticed the big change. Our new website has been up and running, *oh so smoothly* for the past week — and so far the people love it.

For months we’ve been working with the Skyward Digital team, headed by our good friend and often mentioned, Dan Spratling, to bring this brand new user experience to life. We have cool animations, awesome colors, and a bunch of fun, entertaining, and educational content for you to browse through while you’re on the toilet.

Within the new website you’ll find a fully fleshed out Help Center filled with answers to any questions you may have about loans, finances, relationships, or how best to use Pigeon Loans.

You’ll also find a cool carousel of user feedback we have gotten over the year, outlining the wonderful things people have said about Pigeon Loans during their time within our community and using our platform!

To think that this whole journey all started from customer feedback is heart-warming to say the least — you all really made us work for this, but now it’s here and ready to go (please don’t break it, just be gentle while scrolling).

For a fun activity, you should hop on over to the old Pigeon Loans website and compare it to the new Pigeon Loans experience. You’ll notice the new sleek edges, elevated fonts, bombastic colors, and glistening eggshell white background (Coca-Cola should definitely hire us to voice over their next Super Bowl commercial).

Go check out our website, and drop us a note in our new Feedback form to let us know how we did!

Story 1: Don’t Get Married In Your 20s 🕊️

Wow, okay, alright, that’s fine (inspiration for said words from Champagne Papi). We got one big piece of news out of the way, and honestly, we needed to save time, and our limited character count on Medium, for big update #2.

Some of you might already know this, but we recently released a podcast! It’s called The Chirp, and it’s entertaining, so you should listen to it.

If you still have that popcorn and your pumpkin spiced drink that we mentioned earlier, you should probably get a refill, because our first episode of The Chirp is shockingly entertaining. As we let you all know last month — The Chirp allows you to unwind for about a half-hour during which you can listen to everyday people discuss their ups and downs, their wins and losses, their peeks and troughs within the wild world of personal finance and relationships.

In this episode entitled, Story 1: Don’t Get Married in Your 20s, you’ll hear a story captivating story about how sometimes shared finances and unspoken expectations can unfortunately cause a strain on your deepest relationship.

Listen as we talk with CEO of washbnb, Daniel Cruz about his struggles with juggling his marriage, divorce, money, his career, and aspirations in life.

Story 1: Don't Get Married In Your 20s 👇

Story 1: Don‘t Get Married In Your 20s

Oh yeah, did you forget!? It was our birthday!!!

P.S. We are still accepting all forms of cash presents.

Yeah you probably guessed it, but we’re Virgos and we’re proud of it 💁‍♀️! You might not have known this, but Pigeon Loans was only launched one year ago — yeah we’re still a little hatchling in the eyes of many. We‘ve accomplished so much over the past year, and we couldn’t have done it without each one of you, so we wanted to share this moment with you, awwwweee.

Scroll up to view the embedded tweet about what we’ve accomplished over the past year. But to think this all started off as just a dream, and is now a community home to over 6,000 of you makes us oh so very proud.

We want to end this edition of The Carrier with a simple message for our community:

Thank you for following us along this journey of ours *raises glass of apple cider*. Here’s to many more years of growth to come 🥂

Lol, hopefully we release the next month’s October edition…in October *shrugs*

September 2021: All The Latest News About Pigeon Loans

We've got a brnad new website to announce and a new episode of The Chirp to talk about. Also, we just finished celebrating our first birthday! So check out all the craziness that's happened at Pigeon Loans in the month of Septmeber.

The Carrier: Two Launches and a Year-Gone-By

Welcome back to The Carrier! Summer is in full swing, and we hope you are enjoying every second of it.

You already know the deal. We’re back again with more Pigeon-related fun facts, GIFs galore, and a sprinkle of Pigeon Loans related news. We have some burgeoning (*big word*) updates for you this month, so we won’t keep you waiting any longer. Without further ado, let’s get to the scoop.

For a couple of months now, we’ve been working behind the scenes on something big. What could be bigger than a couple of billionaires going into space you might ask? Well, wait until you hear this. 😏😏😏 *drumroll please*

We are redesigning the Pigeon Loans website! 🙌

For months now, you’ve gotten used to our iconic orange background, interestingly contrasting color schemes, and oddly phenomenal use of Google stock images on our website. Even though we love our current website, and the fact that it’s the first version of the Pigeon Loans experience (*sheds a proud single tear*) we know there is room for improvement and growth.

So to make the Pigeon Loans experience more engaging, more informative, and more exciting we’re taking all of your user feedback from our survey(s), feature requests from our walkthroughs, and combining it all into one brand new captivating experience! With the large (exponential 🤯) amount of growth that we are seeing, and continue to see every day, we decided to double down on the Pigeon Loans experience and make it even more enjoyable for our wonderful users like you.

To get the job done right, we were able to hire an amazing freelance front-end developer in, Dan Spratling, to take the lead on this project. You already know of Dan’s work because he designed the original version of the Pigeon Loans homepage, and lucky for you, he has been a 💫 star 💫 at documenting his journey on his Twitter, so send him a follow to keep up with his work. If you want, check out his tweets straight from the source, or you can revel in awe at our ability to use Medium’s snazzy embedding technology here as well.

Dan, has worked with Pigeon Loans before and has put together some incredible designs and results, giving us full confidence that he will make your user journey through the website oh so smooth.

We are sure you will love the re-design as much as we do! Be ready for the launch Q3/Q4 2021!

Trained pigeons can tell the difference between the paintings of Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet

We know a website redesign, while very exciting, is also extremely stressful.

Will there still be cute little footprints on the website? Will we still rely on our signature orange tones?

We have covered all of our grounds, and want to reassure you that all of the work is getting approved by the top, most sought after, art critics: Pigeons.

A psychologist in 1995 demonstrated that his Pigeons could discern between a Picasso and a Monet, and more broadly between a cubist painting and an impressionist painting.

If Pigeons can tell the difference between two of the most important art movements ever, surely they can also tell us if our website looks wonky. We are going to have every re-design decision vetted by the true crème de la crème art critics!

Don’t believe us about these Pigeon abilities? Read the full scientific paper yourself.

Storytime: Pigeon Loans Helps A Small Business Owner

So for awhile now, we’ve talked a lot about all of the growth we are having on our platform. In other newsletters, we gave you real, hard, statistical numbers. But the people in our community are more than just numbers. They are business owners, mothers, college students, athletes, investors, and so much more. With this reality in mind, we want you to really feel attached to this community, and for that reason, we have decided to highlight a story we were recently told that we consider a real success for Pigeon Loans.

We've got a story to tell - read about how Pigeon Loans helped support an entrepreneur in growing her small business. Along with that, check out a preview of our upcoming website redesign.