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 — confirmed!).

As we head into the holiday weekend, here are some assorted links from around the web. Because I’ve found a lot of interesting stuff lately, I’m going to share the first few links as simple bullet points, followed by two stories worthy of special mention.

Priscilla forwarded a story from ABC News that describes how going-out-of-business sales are not such a bargain. Those great deals you think you’re getting? They’re not great deals.

One example: We saw a Samsung HDTV that was only available as an open box item at the liquidation store and cost $1,799 with all sales final. But at Circuit City’s regular stores it was available for $1,599 brand new — $200 less, plus we could return it.

I didn’t used to believe this stuff until I had a conversation with a friend whose family used to own a large department store in a major U.S. city. He described the liquidation process, and it’s just as jaw-dropping as this report suggests. Yes, you can find good deals at these sales, but don’t assume they’re all good deals.

Finally, one of my mantras is: “Money is more about mind than it is about math.” Ron at The Wisdom Journal believes this doesn’t go far enough. He writes that money is 100% emotional. “Mastering your money means facing your fears, overcoming them, and then taking concrete steps to redefine how you look at and relate with money.” Great stuff.

Happy thanksgiving, everyone!

This article is about Spare Change  Wednesday, 26th November 2008 (by J.D. Roth)