Shopping Finds of the Week

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If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission (never at any additional cost to you)

Today I am here to admit that Aliexpress is still my friend, and here's why:

We've been having trouble finding leotards for our athletes with the sleeve length we prefer. So we ended up buying long sleeve leos, promising to alter them. But paying a seamstress to do the alteration just jacked up the cost too high. It was time to break out our own needle and thread.

The problem was - STRETCH. It's hard to sew in a way that still leaves stretch if you don't really know what you're doing, so we decided to take a different approach. We chose to do the hems with elastic thread. The only elastic I had in the house, though, were too thick for this! And the sewing store is in a different city and I didn't feel like trekking there without knowing if they'd have what I wanted. So - online shopping to the rescue!

After searching a LOT, we found this elastic sewing thread that is priced really low, arrived really quickly, and did the job well! Kudos to my daughter for sewing it herself!

Another super find was these packing organizers! They make it so much easier to stay organized while traveling. I got them for one of my kids and they have gotten so much use! And they are SUPER discounted right now, so you might want to grab them. (I definitely paid at least double!)

And lately, Aliexpress offers to combine your order into one package and ship FAST. And it WORKS!!

So those were my finds that I had to share this week! Hope you found this helpful!

Aliexpress Discount Codes for Israeli Shoppers!

This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. This will never cost you extra!

Shopping Aliexpress this week? Don't miss out on these coupon codes!

Code IL4 gets you $4 (USD) off Orders over $40 USD

Code IL8 gets you $8 (USD) off Orders over $80 USD

Both codes are valid through August 27, 2023

Click here to find all the best end-of-summer sales: 8.21-8.27 End of Season Sale-Spend & Save-Global

I'm seeing lots of items with 11, 12, or 15-day shipping to Israel! Just be sure that when you get that note that your package is on the way you OPEN the SMS and select your pickup location. This way you'll hopefully avoid the hassle of having to get IsraelPost to find your package at a post office 2 hours away from you and reroute it to your local pickup spot. Trust me, I know.

And be careful not to overdo it or your house might get overrun with boxes. Don't ask me if that's ever happened to me. Because I'm not at liberty to say.

But let's just say that I believe the local deliver guys know my name quite well. Oops.

To be fair, I usually don't even order things for myself. It's my family. They ask me to find them the things they need. So I end up placing all the orders. Really, it's true!

Anyhow, let me know what you're looking for - I can try to help you find it too, especially if you want to buy it on Aliexpress. Just post in the Kosher Frugal group and I'll do my best to get you a link!

I went shopping for a bag and here's what I got

 This post contains affiliate links, so if you click on a link and make a purchase,
I may receive a small commission. Thank you!

I decided I needed a grown-up bag that I could use when I want to dress a bit nicer than usual and feel a little more formal than my usual super casual "SAHM" look.

I've been dressing down a lot, especially the last few years. But I have decided that every so often, I really do need to dress a bit nicer. And it's easy to start with buying a pretty bag... Much easier than buying new clothes that fit and make me feel good. So I started with that... 

And then, naturally, after finding some nice looking but pretty pricey bags that weren't actually quality, I turned to Aliexpress. There, I sorted through handbags and settled on one in the $30 range, with free 15-day shipping. And now it's here, and I just unpacked it! 

I ordered it in purple, of course. The exact bag I purchased isn't available right now but this one is very similar: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DkBJDZn

Sadly, the purple isn't the shade I thought I was getting, but it'll do. It's not as deep a purple as I thought.

The bag itself is very nice - I just need to air it out a bit - it has a strong smell that, oddly enough, one of my kids LIKES, but I'm sure will fade in the next couple of days.

Here's how it came packaged:

It was a LOT of packaging, but it did the job and the bag arrived in brand-new condition. This seller has lots and lots of good reviews.

So now that my bag is all unwrapped and ready to go, it will probably just sit and wait a bit. Because I have no place to go right now! But trust me, when I do, I'll take the bag!

Here's the link to a similar bag from the same seller - I may actually be regretting that I bought the one above and not this other one! 

Let me know what you think. 

Hope you found this helpful!

If you've found a seller that has impressed you, please let me know which, so I can check it out too!

