Almost Frugal » Notes On Culture http://almostfrugal.com Learning about frugality Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:54:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Choosing the Middlehttp://almostfrugal.com/2010/10/13/choosing-the-middle/ http://almostfrugal.com/2010/10/13/choosing-the-middle/#comments Wed, 13 Oct 2010 10:01:48 +0000 Beth http://almostfrugal.com/?p=5485 I’ve been enjoying the special series npr is currently running, “Living In the Middle,” which highlights middle-class American families.  Some of the families they have interviewed are struggling to make ends meet, some are making it (just), and others are living frugally but comfortably.  I find it an interesting topic because my idea of what [...]

Choosing the Middle is an article from Almost Frugal

]]> http://almostfrugal.com/2010/10/13/choosing-the-middle/feed/ 6 Summertime Savingshttp://almostfrugal.com/2010/08/25/summertime-savings/ http://almostfrugal.com/2010/08/25/summertime-savings/#comments Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:00:43 +0000 Beth http://almostfrugal.com/?p=5398 Does your budget change with the seasons? I’m a teacher, so my routine in the summer is different from during the school year.  This affects our budget in lots of ways, both big and small, and if I’m conscious about my summer spending patterns, can add up to a period of increased savings. I’m lucky [...]

Summertime Savings is an article from Almost Frugal

]]> http://almostfrugal.com/2010/08/25/summertime-savings/feed/ 5 Expecting the Unexpectedhttp://almostfrugal.com/2010/08/18/expecting-the-unexpected/ http://almostfrugal.com/2010/08/18/expecting-the-unexpected/#comments Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:00:47 +0000 Beth http://almostfrugal.com/?p=5360 As anyone who knows me will tell you, I have a few issues when it comes to control.  Namely, I want to be in it.  All the time.  There is nothing more stressful to me than feeling like I’ve lost it.  From a financial standpoint, that means that it’s very important to me to be [...]

Expecting the Unexpected is an article from Almost Frugal

]]> http://almostfrugal.com/2010/08/18/expecting-the-unexpected/feed/ 7 Economic Gardening And Personal Financehttp://almostfrugal.com/2010/06/10/economic-gardening-and-personal-finance/ http://almostfrugal.com/2010/06/10/economic-gardening-and-personal-finance/#comments Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:13:24 +0000 Nicole http://almostfrugal.com/?p=4849 I had breakfast this morning with Sheila, a friend and one of my former bosses, when we got to discussing business and the entrepreneurial attitude in general. She then mentioned the term economic gardening, which I had never heard of. The idea was developed in Littleton Colorado in the 80s when one of the area’s [...]

Economic Gardening And Personal Finance is an article from Almost Frugal

]]> http://almostfrugal.com/2010/06/10/economic-gardening-and-personal-finance/feed/ 3 When 50-50 Doesn’t Add Uphttp://almostfrugal.com/2010/04/22/when-50-50-doesnt-add-up/ http://almostfrugal.com/2010/04/22/when-50-50-doesnt-add-up/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:43:03 +0000 Nicole http://almostfrugal.com/?p=4653 Some Ideas About Sharing Expenses in a Relationship I saw an interesting guest post at Budgets Are Sexy today about how a couple that lives together but isn’t formerly committed could financially work. The post discusses splitting things 50/50 and not combining accounts for shared expenses. As a non-married person, this made me uneasy for [...]

When 50-50 Doesn’t Add Up is an article from Almost Frugal

]]> http://almostfrugal.com/2010/04/22/when-50-50-doesnt-add-up/feed/ 9 What Do You Think: Financially Sticking It To A Companyhttp://almostfrugal.com/2010/04/15/financially-sticking-it-to-a-company/ http://almostfrugal.com/2010/04/15/financially-sticking-it-to-a-company/#comments Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:48:55 +0000 Nicole http://almostfrugal.com/?p=4635 As consumers, we now have a few venues to take out our frustrations with a company. We can tweet a complaint, to all our friends and directly to a company if we want. We can write on their Facebook wall, or reply to their latest newsletter. And of course, there are the traditional venues: writing [...]

What Do You Think: Financially Sticking It To A Company is an article from Almost Frugal

]]> http://almostfrugal.com/2010/04/15/financially-sticking-it-to-a-company/feed/ 7 Retirement Savings in Francehttp://almostfrugal.com/2010/04/14/retirement-savings-in-france/ http://almostfrugal.com/2010/04/14/retirement-savings-in-france/#comments Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:04:45 +0000 Beth http://almostfrugal.com/?p=4619 When we left the U.S. six years ago, we had the beginnings of our retirement savings.  I had participated in a 401k plan with my first employer, which I then rolled over into an IRA when I went to another job.  It wasn’t a huge amount of money, but it was a start.  My husband, [...]

Retirement Savings in France is an article from Almost Frugal

]]> http://almostfrugal.com/2010/04/14/retirement-savings-in-france/feed/ 3 Changing Habits and Going Against the Normhttp://almostfrugal.com/2009/09/21/changing-habits-and-going-against-the-norm/ http://almostfrugal.com/2009/09/21/changing-habits-and-going-against-the-norm/#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:00:08 +0000 Kelly http://almostfrugal.com/?p=3681 One of the ways that French people great each other is with a kiss (no, not a French kiss!). Depending on the region, you kiss each other on the cheek, or more correctly touch cheeks and make a kissing noise, two to four times. It’s called the bise (sounds like bees) and is short for [...]

Changing Habits and Going Against the Norm is an article from Almost Frugal

]]> http://almostfrugal.com/2009/09/21/changing-habits-and-going-against-the-norm/feed/ 8 Going to the Doctor in Francehttp://almostfrugal.com/2009/07/20/going-to-the-doctor-in-france/ http://almostfrugal.com/2009/07/20/going-to-the-doctor-in-france/#comments Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:08:56 +0000 Kelly http://almostfrugal.com/?p=3392 I know that this is a politically charged issue, and that it’s a risk to bring it up here on Almost Frugal, where I really try to stay away from controversial topics like politics. But any discussion of my life involves at least some of the issues involved with living in France, and this happens [...]

Going to the Doctor in France is an article from Almost Frugal

]]> http://almostfrugal.com/2009/07/20/going-to-the-doctor-in-france/feed/ 11 Money in France and the United Stateshttp://almostfrugal.com/2009/07/15/money-in-france-and-the-united-states/ http://almostfrugal.com/2009/07/15/money-in-france-and-the-united-states/#comments Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:00:19 +0000 Kelly http://almostfrugal.com/?p=3363 A little more than a year ago, I wrote a post called A Tale of Two Budgets, in which I did a very unscientific comparison of budgets from two families: mine and a family living in the United States. As happens with so many posts, people commented on it, and then as it got pushed [...]

Money in France and the United States is an article from Almost Frugal

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