Ah, January. That lovely time of year where Americans join hands and resolve together that this year will be the year we stick to a budget and start watching what we eat.

It all sounds so perfect... So simple... That is, until the pizza joint around the corner starts boasting about their new flakier crust and two for one specials. Or until we make our first attempt at going extended periods of time without letting the "value menu" help us out with a quick and cheap lunch.

I'd venture to say most of us have been there. I know I sure have. I mean, it almost seems like two of the most popular New Year's resolutions in America - eating healthy and saving money - are just becoming more and more incompatible each year. This begs the question: is it possible to eat healthy and stick to a budget? Well, according to the internet, the answer was a resounding, yes.

After reading several articles on this very topic, I found several suggestions being repeated by expert after expert. I'll link to these articles at the end of this post, but for convenience's sake, allow me to go over what seemed to be the more popular tips shared by people who know way more about this stuff than I do.

Processed Shmocessed. Buy Whole Foods.

An experiment to try on your own. If you can, make a list of everything you've had to eat over the last few days. If more often than not your lunch came frozen in individually wrapped containers, or your dinner came in a cardboard box, then you've got yourself a great opportunity to make a turn for the 'cheaper and healthier.' Frozen/Prepackaged sure makes mealtime easier, but more often than not it's a more expensive option loaded with sodium, calories and sugar. Instead, buy whole ingredients and make your meals.

Produce for the Win.

Yeah, this one sounds pretty obvious, but if you're looking to save cash and be healthy, the produce section can be your best friend. Cheap, healthy, and full of options. Additional produce related tips to help save a few extra bucks: buy local, buy in season, and sing to your produce to increase the nutrients contained within. I don't remember who told me about the whole singing thing, but it makes perfect sense. I've found that apples really enjoy "Take it Easy" by the Eagles.

Water, Water, Water.

Drink water. As always, this is probably going to be easier said than done: but if you can replace your daily intake of soda with water - you're looking at a quick and easy way to save a great deal of cash. Also, you really can't get much healthier than water when it comes to a beverage. Buy a nice water bottle, use tap water or buy a filter, and avoid spending $1.50 for a fresh bottle of water every time you're thirsty and you're in business.

Organic?

Hey, that's the healthiest possible option, right? Well, here's the deal. If budget + health is your top priority, then you should probably avoid the organic stuff more often than not. Nutritionally an organic apple is no different from a non-organic apple, but it's gonna cost you more. If you've got the extra dough and feel very strongly about the organic food movement, then by all means... But there are definitely better options out there when it comes to affordability and health.

A Little Planning Goes a Long Way.

If you're like me, half the battle is finding the time to eat right. A Quarter Pounder with Cheese or a frozen pizza is a much faster and easier solution than making your own meal day after day. And sadly, that's just a fact. The healthy stuff is almost always going to take more time and effort than the less-than-healthy stuff. So do your best to plan ahead... Wake up a few minutes earlier to make a sandwich to take to work, plan your dinners out in advance, etc... It's going to take effort and time, but it's possible.

What About Eating Out?

A nice dinner out on the town is always a good time, and I wouldn't expect anyone to cut that from their lives completely. The key here is to not make eating out your staple. Make it the exception, not the rule. Ask the restaurant what their healthy options are though, even though you're spending a little more, you can still eat plenty healthy. If you're just looking for a quick meal on the go, avoid those fast food dollar menus. Always try to check with a site like http://www.dietfacts.com/ to make sure you're not taking in an entire day's worth of calories for a quick and easy lunch.

Make sure to check out these articles among others: 

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/17113255/ns/today-today_health/

http://frugalliving.about.com/od/foodsavings/tp/Eating_Healthy.htm

http://www.lifeoptimizer.org/2010/09/07/eating-healthy-on-a-budget/

As with any goal/resolution, the key is to not get frustrated to the point of giving up. Track your progress, rely upon the help of others, and most importantly. Sing to your produce.

We're getting closer to the release of the latest and greatest $100 bill, which is being touted as having "over a decade of research and development" going into its new security features. Now, I don't handle hundred dollar bills nearly as often as I wish I did, but let's take a look at this new bill anyways, shall we?

So without any delay... Here's our brand new made-over hundred dollar bill:

Oh hello there Mr. Franklin. You're looking more colorful than usual today.

In case you couldn't tell before they slapped that huge number on the side... This is a hundred dollar bill.

Alright, so it sure looks neat, but what are all those changes really for? I mean, it seems like we just got a new hundred dollar bill, didn't it? Well, despite changes made to the hundred dollar bill, it still remains the most counterfeited bill in the world, which forces the Department of Treasury to continually develop new methods to prevent any further counterfeiters from slipping any past us.

My first reaction, when learning more about the new bill online, was to be curious as to how necessary all this really is. I mean, when I think of counterfeiting, I think of old movies or old mobster stories or something. I mean, some kid trying to scan a print a fifty dollar bill isn't going to get very far no matter how many precautions we toss up, right? Turns out counterfeiting is not only a problem, but hasn't slowed down since the very first person decided copying money would be a better alternative to earning it... In fact, did you know the U.S. Secret Service was actually created to combat counterfeiting? Eventually they got put in charge of the whole protecting the president gig, but fighting counterfeiting is still under their jurisdiction. That's right. Printing off a twenty and trying to buy dinner with it isn't a misdemeanor or a slap on the wrist, it's a Federal Felony handled by the Secret Service.

