Friday Finance Findings for December 11th

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I know it’s been a while since I did a Friday update, but it’s been pretty busy around here. The end of the year is always busy, but this time I’ve been gearing up to begin some work with a new startup company. They haven’t launched yet, but if all goes as planned we hope to see everything launch to the public sometime in January. It looks like it’s going to be useful and fun, so stay tuned for updates. I’ll be sure to share the site with you when it’s up and I’m guessing a lot of you will have fun participating. That’s enough of a tease for today, so on with the links.

Building Your Financial Safety Net – You can invest and save all the money you want, but if you don’t have a financial safety net in place you could find it wiped out in the blink of an eye during a crisis. Part of creating a sound financial plan involves protecting what you have so that you don’t end up with nothing at all.

17 Tips for End of Year Tax Planning – It’s that time of year again. You should begin thinking about some year-end tax planning. Sure, April 15th is still many months away, but things you do before the end of the year could minimize your tax burden.

Top 10 Wealthiest Canadians – We regularly hear about the wealthiest Americans in the news, but what about our friendly neighbors to the north? Who are the 10 wealthiest Canadians?

Lazy Man’s Gift Guide 2009 – Every year, Lazy Man puts together his lazy gift guide. There are always a bunch of good gift ideas, so be sure to check out the 2009 edition.

How to Stop Drinking Soda – Could you afford to shed a few pounds? Guess what? If you simply cut soda from your diet you could be well on your way to a smaller waistline. But giving up soda can be hard, so here’s some advice to help you kick he habit.

Heard of Stimulus Grants? Scams Abound – Don’t be fooled, there isn’t another stimulus check coming your way any time soon. But that hasn’t stopped scammers from trying to get people to believe otherwise.

TransUnion TrueCredit Credit Monitoring Service – The Sun has a review of TransUnion’s TrueCredit monitoring service. This can help people stay on top of their credit and catch possible identity thieves.

67 And Bankrupt: Are The Kids To Blame? – This kind of story is all too common. Parents obviously want to help out their children, but sometimes it can go too far. Remember, you also have to be able to support yourself!

How to Set Awesome New Years Resolutions – Raise your hand if you’ve set a New Years resolution before? Now raise your hand if you failed to follow through with that resolution? Hmm, I still see a lot of hands in the air. Well, setting resolutions isn’t a bad thing, but you have to know how to set the right kind. Here’s how to set an awesome resolution for 2010.

Pet Owner? The HAPPY Act May Provide Tax Deductions – Tax breaks for your pet? Surely this is a joke, right? Well, this isn’t as crazy as it sounds. Find out how The HAPPY Act may be providing some new and unique tax deductions.