Weekly Round-Up: The Summer Edition

Summer is here!

How do I know that? Because I scheduled my kids’ swimming lessons for throughout the whole summer vacation, that’s how.

And before we go swimming (not that we’re going to do so today, as it’s very cloudy and overcast!) here are some of my favorite links from this past week.

• Make Your Own Insect Repellent | Little House in the Suburbs: An insect repellent that has vodka in it? Hey, it’s got to be better than DEET.
• Why we need a single-payer system : I Pick Up Pennies I have to admit that, as an American living in France, I just don’t get why people think socialized medecine is so bad. You pay less from your paycheck, as does everyone else, and the people who really need it, the jobless and the poor, are covered.
• What’s lurking at the bottom of the freezer? – Smart Spending Blog – MSN Money A great reminder to eat through all the food you have, to reduce waste and costs
• Squawkfox : How To Compost Without Raising a Stink I have a compost pile, and while it doesn’t smell (much) this post pointed out some ways to improve it.
• For Colleges, Small Cuts Add Up to Big Savings – NYTimes.com I think the best idea in this article came from the college that eliminated trays in the cafeteria. Another great example of small changes that make a big difference.

As always, you can check out the Good Reads page or my Tumblr site Almost Frugal Finds for all my links.

Kelly Rigotti started Almost Frugal as a thirty-something American trying to dig her way out from under a mountain of debt (~€60,000). She's almost frugal and would like to be more so, but shops at Ikea too often for her own good.

Kelly has blogged 556 posts here.