Important things to remember when ordering goods from abroad

Here's a bit of Hebrew slang you may not have heard before: Shitat Matzliach (literally, "Succeed Method"). It's based upon an old joke, whereby a diner in a restaurant receives a bill with Matzliach (succeed) as one of the items listed. The diner asks the waiter what this means, and the waiter answers, "Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we don't. In your case, we didn't."

(Yes, I know I'm a serial killer of jokes. It sounds a lot funnier in Hebrew, trust me).

Unfortunately, here in Israel, Shitat Matzliach is rampant. One of the more annoying instances of this happening is when you find this really good deal online, pay the price and shipping costs, and then your package gets stuck in customs for God knows how long, and then you still have to pay the ransom taxes and fees the post office or shipping company decides to collect from you. You might as well not have bothered and just bought it locally...

While the rules are, indeed, the rules, and sometimes you can engage in your own bit of Shitat Matzliach and not get caught even when you need to pay fees (I do NOT recommend you try this), sometimes the fees seem totally made-up and exaggerated. But they do it because they can.

And that's something you, the customer, need to consider before you order anything from abroad - what extra charges might be tacked on, and how - and if - you can deal with these.

Eating out for less

Going out to eat is not normally considered an especially frugal activity. And you know what? It isn't.  The (usually American) hobby of going out to eat at McDonald's twice a week because nobody in the house could be bothered to cook, or frequent ordering of a latte and a sandwich on your lunch break at the café near your work, can be a huge and unnecessary financial drain (even if said café is Cofix. Those 5-Shekel coffees really add up over time!). And that's without even mentioning the negative health ramifications of eating fast food on a regular basis.

However, there is definitely a time and place for eating out even for frugal people, assuming you're not currently in serious financial dire straits. Meeting up with friends from out of town occasionally, celebrating a family member's birthday or your wedding anniversary - all those are great reasons to dine out in a nice restaurant, enjoying the food and the ambiance. Doing it at at a discount ? Even better.

Timing your purchases for maximum savings

If you've ever read articles from the USA about saving money on groceries and other items, you may have noticed they talk about how items go on sale in a cyclical fashion, every 6 weeks or so, or how there are better and worse times to buy specific items - Broadway tickets in February, Christmas decorations after New Years, etc. Unfortunately, sales tend to happen in a much more haphazard way in Israel (pretty much like everything else here ;-) ). However, while there don't seem to be any hard and fast rules, there does seem to be a trend regarding prices of certain items at specific times of the year, often according to the Jewish calendar. If the item in question isn't perishable, it's a good idea to stock up on it for use in the next year - or at least until the item goes on sale. Even if it's a perishable, but you can freeze it, it can be worth it to stock up for the next several months.

So here are items I've found which can be had at lower prices at specific times of the year, which are worth stocking up on:

Frugality with food (online and offline)

My eldest son likes to eat tomatoes the way others eat apples - straight from the refrigerator, in huge bites. Since I also like having the odd tomato around for salads and sandwiches, I usually buy a lot of tomatoes. However, last time I got some, I'd forgotten that Eldest was going to the US for the summer and our family's tomato consumption rate would be dropping drastically. As a result, I found myself with several soft-ish tomatoes which weren't compeltely spoiled, but really wouldn't do for fresh dishes. Then I remembered that there was a discussion on my local email list not long ago about how resek agvaniot (tomato paste) is full of sugar, and thus a potential stumbling block for diabetics and followers of low-carb diets. So I decided to carry out a culinary experiment and see if I could rise to the challenge of making tomato paste with no sugar that would be every bit as good as the store-bought. I think I succeeded, and I promise to share the recipe below.

Getting in shape for less

We all know that balanced nutrition and regular exercise are the key to living a long, healthy life, but as many of us have concluded over the years, that's far easier said than done. As the burgeoning list of secondhand gym memberships for sale on sites such as Yad2 and Homeless attest, many of us make resolutions we find hard to keep later on.

While nothing will ever replace willpower and perseverance in the struggle for good health, there are several tools online which can make the task both easier and cheaper for you - some even free. One less thing to worry about, in this case money,  can do wonders for your resolve!

My 10 favorite items to buy at Vitacost

Though Vitacost is known primarily as a large online retailer of supplements and 'natural' products, my first encounter with the store back in 2010-ish had nothing to do with ingestibles. I was actually searching for a pedometer, after trying out a couple of poor-quality ones I bought locally, both of which conked out after less than a week of use. As I had no desire to shell out another NIS 150+ for an item I saw cost far less abroad (e.g., sold by US vendors on eBay but with exorbitant shipping costs), I headed over to Google Shopping to see if I could find an online store that not only had a high-quality pedometer, but also wouldn't gouge me on shipping costs. In the end, I bought this pedometer, but for a lot less, and shipping at the time was only $7.99. Naturally, having finally found a rare website with what I considered fair shipping prices intrigued me, I returned to see what else they had to offer.

