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In my recent post, Raising Your Hourly Wage, I discussed how you should use as much of your paid time off as possible to maximize your effective hourly pay. Looking into vacation in greater depth, I’ve found that workers in the United States are much worse off in that area than in many other developed nations.

In its report, No Vacation Nation, the Center for Economic and Policy Research found that the United States is the only country with an advanced economy that doesn’t guarantee paid vacation for its workers. Adding in the lack of government-mandated paid holidays only makes the matter worse. Nearly one in four Americans has no paid time off.

Lack of paid time off also induces a culture where taking time off is shunned. That’s why I encouraged readers to use their time off in my post. There seems to be a stigma attached to taking vacation. There shouldn’t be. It’s just that ideas that break from the status quo are sometimes viewed negatively just because they are new.

I first noticed the cultural attitude differences toward vacation when I worked in Germany. It seemed like there was always a colleague taking a vacation with his or her family. These weren’t the annual “one-week trip with the family” kind of vacations either. They were 2-month-long life-changing adventures to exotic locations. There was usually a week off before the travel for preparation as well as a week or two off to decompress afterwards before returning to work. No one had a problem with such extended vacations because everyone did it. The companies were organized to deal with interruptions in the workforce by planning delegation of work responsibilities from the start.

In addition to the minimum 24 vacation days and 10 paid holidays in Germany, we only had a 35-hour work week. Despite being salaried, every hour I worked above 35 went into my time bank that could effectively be used as vacation as well. By simply working the normal 40-hour work week I was used to, I earned 5 hours of time off each week. Imagine if employees in the US who worked 70 hours a week were entitled to 30 hours of vacation a week for their overtime!

Of course, for this one area where the United States is lacking compared to the rest of the world, it offers many opportunities that make up for it. I strongly believe that the United States is the greatest country in the world. That I live and work here proves my belief. As a global leader in so many other aspects, it’s just surprising that our country is lacking in its vacation policies. Some would argue that our lack of time off has propelled our country into the strong position that it finds itself in, and I can see that point as well.

Until such time as we have mandated paid time off, I renew my encouragement to take as much of your available time off as possible. It might not be a popular idea, but it may lead to greater satisfaction with your life, which would certainly outweigh any negative consequences. In addition to traveling with your family, you can use your time off to get your financial house in order by fine-tuning your budget, for example. You can also hone your investment strategies and try person-to-person lending on Lending Club. Making the most of your time, whether you are working or not, is always in your best interest.

There’s an old saying that clothes “make the man,” but my recent shopping experiences cause me to question that. What do the clothes we wear really say about us?

Clothes don’t hold a lot of significance in my life, which can be seen in my small allocation for clothes in my yearly budget. I’ve always dressed respectably, but have never been one to spend a lot on clothes or put a lot of my self-worth into the value of my clothes.

I recently had a big event to go to and decided to spring for a new outfit. Since it was a special occasion, I decided to go to a high-end store to see what they had to offer. I was shocked to see that they were selling dress shirts for $75 and pants for $180. To make matters worse, those were the sale prices. Normally they would have been $110 and $225 respectively. I’m all for looking nice, but there’s no way I could justify spending that kind of money on an outfit that I’ll only wear a few times.

To me, the difference in the way I look in a more affordable outfit vs. such an expensive one is not worth the price difference. I doubt the people who were attending the event with me would have noticed any difference either. Even if people could notice a difference, would it really be worth taking on debt to achieve that status? Perhaps trading debt for status is one of the reasons why credit card debt is so high in our country. Luckily, Lending Club has been able to help people get out of debt by refinancing their credit cards with a low rate person-to-person loan.

Part of my sticker shock stems from the fact that on those occasions when I do shop for clothes, I usually shop sales at retailers known for their reasonable prices. For a special occasion, I recommend going with a retailer one level higher than where you normally shop. My mistake was going to a store many levels above where I normally shop. Some companies make it easy for you to shop different tiers of their brand. The Gap, for instance, offers both a lower and higher brand, with their Old Navy and Banana Republic stores.

If you’re comfortable in your clothes and they are appropriate for the occasion, then I say the less you can spend, the better. It doesn’t take an expensive outfit to feel like a million bucks.

