Allergy survival guide!

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(for illustrative purposes only)

I've been managing my allergies a lot better lately, and I'd love to share my finds with you!

Some of these things ship FREE to Israel, and I'm trying to maximize that to help you find a good deal.

I've found that sometimes the Amazon deals are the PERFECT solution to finding what I'm looking for without traveling to multiple cities to check all the malls, AND if we do it right, we can get higher quality items and still save money! And with the new, higher tax free limit, I feel confident that we'll all be able to save more money!

Here are some of the options for dealing with allergies in Israel that I found with free shipping (although sometimes free shipping is limited to a certain size, color, or variation, so be sure to check carefully before you order):

Mattress encasers are super helpful but very expensive locally. Here's another option for you to check out 

Saline rinses are highly recommended to keep airborne allergies from ruining your life 

Consider getting hypoallergenic titanium flex glasses frames online that you can then get lenses for at any local optical store

Hypoallergenic medical tape is a very important household item to keep around if you have sensitive skin

Cetaphil moisturizer is a sensitive skin essential!

Fragrance free laundry detergent - these sheets are so easy to use and completely mess-free

Air purifiers REALLY help - if buying from overseas, make sure it's rated for 220V OR uses a USB cord for the power source. Here's one that's portable and battery powered (recharges using a USB cable)

Lotion tissues are ESSENTIAL! If you're up for ordering A LOT at a time, you can save by ordering from overseas! I compared with Rami Levi's lotion tissue prices and if you take advantage of the "order 2 or more, get 5% off" deal, you'll pay several shekels less per package than what I'm seeing as a standard local price.

I'll try to add more deals as I find them! Happy Savings!

Want more deals? Join my groups!

• Great Deals Israel WhatsApp group
• Kosher Frugal Facebook Group
• Israel Deals Made Easy (in English) Facebook Group
• Live in Israel. Shop Online Facebook Group

Evaluating My Overseas Shopping Habit

Now that the dollar - shekel exchange rate has gone all the way up again (it's about 3.9 today, you can check the current rate on XE or The Bank of Israel) it's time for me to re-evaluate my strategy of ordering certain items from overseas.


Not only is the dollar exchange rate prompting me to do this, but iHerb's announcement of higher international shipping rates REALLY made me think. (They have instituted weight based shipping rates, but give 50% off shipping for orders of $20+, now. Here are the new shipping rates for international orders: Up to 1 pound = $4.45; from 1 pound to 2 pounds = $8.90; from 2 pounds to 3 pounds = $13.35; from 3 pounds to 4 pounds = $17.80)

So let's take a look at some products I know people buy from abroad but have started to become more available here.


Product                        iHerb price             Vitacost Price               Local Price

Coconut Sugar (454g)   $5.09/19.97nis        $4.99/19.58nis            19.90 - for 500g

Coconut Oil (946ml)      $14.35/56.30nis      $17.89/70.18nis          74.90 - for 1liter

Pink Salt (909g)             $9.96/39.08nis        $9.79/38.40nis           32.50 for 1kg

Grey Sea Salt (454g)       $4.48/17.58nis        $5.00/19.62               12.90 for 1kg!

Maple Syrup (946ml)        $24.98/98.04          $22.19/87.09              98.70 for 1080ml

Vitamin B12 (250-1000mcg) $20.60/80.76nis     $20.60/80.76             75.40 for 240   



I could go on all night comparing products like this, but I think you can see a pattern here. Now that the exchange rate is so much higher than it had been, ordering from abroad may not be saving us money. The prices listed above do not even take shipping charges into account!

Of course, there will always be that special item you just cannot get here. And for those, I am grateful for international shipping! But I for, one, will likely be waiting for a LOT fewer packages to arrive, at least for right now. (But I will still order my fragrance free shampoo, I don't have any other way to get it!)

Although if I am going to be realistic, now that I’ve discovered AliExpress.com, I don’t know if I really will be waiting for fewer packages overall!

If you STILL want to order from iHerb or Vitacost, go ahead! And be sure to take advantage of iHerb's first time customer discount, and sign up for $10 off your first order at Vitacost, too!


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