Just when we'd all but forgotten about those rebate checks many of us received this Summer, the subject is coming up again now that we are approaching the year's end. Now is the time when many Americans begin to organize their documents for the upcoming tax season — can you believe the April deadline is just five months away? As you are entertaining the idea of filing your tax return, keep in mind that there could be more money headed your way than you'd thought.

If your 2007 return didn't qualify you for the initial wave of economic stimulus checks or you received less than the maximum amount, you may be eligible for a recovery rebate credit on your 2008 return (to be filed in 2009). If a job loss has reduced your annual income to meet the stimulus check thresholds or your income fell for some other reason, you would qualify for the rebate credit. The IRS will have tools on its website to help taxpayers determine their recovery rebate credit.

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You're not fooling anyone with the lies on your resume, and you're only hurting yourself by submitting a deceptive résumé to a prospective employer. Experts know that during a time of high unemployment like we have now, candidates are more likely to misrepresent their credentials, especially education. Applicants may feel they need to lie in order to get an interview, but you're wasting both your time and the employer's if you aren't who your résumé says you are.

A simple call to a previous employer to review your stated accomplishments, a request to the university to verify your degree, or a more thorough background check is all it takes to find out whether or not a résumé is truthful. Be an applicant that an employer can respect by refusing to stoop to deception when times are desperate. Think your résumé could use some freshening up? Get feedback by sharing it in my Résumé Remedy group.

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As girlfriends, we have brunch together, ask each other for hair and wardrobe advice, dish about the latest on the dating scene, and get worked up together over world news — what's stopping us from helping each other save money? Taking a note from FitSugar's strategy for working out with a buddy to stay motivated, recruiting a friend for pairing up to reach money saving goals could be just as effective in making us more accountable.

You don't need to have identical goals as your friend, maybe one of you is trying to pay off debt and the other wants to save up for a vacation, but both of you should have the main goal of getting your finances on track. Help each other create a plan for reaching your goals and then check in a couple times a week, or how ever often you feel is appropriate. A little help from your friends always makes the tough things more manageable, and success is that much sweeter when you get to share it with someone else.

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