Paper currency was first introduced into the Americas in 1690 by The Massachusetts Bay Colony. Here are some interesting factoids about the US dollar bill (a.k.a. “Greenback”) to keep in mind as you borrow, invest and lend money:

1. Larger bills ($50, $100) can last in circulation up to 8 years
2. The average life of a dollar bill is just 18 months
3. 97% of all paper money contains traces of cocaine
4. Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer, is said to use $2 notes from sheets of bills purchased from the U.S. Treasury – he apparently has them bound into book form with the bills as tear-off "pages"
5. The number 172 can be seen on the back of the U.S. $5 dollar bill in the bushes at the base of the Lincoln Memorial
6. $20 bills last in circulation for approximately 2 years
7. $5 bills last in circulation for around 15 months
8. In 1960, the Federal Reserve had $177.41 in cash circulating for every person living in the US. In 1990, that amount increased to $1,062.86 per capita
9. The security thread and micro printing found in most currency today were first used in 1990 in the $50 and $100 bills
10. In 1865, the Department of the Treasury issued Gold Certificates, which were backed by gold and bullion deposits. These certificates stayed in circulation until 1933
11. On the $1 bill the Latin above the pyramid, ANNUIT COEPTIS, means "God has favored our undertaking”
12. The Latin below the pyramid on the $1 bill, NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM, means "a new order for the ages”
13. At the base of the pyramid on the $1 bill you will find “1776” in Roman Numerals
14. On the $1 bill, you can see an owl in the upper left-hand corner of the "1" encased in the "shield," while a spider is hidden in the front upper right-hand corner
15. On the new $100 bill, the clock tower of Independence Hall in Philadelphia is shown with the time set at 4:10. According to the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing, “there are no records explaining why that particular time was chosen”
16. In 1929, US currency was standardized to include portraits on the front and emblems and monuments on the back of all bills.
17. The first paper notes were printed in denominations of 1 cent, 5 cents, 25 cents, and 50 cents. The government first issued paper currency in 1862 to finance the Civil War and to make up for a shortage of coins stemming from the fact that people hoarded gold and silver coins to achieve a sense of financial security
18. Almost half, 48 percent, of the notes printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing are $1 notes
19. Present currency measures 2.61 inches wide by 6.14 inches long, and the thickness is 0.0043 inches. Larger sized notes in circulation before 1929 measured 3.125 inches by 7.4218 inches
20. Martha Washington is the only woman whose portrait has appeared on a U.S. currency note. It appeared on the face of the $1 Silver Certificate of 1886 and 1891, along with the back of the $1 Silver Certificate issued in 1896
21. If you had $10 billion and spent $1 every second of every day, it would take 317 years for you to go broke
22. The $20 bill is sometimes called a "double-sawbuck”
23. The elm tree on back of the $20 bill near the White House represents a real tree in this same location. However, the tree is no longer on the White House grounds because it succumbed to rain-softened ground in 2006
24. While he appears on the $20 bill, Andrew Jackson actually preferred coins to paper currency
25. There are no pictures of African-Americans printed on US currency, though five African Americans have had their signatures on currency (as Registers of the Treasury and Treasurer of the United States)
26. In 1963, the $2 bill and the Federal Reserve Note were changed by adding the motto “IN GOD WE TRUST” to the reverse and removing “WILL PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND” from the front. Also, the obligation on the Federal Reserve Note was changed to its current wording: “THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE”
27. The $2 bill was last issued in 2003
28. You'd need to fold a bill of any denomination about 8,000 times (first forward and then backwards) before it will tear
29. Most people save $2 bills, thinking they are rare and therefore valuable; they're actually worth... $2
30. Apparently, enough people go to banks and other businesses to find $2 bills that there’s a name for it: Tom Crawl
31. The number 13 (corresponding to the 13 colonies) figures prominently on the $1 bill. The number of letters/digits in 1776 (4) and its Roman Numeral equivalent MDCCLXXVI (9) adds up to 13
32. The dollar has 13 stars above the eagle
33. There are 13 steps on the Pyramid
34. There are 13 letters in ANNUIT COEPTIS
35. E PLURIBUS UNUM contains 13 letters
36. There are 13 vertical bars on the shield
37. The top of the shield has 13 horizontal stripes
38. You can count 13 leaves on the olive branch
39. There are 13 berries on the olive branch
40. The dollar bill also features 13 arrows and 13 hats
41. The Secretary of the Treasury usually selects the designs shown on US currency, unless otherwise specified by an Act of Congress
42. A world record of $2,255,000 was paid in December 2006 for an 1890 $1000 United States Treasury note. The note features a portrait of Civil War-era General George Gordon Meade, who commanded Union Army troops at the Battle of Gettysburg
43. Pocahontas appeared on the back of the $20 bill in 1875
44. Money isn't made out of paper, it's actually made out of linen
45. A fifty dollar bill is often called a Grant because it features a portrait of Ulysses S. Grant
46. A $100 bill has many nicknames: C-note, Hundo, Hunksy, Franklin, Ben, Benjy, Benny, Big one, and my favorite: 100 bones
47. High-denomination bills ($500-$100,000 notes) are technically legal tender, but were last printed in 1945 and officially discontinued on Jul 14, 1969 by the Federal Reserve System
48. President Richard Nixon halted the circulation of these high-denomination bills in 1969 by Executive Order, in an effort to fight organized crime
49. The security thread in bills $5 and higher will turn blue if they are held under ultraviolet light
50. The $1 bill’s famous nickname of “Greenback” derives from the Demand Note dollars created by Abraham Lincoln in the late 1800s to finance the Civil War. These notes were printed in black and green on the back side