Thanks

Dance Finds on Aliexpress

 This post contains affiliate links, so if you click on a link and make a purchase,
I may receive a small commission. Thank you!

Dance. Our teenage daughters love to dance, and take a LOT of dance classes.

It gets expensive, and while I can't help you cut corners on the class tuition, I figured I would share some links that have allowed us to pick up dancewear for a little less.

Sometimes you just can't cut corners - I don't buy off-brand pointe shoes, for example. But other times, there might be great ways to save. 

One of my daughters really likes these split-sole ballet shoes from DayDance! Click here to check them out! NOTE: they run pretty much true to size - but remember that dancers' feet usually swell a bit when they're warmed up, so be sure to measure when they are warmed up.

Our favorite place to buy softer, romantic look tutus and lyrical dresses is Thank Frank's Aliexpress store. For the price, the quality is AMAZING.

We bought this one from them when we first discovered Thank Frank, and no one believed that it cost less than $50 USD! 

(It is priced slightly higher now, but what hasn't gone up lately?)

This pretty blue peasant dress has seen several competitions already, and it's holding up really well!

For the classic tutu look (pancake style/platter style), we really had a hard time finding a discount seller. But in the end we discovered All For Dance. This seller sells so many dance costumes - and we chose a pre-professional tutu that truly exceeded our expectations! It was actually prettier in real life than in the picture below.

We've got our eyes on a few other dance costumes from All For Dance, like this white romantic tutu.

And if you need a lyrical dress, there are some nice options here too. Like this purple one with sequins, or this white one (one of my girls wore this one to a performance).

We also try to get convertible tights for a lot less than the standard price in dancewear stores. So if you just really can't fathom spending 40 NIS on a pair of tights, be aware that you CAN get THREE pairs for the same amount! Here are the tights that we bought:

We've tried others, but in the end we keep coming back to this seller, because these tights were much better than other discount tights we've found! Click here to go to this listing!

Anyhow, if anyone out there reading this wants to sponsor our dancers' leotards, pointe shoes, costumes, etc please be in touch. We'd love to partner with someone, especially someone who wants to support religious dancers in Israel!

Hope you found this helpful. All commissions earned from this post will help us pay for the girls' dancewear, shoes, costumes, and classes. Thanks for helping us out!

If you've found a different seller that has impressed you, please let me know which, so we can check it out too!

Thanks

Surviving Summer (Stinky Shoes Edition)

this post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission. Thanks so much for your support!

Let's just put it all out there - this post is about a problem that often doesn't get discussed:

Stinky Shoes.

I know it's not a very widely discussed topic. In fact, it seems most people really don't like to admit publicly that someone in their household may have this problem! But many of us have a family member (or several) who leave us all wondering what on earth are we supposed to do with those stinky shoes?!?

Lets' face it, this problem can happen anywhere in the world, but here in Israel, where it's SOO hot, it can be rather intense, you know? It may be one of those unspoken truths about making Aliyah... And today, we are going to end the silence about it and face it head on.

Personally, I have been SEARCHING for a long time for the solution to the stinky shoes problem.

We toss shoes in the washing machine fairly regularly, which is very helpful.
We buy odor eaters, also helpful.
Shower daily, very important...

But we still didn't conquer the problem, and we needed another something to complete the solution. You know, something that would allow us to keep shoes in the house even if we couldn't wash them!

Without this something, the smell can get a little ... overpowering. And I don't love sticking shoes outside overnight, for a bunch of reasons.

(snakes)

(scorpions)

(incredibly inconvenient)

(shoes still stink in the morning)

I decided there must be a simple solution that did not involve messy powders or sticking antibiotic-laced insoles into every pair of shoes. So I began the hunt. It involved checking out many stores - physical ones and online ones. Months of searching on and off...

Finally I found a product that really delivered. These awesome activated charcoal bags that you can put inside the stinky shoes as soon as they are off the stinky feet! And they tame them. For real.

Click the link above to go to the product listing on Aliexpress

This product has saved my house, seriously!!

(Those stinky feet still need a shower, but you expected that, didn't you?)

And now you know the secret to taming stinky shoes. 

Oh, and I am so happy to tell you that my order arrived in under 2 weeks!

Hope this helps someone else out there!

