Here’s why I love thanksgiving… It forces you to stop, even if for a moment, and honor what’s right in your life. Driving into my yoga studio yesterday, I was listening to NPR (again, because I’m officially a fuddy, duddy now) and there was segment where people called in and shared what they were thankful for.

If you’re in the United States, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a great day spending time with friends and family and chowing down on some delicious grub. To celebrate Thanksgiving, we’ve dug up this old film from 1950 called “A Day of Thanksgiving.” In it a dad explains to his kids, that there’s more to Thanksgiving than turkey. Enjoy.

If you’re in the United States, I hope you’re off somewhere enjoying a great meal with friends and family. I sure am! Normal posting will resume tomorrow morning!

This is a guest post from Steve in Bibai, Japan. He’s offered, several times, to send some interesting tidbits about how money is handled differently in Japan. Our recent discussion about stashing cash finally prompted him to follow through on his “threat”.

Fathers are a very important part of a child’s life. And children, no matter what their abilities or capabilities, can thrive with the connection a positive father-child bond provides. My partner, Steve, is like most other Dads in the world: He goes to work every weekday then comes home to spend what little time is left with his children before they have to go to bed. Special Love

The Unclutterer staff would like to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving! On our lists of what we’re thankful for again this year is you, our Unclutterer readers. We’ll have a light posting schedule over the course of the next few days (just one post a day), but we will be back in full force on Monday. Happy Thanksgiving!

Two and a half months into the school year, we finally did it. We finally managed to leave five minutes early. And it made a world of difference.

Salad bowls are not only good for tossing greens, they make good spherical speakers too. Here's a pair from Robert that are getting the kudos. He says, "I wanted to make a pair of speaker enclosures and bought a pair of Ikea Blanda Matt Bowls, glued them together then mounted the speaker driver in them." Click to view details of the salad bowl speakers. Related hacks:

If you are looking to take yourself on an adventure this holiday season, cities are treasure troves for the curious: sprawling parks, bookstores, museums, best-kept-culinary-secrets, local haunts. Whether you’re Downtown San Diego, Midtown NYC, Stumptown Portland, or Gastown Vancouver, B.C., you can lose yourself in the romance of a city’s hustle bustle.

Can’t sing? Or do card tricks? Then how about learning a poem as your party trick instead? Not only will it impress your family (I promise you!), it may just do you some good too, especially at reducing stress.

“Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude.” - E.P. Powell Carrie says: I love the gathering of my family and all the ritual of giving thanks: grace, turkey, pumpkin pie and leftovers!  

It’s 11:30 pm. My wife has already gone to bed. I was cramming to get an ad done for the paper the next morning. The phone rings. It’s the client’s assistant. “So? Is it okay?” I ask. “She hates it,” she replies. “Did she say why?” “No.” Frustrated silence. After a fruitless exchange of profanity and exasperation

By Julie RainsWinning a scholarship takes effort, even to snag an award that is relatively small ($500-$1,000) compared to the cost of attendance at a state university (more than $16,000 per year). But, depending on your financial circumstances, you'll save on tuition now, and reduce the interest and principal on student loans later.

“Margie” writes in: My husband and I are pretty frugal, but we currently carry about $25,000 in credit card debt and a personal loan. Our monthly interest is about $800 on the balances.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the United States. Over the next few days, I’ll be sharing a series of guest posts, as well as some updated favorites from the past. I’ll be back on Monday with lots of new articles about smart personal finance (and, I hope, a guest appearance from one of my favorite videobloggers).