Frugal Japan
Living frugally in an expensive world

　　Apparently, Softbank is giving away 8GB iPhones for free with a two-year contract. However, it seems that there may be a new iPhone launching soon, so if you are not desperate to own an iPhone right now, it could be worth it to wait and see what the next big thing is first before [...] [ ... ]

　　If you are in need of a second computer and you are not afraid to (1) use the command prompt to tell your computer what to do every now and then and (2) look stuff up on the internet when you find yourself in a pickle, you may be a good candidate for buying a [...] [ ... ]

　　For some reason, the cellphones that I buy always seem to have a very short life, or at least their batteries seem to die quickly. One of my friends had the same cellphone for four years and the battery seemed to be able to keep its charge fairly consistently over the life of her [...] [ ... ]

　　This video may not seem to have much to do with frugality. Ted Talks: Benjamin Zander However, I watched the video a few weeks ago and I have found that his words have resonated with me in a number of different contexts. In particular, I like how he described the progression of a person learning to [ ... ]

　　For the women out there, Coldwater Creek, an American women’s clothing store, has their 50% off sale going on on their website. All items on the site are 50% off. If you shop in the outlet section the deals are great — $4.50 for a nice T-shirt! Also, shipping to Japan is reasonable. The  [ ... ]

　　I would like to recommend an on-line shop which sells recycled ink cartridges for printers (and toner for copiers, etc.). I placed my order yesterday mid-day and received my cartridges by takkyubin today! I was so impressed with the speed. Much quicker than it would have taken me to get around to go [ ... ]

　　Today’s topic is what might be an unfamiliar word “freeganism.” It’s pronounced like the word “veganism” (VEE-gan-ism) in English, and is similar in origin. Simply put, freeganism is a brand of anticonsumerist culture where by practitioners strive to “minimi [ ... ]

　　Frugality is really about the basics: living below our means every day. And what better way to do that than through saving money at Japanese supermarkets? Today, I’ll introduce six little-known shopping secrets that are guaranteed to slash your bills! Did you know that: 1) Large-scale supermar [ ... ]

　　So, it’s now almost April, which in Japan means: time for the new school year and fiscal year to start. Before our son was born, I had little appreciation for just how expensive this time of year can be for families, but now I know – school fees and supplies can really take a whack [...] [ ... ]