So yeah, turns out counterfeiting isn't only a problem, but a very real one. Whether it's people figuring out ways to print very real looking copies of bills, or people buying $150 worth of groceries with a fake $200 bill complete with George W. Bush's portrait on the front, the very best way to prevent and deter potential counterfeiters is by updating and increasing the security of our bills.

So what changes are being made? Turns out, quite a few... (all information comes from http://www.newmoney.gov/currency/100.htm - which has plenty of awesome features and images all about the new bill.)

-3D Security Ribbon-

3D is all the rage these days. From Avatar, to 3D TVs, it looks like the latest fad has somehow made its way into our wallets. With how much money we shill out for those 3D movies, I guess it only makes sense...

The new strip is a blue ribbon running down the middle of the front of the bill. Tilting the note back and forth while looking at the ribbon will cause both the images to move as you tilt the bill, as well as causing the small 100s to switch to images of a bell and back again. Interestingly, the ribbon isn't simply printed onto the bill, but woven into the paper.

-Bell in the Inkwell-

This new image on the front of the bill utilizes a color shifting ink, where as you tilt the bill the color of the bell imprinted within the inkwell will shift from copper to green, causing it to "appear" and "disappear"

(Keeping both of these new advances in the bill in mind, I can't help but feel like the hundred dollar bill is starting to seem more and more like a POG Slammer or a baseball card or something... Not that that's a bad thing in the least bit, in fact, it looks like our money is just getting more awesome as the years go by.)

-"Gold 100"-

According to the treasury department, the large gold 100 appearing on the back of the note is to help "those with visual impairments distinguish the denomination." I don't doubt that's why they added that feature, but I have to say, this is my favorite addition to the bill. I only wish the rest of our bills had huge colorful numbers on the back. Hopefully in due time...

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Alright, I barely scratched the surface here, if you have a spare minute, you should really check out the Department of the Treasury's website all about the new $100 bill. They've got some interactive images and videos showing off all the cool new and continuing features and security measures on the upcoming hundred dollar bill.

If you're like me, and you don't really get the opportunity to handle too many hundred dollar bills, but you'd still like to see all these new features up close and in person, check out our cash loans as well as our referral program, where we give you a cool hundred each time you refer a friend who takes out a loan through Progressive Payoff.

Oh, and also, don't try buying lunch with one of these:

That's just a bad idea for several reasons.

Well, it's officially September. The return of school, Football, our favorite TV shows, and of course, cooler weather... For a lot of us, Labor Day Weekend is our final hurrah before we start cutting back on spending money on vacations and start saving for the incoming holiday season. In fact, AAA estimates that over 34 million Americans will be hitting the road this Labor Day Weekend, which is up almost 10 percent from 2009.

So if you're eager to get out of town and do something this weekend, but you're worried that planning this late is going to cost you. Or if you've found your summer trips have left you a little short on cash, there are still plenty of things to consider to let you send off the summer season in style.

CNN Money wrote a great article today about saving on your trip this Labor Day, and it was just full of excellent tips, so you'll have to excuse me if I share a number of those.

The first thing they took a look at was lodging, and as that's generally the biggest expense on a trip, I'll just follow their lead there.

I know the first thought when planning a last minute vacation is that you'll probably end up spending way too much on a hotel room, but before you start considering pilling 11 people in a single hotel room (I've seen this done. It's not enjoyable for anyone), or just calling the trip off altogether, you should know that good deals are still available. I'm assuming that since you're on this blog in the first place, your first instinct is to do loads of research online to find the best deal possible when it comes to a hotel room -- that's absolutely the first step in saving money on a last minute trip. However, there are a couple key things to keep in mind even considering the money you can save online.

First, don't take too long. The deals are available online, and they're still there even this close to the weekend, but according to Bob Deiner of GetaRoom.com, they expect hotels to raise rates right before the weekend.

Second, Deiner claimed the best way to get the lowest price on hotels is to do all your research online, then call the hotel and ask for the 'unpublished rate.' According to Deiner hotel prices given over the phone are typically 10 - 25% lower than the lowest online rate. Now I've planned a handful of trips online, and always felt like I've done a great job of finding some good deals online, but I can honestly say I've never tried this method, and it makes a ridiculous amount of sense. So when you book your hotel this weekend, make sure you give this a try!

If you're looking to fly, same goes for airfare, make sure you do plenty of investigating at the hosts of helpful travel websites like Orbitz, Priceline, AirfareWatchDog and the likes.

Also, if you just know you want to get out of town, but you don't really know where, do a little research there as well! According to Consumer Watch, Las Vegas, Orlando and the Caribbean are cheaper than they've been in quite some time. So look around, and find the place that's cheapest for you!

Now, if you're looking to take a great trip, but still coming up a little short even with all these price saving measures, feel free to give us a call or check out our about getting a cash loan through Progressive. We can get $500 in your bank account by tomorrow morning, and help you get you on your way without getting you tied down in a high fee payday loan.

Now go hit the road!