Comments on: Frugal French habits You can Try at Home

By: Jana @ The Summer House

Jana @ The Summer House — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 18:19:48 +0000

Wonderful post! I love all your frugal ideas especially the clothing one. My goal is to have a very small wardrobe of only clothing I love.
jana

By: Week in Review: Lose an Hour Edition | Buck$ome Boomer's Journey to Retirement

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 14:12:16 +0000

[...] on the international bent, we can learn some frugal habits from the French in this guest post @ Ultimate Money [...]

By: Simple in France

Simple in France — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:31:56 +0000

Young and thrifty–anytime! I’m glad you enjoyed your stay and that you are carrying on the great French tradition of walking and cycling . . .(Did I mention my in-laws are a family of cycling fanatics???) DH and I both have bikes worth more than our former car.

By: Simple in France

Simple in France — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:28:22 +0000

Bucksome–isn’t it fascinating how something that is completely acceptable in one culture will get you the hairy eyeball in another? Wearing clothes more than once is one of those things, I think.

This is why I was so excited to see that Mrs. Money had a link to an article she’d written about doing this in the US in the post above.

By the way, if you’re curious about this topic, I wrote on the French habit of wearing clothes more than once here:
http://www.simplelifeinfrance.com/2009/11/encore-wearing-it-again-in-france/

By: Simple in France

Simple in France — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:25:35 +0000

Attila–You’re in the UK, right? I have some ancestors from the UK with French names as well (although I’m only married into the culture).

By the way, sometimes I think that being ‘desperately poor’ is one of the best ways to prepare yourself for living frugally. You can learn a lot from such times. (And like you, when I buy a car it is always the best used car I can afford to buy cash!).

By: Simple in France

Simple in France — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:22:27 +0000

Margo–the community of like-minded friends makes a huge difference. I suppose I could have included it on my list. For me, living in France provides that to an extent (and so does blogging). In the States, I found I had to work a little harder to find supportive communities, but there are supportive sub-cultures in the cities I’ve lived in/near (Seattle, San Fransisco, San Diego . . .).

By: youngandthrifty

youngandthrifty — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:19:48 +0000

Ahhhh c’est la vie!
Thanks for helping me pretend I was in Paris, even if it was for the duration of the post! =)

Great tips. Cycling and walking are such great money savers!

By: Bucksome

Bucksome — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:34:22 +0000

I know a lot more about French living than I did before reading this article. I can’t imagine wearing the same clothes to work two days in a row; I’d be the topic of the day!

One family tradition that is frugal is to eat leftovers. We have all kinds of recipes for excess meat, etc.

By: Attila

Attila — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:50:15 +0000

I must be French! (Actually, my married name is French, via the West Indies! And now I come to think of it, my maternal grandmother’s maiden name was French, too!) These are very good habits to cultivate; I went through a time in my life when I was desparately poor, so I find it bearable to go without sometimes, and the money saved goes on sensible luxuries, like a good bed or a newish, second hand car bought for cash.

By: Simple in France

Simple in France — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:56:50 +0000

Angel–sounds great–and excellent comment on not watching commercials or reading magazines. I find that there are people out there who ‘want’ things that I never knew existed, largely because of advertising in TV/printed press. By the way, in both, you also have to watch out for product placement. . .