The phrase "almost cannot afford" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when expressing a situation where someone is very close to being unable to afford something, but not quite there yet.
Example: "With all my expenses this month, I almost cannot afford to go on vacation."
Alternatives: "barely can afford" or "hardly can afford".
For example, while elder economic security indicators are generally better than average for Sacramento than for the state as a whole, one in four seniors in the region (25%) have incomes that fall below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level and almost 27% cannot afford to meet their basic needs as defined by the Elder Index.
The Star almost certainly cannot afford a work stoppage for any reason, even if it wished to choose the route of corporate militancy, and Mr. Meagher said the return this week of nearly all The Post's normal complement of hourly workers including classified ad takers had brought an im mediate two‐page increase in the volume of profitable classi fied advertisements.
But with unemployment in the nearby rows of neat postwar social housing running at almost 30%, many cannot afford even those reasonable prices.
But she said she usually made the round-trip boat crossing twice a day, totaling almost $4, and cannot afford the fare much longer.
"A normal person cannot afford almost $2,000 to go to a basketball game 44 times a year".
Diaz's statement notes that many of the country's almost 50 million uninsured people cannot afford regular health care.
Almost half the population cannot afford to save £5 a week, meaning they can't afford to make regular pension contributions or pay an unexpected bill of £500.
And even then, these two weeks of paternity leave are paid at such a low level that almost half of families cannot afford to use it.
PAGE 11 National DISTRICT AND CHARTER SCHOOL FIGHT FOR LIMITED MONEY The Chester Upland School District is more than $20 million in debt, its bank account is almost empty and it cannot afford to pay teachers past the end of this month.
Almost four in five people cannot afford to do an unpaid internship in London, which clearly means that there is a loss of potential".
