Many small and mid-sized retailers will do as much as 20-40 percent of their annual sales in the final two months of the calendar year, according to the National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade association.

Let Inc.Com tell you how to distinguish your small business during the holiday season, how to develop a sales plan for the holidays, and how to use marketing strategies -- including online -- to boost holiday sales.

You can make a huge difference in the life of your neighbors by giving to the San Francisco Food Bank. The Food Bank leverages each $1 of your gift into $9 of food for hungry people in the city.

The Food Bank's programs provide food to households as well as to over 400 community organizations which distribute food at senior and daycare centers, public schools, soup kitchens, and other venues.

The picture above shows one of the community recipients of Food Bank food: the Women's Building in the Mission.

Help the San Francisco Food Bank keep your neighbors fed.

Have you received email notification to fill out your Center for Disease Control (CDC) swine flu vaccination profile? The government-looking instructions tell you that you don't have to be vaccinated, but you do have to register your status.

There's just enough bureaucratic-ese in the email and the web page to make the request look very real.

But, it's very phony! If you click on the page, you're risking having your computer taken over by crooks.

Don't forget to visit our news page for regularly updated articles for your financial success.

Today the news page talks about:

• Last-minute strategies for year-end tax savings
• How to make a catch-up contribution
• New energy credits to help "winterize" your home