Bonus: In 75% of American households, women manage the money and pay the bills.

Want to earn a higher return on your paper money? See what happens when you start to lend money at Lending Club!

You can learn even more interesting facts about money by visiting these great websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_one-dollar_bill
http://nutmegcollector.blogspot.com/
http://www.talewins.com/essays/onedollar.htm
http://www.frbsf.org/federalreserve/money/funfacts.html
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0774850.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/united-states-one-dollar-bill
http://www.dailyfacts.org/interesting-facts-about-the-us-currency/
http://www.pbs.org/moneymoves/money_facts/

Free markets are characterized by prices that vary as a function of supply and demand, and Lending Club is no exception. Demand for loans within the Lending Club community has increased 3-fold in the last 30 days, soaring from 100 active listings in December to 300 active listings today. All loan requests are posted by members with at least a 640 FICO score, less than 30% debt-to-income ratio and no current delinquency.

As a result of the surge in loan requests, we are increasing the base rate today by another 25 bps, less than a month after the 50 bps announced on December 24. The Lending Club base rate increases by 25 bps across all loans grades, and rates now vary from 7.37% to 18.61%. See this page for more details on how we set interest rates, based on the risks associated with any given loan: http://www.lendingclub.com/info/how-we-set-interest-rates.action.

All Lending Club loans are fixed-rate, so the rate hike will only apply to new loan listings. As we continue to collect more data and refine our model, the rate-setting mechanism will become automatic, based on real-time supply and demand.

Better rates. Together.

Aspects of my recent posts on After Christmas Cleanup and a New Year Budget Review can be combined into a valuable exercise.

By reducing the number of objects in your home, you can determine more easily what areas need to be renovated, updated, or complemented with new purchases. You may miss these areas if you have too much clutter in the way. Once we cleaned up our home, we noticed the gaping space above the mantle, where a large piece of artwork would really add to the room.

In your budget, cutting back to the bare necessities is also good. The ways you planned to spend, save, or invest your excess income in the prior year are not necessarily going to be the same in the coming year. Simply rolling your budget over may leave some assumptions that are no longer valid. Using your old budget is a great starting point, but pay particularly close attention to how you allocated your budget surpluses.

My budget usually shows that I have $0 left at the end of the year because all of the money that I would have left over is earmarked for saving and investing, and to a lesser extent spending. For example, if your budget showed that you should have $100 left over at the end of each month, you might want to add budget items for an emergency fund, long-term savings, and investing in a person-to-person loan portfolio from Lending Club to “spend” that extra $100 each month. If you stay on track with your budget, at the end of the year you’ll have saved that money that might otherwise have been spent.

Combine the two ideas of de-cluttering your house and your budget, and you’ll know what you may want to spend your money on and how you’ll be able to afford it. By placing desired spending and saving levels into your budget, you will help automate the process of meeting your goals. It will often reduce the amount of unexpected purchases for the year as well, by allowing you to better identify what some of your needs for the coming year will be.

It seems as though getting back to a minimum starting point is beneficial for multiple aspects of our lives. We can always add more later, but in planning purchases for the year and revising your budget, removing the clutter is a great way to get off to a good start.