Important Info: Personal Imports - Taxes, Fees, and more

package from purchase abroad - tax free!

Shopping online and wondering what to expect regarding taxes and fees? This guide will help you understand the basics that apply to residents of Israel when they shop online from overseas. Most of us shop this way to save money, so who wants a tax bill surprise when the order gets here? This post will help you avoid a tax bill (legally, of course!).


Here's the rundown (the full regulations can be found on the Israel tax authority's site)

Your purchase, no matter what currency it was in, will be translated into US Dollars by the tax authority to determine if it's taxable:

Purchases up to $75 - no taxes

Purchases above $75 up to $500 - no customs taxes, but VAT will apply in most cases (17% currently), and Purchase Tax (variable rates) may apply

Purchases over $500 - subject to all taxes (VAT , Purchase Tax, and Customs Tax)

Calcalist also points out that purchases of up to $75 will be subject to customs clearance fees if they arrive using an EMS service* (about 35 shekels), and if the value of the purchase is higher, the customs clearance fee can be higher as well.

Please be aware that the purchase price only (not purchase + shipping) will determine whether an item will be taxed. Once it is found to be taxable, however, applicable taxes will be calculated on the purchase price + the shipping price.

One more important point: If you order multiple orders from the same seller and they arrive within 72 hours of each other, customs may combine the orders and treat them as one purchase for tax purposes. They may not. But it is a possibility you should be aware of before you place multiple orders.

Some of these regulations are different from what some people seem to believe, so please refer back to this guide if you are about to place an order and you're not sure what to expect from the tax-man.

If you're not sure where to start shopping online, I've compiled a list of websites that offer low cost shipping to Israel! Please be sure to check it out! Let's help open Israel's marketplace and bring down our cost of living without bringing down our standard of living!

Some of my favorite websites to shop from are:

BetterWorldBooks.com ~ iHerb ~ AliExpress

Be sure to check out the whole list!


*Examples of EMS services - Express Mail, Fedex, UPS and other express delivery services. Sometimes DHL is EMS and sometimes it is not.

Things I buy from Aliexpress!

I'm constantly on the lookout for ways to stretch our shekels, and over the last year or so, I've tried to plan far enough in advance for things that I can make a fair number of purchases on Aliexpress. Most of what we buy in the store here comes from China in any case, so cutting out the middleman saves a lot of money.

Here is a quick sampling of the kinds of things we tend to buy from Aliexpress!

I'd love to hear what you buy!

MicroSD card (great for expanding the memory on your phone!)

Gift bags (we got these small ones for a crafting project)

Food safe bags (for mishloach manot and other gifts)

Anti-nausea wrist bands (I've got a bunch of these in my bag and more in the car!)

Sun hats (I really need hats with visors in the summer!)

Sunglasses (especially the kind that fit over glasses!)

Purim Costumes

Craft Supplies & Puzzles

Lego Compatible Specialty Figures

Computer Cables and the like

And many more things!

I highly recommend you check out Aliexpress to help you save money!

Way to Save: Aliexpress today!

It's November 11th, and AliExpress is having a HUGE sale!

Make sure you create an account and redeem "coins" for coupons for extra savings - it's one of their special promotions today.


 
People have been asking what makes sense to buy on Aliexpress. I answer, anything you would buy locally that is actually made in China! You'll save a lot of money. BUT here are a few things you should know: always check a seller's rating before buying, and read product reviews before you decide to purchase. Also search through the listings. I've seen the same product offered for $2 and for $20. And I also sort by "free shipping" so I won't get stuck paying large shipping fees. So be a careful shopper as always! AND don't buy things you weren't planning to buy! That will never save you money.

Happy savings! 
Please let me know if you found a great deal!

Cellphone buying

I've been looking into replacing my phone with something sort of like a smartphone, but I haven't jumped on that bandwagon just yet.

But I thought I would share some of my research with you.

#1. Phone in Israel are way overpriced

#2. Second hand cellphones are risky, they often don't work right, or have little battery life, etc

#3. People have been buying no name phones from Aliexpress and having them shipped here via regular mail, and paying just a fraction of the local price for similar phones!

 


 I don't know if I'll actually buy something right now, but I'd love to hear if any of you decide to order a new phone. Please tell me the best deal you've found!

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