The rest,as they say, is history.

The 1 important rule about using vouchers and membership cards

I've already discussed how to make the most of your vouchers (tavim) , either the ones you get at work or those you receive filling out surveys. Chances are, you also have one or more membership cards for a variety of chain stores.

Have you ever left a store after shopping and paying full price, only to remember you have vouchers or discount cards you could have used...but now it's too late, or you left the cards in your other purse/desk drawer/wherever? I know I have, way too many times.

Selling your stuff online, without shipping it overseas

If you're like the average Anglo-Israeli, you probably have plenty of stuff hanging around your house that you don't really need and takes up space in your closet or shed. Stuff that other people might enjoy and use.

 Of course, you always have the option of donating your stuff to charity, giving it away (e.g., via Agora or Freecycle) or selling it on eBay, but this isn't always the best solution for heavy, fragile or very expensive items. Try sending, say, a large crystal vase abroad, and you'll end up either with a huge shipping bill because of the weight of the padding, or a broken vase and one very dissatisfied customer. Your best bet is probably to attempt to sell it to someone nearby, preferably someone who'll pick it up from your house or an agreed-upon meeting place.

 To this end, you have several options online. You can also help others get rid of their unwanted stuff , and help the planet as a bonus, by buying secondhand and helping others recycle their unwanted goods.

Saving while grocery shopping with smartphone apps

As a grocery shopper for almost all of my adult life, I've long since found out that here in Israel, at least (and I suspect everywhere), there is no such thing as one store with the lowest prices on everything. Some people get around this by shopping in several supermarkets every week, getting only the lower-priced products at each store. As I have neither the time nor the inclination for that, I keep a mental list of which stores tend to have lower prices on which type of groceries, and depending on the contents of my shopping list for the week, the coupons I have on hand and the sales advertised on Israflyer, I choose where I'll be shopping that week. But though old habits die hard (at least for me), there is a better and easier way to shop cheaply in the 21st century.

Not long ago, I introduced you to an app that enabled you to determine which gas station in your immediate vicinity was cheapest, even before you get into your car. Wouldn't it be nice if there was an app or a website that did the same, only for the supermarkets in your area? 

As luck, or rather technology, would have it, there are several. While all help you out with your comparison shopping, each comes at the task from a slightly different angle, so you might want to try them all before settling on one or the other. As with Fulltank, the information is 'crowdsourced' - prices at different supermarkets is relayed as close to real-time as possible by the site's/app's users. All apps mentioned are entirely free to download.

My 10 favorite items to buy at iHerb

I'm sure many of you are already familiar with iHerb, a large, California-based online retailer selling mainly nutritional supplements and foods, and also "natural" cosmetics and toiletries. If not, you can read more about it in my post discussing how to buy cosmetics and toiletries online for less. iHerb's large variety of quality products, their reasonable prices (both of the items and on shipping), and their great customer service have made me a repeat customer of theirs.

While obviously, my favorite items may not be your cup of tea, I'd like to show you some of the products I've sampled from the store and find myself repeatedly ordering because they're just that good. If there are others you'd want to recommend, feel free to do so in the comments.

They've arrived! Israeli cashback sites

 3% cashback for flying El Al? 4% for your purchases through Groupon?

You just knew this was going to happen eventually, didn't you?

So far, I've mentioned American and British-based cashback websites and how they can save you money on your online purchases abroad (and if you're unfamiliar with the idea of cashback, I highly recommend you go read the post about it before reading this one). It was only a matter of time before some enterprising Israelis decided to import the concept here.

Saving at the pump with your smartphone: Fulltank

A car is a notoriously expensive machine to own: what with licensing, insurance, garage bills (even assuming nothing goes wrong with the car mechanically) - and the largest of car expenses, gasoline (petrol for you non-Americans) - the luxury of owning and running a car can run to tens of thousands of Shekels a year. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to lower the costs somewhat?

Well, thanks to a free, homegrown smartphone app, you can.

Exploring the underworld: Saving (lots!) by buying lingerie online

Note: most of the stores mentioned, while they also sell men's underwear, are geared primarily towards women. Depending on your place of work and your/their personal sense of propriety, many of the sites may also be considered NSFW. Just don't say I didn't tell you :-) .

Possibly one of the more expensive items of clothing many of us women wear at any given time is our bra. This is especially true if you're the well-endowed type, are pregnant or nursing, or have had a mastectomy. Such bras purchased locally can each cost several hundred Shekels.

