We're Americans, resident in Nice for eight years who now suffer the lethal (well, not quite) sting of a sinking dollar. Years ago, we were thrilled to get a zippy bang for our buck, but lately have had to adjust to its plummet. Barring a move back to New York, or resettling in Bulgaria, we've decided to be, in corporate-speak, proactive.

You can't do much about fixed costs--charges to the syndic, taxes on residence and real estate--but there are many ways to stretch your dough. Much as we like shopping at Monoprix and Casino and local purveyors of meat, fish, cheese, veggies and such, we lately steer towards ED and Lidl, stores where you can buy excellent regional and imported wines for well under 4 Euros, certain cheeses  for 40% less , meats, poultry, and household goods, all at bargain prices. We're also eating fresh sardines and mackerel for five or six euros the kilo at Carrefour or Casino. We visit the outdoor markets at Josef Garnier and Cours Saleya twice weekly, where sharp comparison-shopping pays off. Our local halal butcher provides marvelous chicken, turkey, kofta, tranche de gigot, merguez, veal etc. for half what you'll pay at the corporate emporia. We also take advantage of the many discount shops around town where amongst all the cheap junk you can find essential items.

We also know three or four excellent restaurants where once weekly we can afford a night out. And, before dropping 12 euros at the local cinema, we do plenty of research before committing ourselves to the latest over-hyped bummer. We also buy DVD films from Amazon UK for about 4 or 5 pounds which is much less than the standard 12 euros. So, barring a catastrophic meltdown of our currency, we're here to stay.

Bulgaria will have to wait.

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