Women who need shapewear have a similar problem. Good quality shapewear, which, in my humble opinion, is the only type worth wearing, can also run you several hundred Shekels bought locally. Or you could take your chances with an as-seen-on-TV bodyshaper via Groupon. 

Fortunately, there are other excellent options with reasonable, fast shipping from abroad, so you shouldn't feel you need to compromise on quality at the expense of a decently-priced item.

Buying clothing and shoes online for less, Part 1

 After food, housing and transportation, clothing and shoes is probably what eats up a good part of your monthly budget. You don't necessarily need to be a shopaholic for that to happen, either. What with clothes fading and wearing out even with the best of care, changing sizes (yours as well as the kids'), and indelible staining, sometimes you need to replace your clothes and shoes.

While I'm sure I don't need to introduce you to the concept of hand-me-downs or secondhand shops, they probably won't be sufficient for all your needs. Many of the local stores will give you just-OK quality for a rather high price; the price issue can be mitigated somewhat by using those vouchers you've received from work or by filling out online surveys, but since my husband and kids are rather rough on clothing, I'd rather pay a the same (or even less!!) for more durable clothing. So I've rounded up a small collection of stores I find are both reliable and provide good value for your money, though you may have to wait a few weeks to get your merchandise.

The price is right - freebies

Who doesn't like getting something for nothing? While free samples aren't quite as common as we might like in Israel, they do exist and, as far as I can tell, are becoming more common as Israeli society becomes more Americanized - as least in its shopping habits.

Saving money online: SnapIn

One of the most worthwhile food coupon sites for me in the past has been Tnuva's Facebook page and website. They always could be counted on to have many coupons which were usable at most supermarkets and gave very nice discounts on their products, mostly yogurts and cheeses. However, since the beginning of 2015, Tnuva and Strauss abruptly stopped issuing coupons. Upon inquiry, Tnuva claimed this was in anticipation of a new food law; more details on this here. Strauss made a similar claim.

 Whatever the reason, there are now no coupons from either of those companies to be had. However, there is another way you can receive discounts (or rather, rebates) on certain Tnuva products.

Where to buy books in English online for less

As a lifelong bookworm, I'm never happier than when I have a pile of new books to read and some precious time to read them. However, the books I prefer to read are, very often, not available in our local bookstores or libraries. The ones that are tend to be in stores that are very expensive, even during sales. So I often find myself ordering books in English from abroad. Over the years, I've found ways to order my books as cheaply as possible, and I'd like to share them with you.

Using Shopping Coupons in Israel

Going shopping with coupons here in Israel isn't quite the experience you may have become used to back in the old country. The market is much smaller here and the competition will never be what it is in a country with many times the population of ours. I don't expect ever to make out like the pros on Extreme Couponing do, where people manage to buy hundreds of dollars' worth of merchandise for a pittance. But as Israelis become savvier shoppers and more demanding customers, coupons have been slowly entering the market and it's possible, with proper planning, to shave quite a few shekels off your grocery bill each week.

Cheaper than your local drugstore: Buying cosmetics and toiletries online, Part 2

In Part 1 of this post, we discussed large American online retailers which have a large variety of quality cosmetics and toiletries, and offer reasonable shipping rates. Now we'll discuss a few more online retailers with great shipping rates - some even free!

While the promise of free or low shipping is often accompanied by a serious hike in the items' prices to compensate, this isn't the case in the stores I'll be mentioning, and their prices are generally better than what you can find in stores here. 

Cheaper than your local drugstore: Buying cosmetics and toiletries online, Part 1

Not long ago, I was standing in line at my local branch of a large Israeli pharmacy chain (which shall remain nameless, for reasons which you will soon understand), when I overheard a conversation between two men standing behind me, in new-oleh, American-accented English.

"Look at this!" One man said to the other, eyeing the small bottle of Listerine on the shelf next to him. "I could get a huge bottle for a third of the price in CVS. Everything is so much cheaper back in the old country..." he sighed. The other nodded wryly.

I can't say I disagree. Too much of our luggage space on our rare trips back from the old country is devoted to simple drugstore items that either can't be had here at all, or economy-size packages of items that are available, but very expensive and only obtainable in small packages. While I'm the last person to encourage brand loyalty and I actually find many local brands as good, if not superior, there are still some things I'd like to have without schlepping it here or worse, having someone else do the dirty work for me. If you have parents or siblings in the old country who will, more power to you. Not all of us do, though.

Luckily, there are a few stores which both offer a wide range of cosmetics, perfumes and/or toiletry items, and are willing to ship it to us here in Israel for a not-too-exorbitant fee. You'll have to wait anywhere between a week to a month until you get your package, so keep that in mind when ordering new stock. Keep in mind that if ordering over $75 of merchandise (not including shipping), you will be required to pay 18% VAT.