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

How to plan FRUGAL meals in Israel

In Israel, shopping is different from what I'd grown used to in America. I find that it's harder to get really awesome deals here - although I should be honest and remind you all that in America it wasn't like those deals were always just throwing themselves at us. We had to work hard to maximize sales and coupons and figure out how to stretch our dollars.

Much the same, here in Israel, I also work hard to figure out how to stretch our shekels. So today, I'm going to share some of my best strategies for making my shekels go farther.

I have a bunch of mouths to feed, what with a family of 6 (that includes 2 teenage boys and 2 preteen girls who can certainly hold their own), and a revolving front door - so there are always other people over here - and I am happy to have a busy, full house! Of course, this means I really need to stretch my shekels as much as possible.

Ways to save:

If you currently eat meat and chicken several times per week, you can save a lot by planning to eat a few more vegetarian meals. This will stretch your budget significantly. If you have special dietary needs, be sure to consult your trusted health professional before making a change like this.

If you currently eat out or get takeout frequently, plan to avoid that - save eating out for special occasions! Here are some tips to avoid the dinner crisis that often leads to getting takeout. When it is time to celebrate and eat out, be sure to save by finding great deals - click here for the latest Restaurant Deals post.

Buy (and EAT) lots of fresh fruits and vegetables that are IN SEASON. And find a store that has "shuk day" deals, or a store that has a "Sug Bet" rack. You can also shop at a shuk if that works for you - but watch out in the shuk - some marketplaces don't have a lot of stalls with kosher certificates, so you need to know how to manage that. If you aren't sure what to do, please read more about it here. You can also find the latest Orlah Fruit update here (for Tishrei 5758), which is really important information to have if you buy fruit from sellers who are not certified.

What I spend on PRODUCE:

My target price for the majority of the vegetables I buy is 2nis per kilo, but of course there are plenty of times I spend more. It's rare that I'll spend more than 8nis per kilo on ANY vegetable ever. I also try to get greens for 2nis per package, though I will spend up to 5 for a really huge head of lettuce. I find lots of deals like these at the shuk (in larger cities, not my small town), at larger supermarkets, and stores with a sug bet rack, or late Friday afternoon markdowns.

For fruit - I love to get deals for 2nis per kilo as well, but that's harder for fruit. I try to get as much fruit as possible for 5nis or less, but I do buy some fruit that is up to 8nis, and on rare occasion, 10nis per kilogram. If I buy watermelon, it is ALWAYS for less than 2nis/kilo.

Cheeses:

While I no longer eat dairy myself (I gave it up after discovering that I must be allergic to it), my family LOVES dairy foods and CHEESY foods in particular. Lately, I've been able to get "Alma" brand mozzarella cheese at the cheese counter of the supermarket, for 35nis per kilo, which is good. There was a sale on something recently for 25 at one store - but it was so awful my kids refused to eat it! There are a few other cheeses in some stores that are real cheese (watch out for Kfir brand cheese - it's a strange processed mix of cheese and vegetable oils) - that are 35nis per kilo or less. But if you are looking for Chalav Yisrael dairy, some of those cheap cheeses will not do it for you - some are imported and clearly say they are made with non chalav yisrael milk. Alma is all (as far as I know) "mehadrin", and the Tara brand yellow cheeses are as well, and are also in the same price range. I recently found out that the local Co-op shop, while often pricey, is a reliable place to buy Alma brand cheeses for 35nis/kg, AND my credit card gives me a discount on any purchase I make at Co-op! So while I still don't buy a lot there, I know that if there's a good deal on something, my credit card discount will make it a slightly better deal, too!

Soft Cheeses/Feta Cheese:

I make my own cream cheese all the time, instead of paying 40 or more shekels per kilo. I believe that it comes out to less than 25nis per kilo to make your own. I've got some easy instructions for you - click here to see what we do!

I have one child who LOVES cottage cheese - and unfortunately, cottage cheese is still pricey despite the cottage cheese protests! So I stock up on several containers at a time when I find them for 5nis or less. If you have found a store that consistently sells them for less, let me know!

It's definitely worth buying feta and other soft cheeses (besides cottage cheese) from the cheese counter. There are often sales, so check prices for the various varieties before you buy. I buy feta if it's approx 4nis per 100g, and I'll buy about 10nis worth at a time, and my kids will shred it to put on salads or pizza. We don't buy it every week - and that helps keep it a special food for everyone!

Eggs

Make sure you are aware of the maximum amount that stores can charge you by law for (regular) eggs. Find out more about price controlled foods here. I tend to buy trays of 30 eggs for just a bit over 26nis, though sometimes I've found a sale for even less. If you buy specialty eggs - organic, omega-3, free range, whatever - these regulations do not apply. Buy the cheaper eggs if you can.

Chicken and Meat

(I don't buy meat, so I don't have much solid advice about prices for that - feel free to fill me in in the comments!)

Chicken and Turkey - When I really need to stretch my budget, I buy wings - both chicken and turkey wings make good deals. They can be found for about 7nis/kg, sometimes even less. I also ALWAYS buy 2 whole chickens if there is a sale - recently I got whole chickens for about 10nis/kg, and I buy them and freeze them if I don't actually need chicken that day. There are also sometimes deals at my local makolet on various chicken parts (say, drumsticks for 15/kg!), so I stock up when I spot a deal. This way, I almost always have chicken in the freezer so I never have to go buy chicken when it's expensive.

Pantry Staples

I buy most of my pantry staples from a store in the shuk, where the prices are better than "everyday" prices at all the supermarkets near me. If you live in my town, you can get in on this too - as we have worked out a deal - this particular storekeeper (now a friend of mine) delivers all of the Katzrin orders he gets to my house once every two weeks. If you're local and want to know more - call me. Pantry staples that really stretch my budget are rolled oats, brown rice, lentils, and beans. I use sunflower seeds in most any recipe that calls for nuts (sunflower seeds are a tiny fraction of the price of nuts!).

Bread 

It's a bit of a time investment, but I bake bread whenever possible. If this is not possible for you, start comparing prices at all the stores you get to, and note the store that sells bread you're happy buying for the lowest price. This way you know to stock your freezer when you're at that store, or to stock up when there's a sale that's better somewhere else!

Soup

When your family doesn't object, make SOUP. Tons and tons of soup. Many soups are really not expensive to make (like lentil soup, minestrone soup, or split pea soup), and fill people up easily! If you want, you can make the soup the bulk of your meal, or you can use it as a starter (after eating soup, people tend to eat less of whatever you're serving for a main dish than if they hadn't eat soup). Your call. I know I love winter cooking, I find it easier to fill my kids' bellies when they all eat soup!

I hope you found this helpful! What are your favorite tips for making budget-friendly food? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Transitioning to Life in Israel (thru the lens of Grocery Shopping)

A long time ago, when I lived in America, we were not wealthy, but we managed to make ends meet and even saved a bit of money from time to time.

I new how to find good deals when my family needed STUFF, and I was a very good grocery shopper, always merging my beliefs about what is quality food with my desire to spend less. So I bought antibiotic-free kosher chickens at SuperTarget, or wherever they were on sale. I scoured reduced racks for organic cereal for 90% off, and paired those purchases with coupons. I shopped at BJ's or Sam's Club too, finding great deals on things like organic coffee, big bags of avocados, organic shelf-stable milk boxes, juice boxes for treats, etc.

And then, we made Aliyah. I had a hard time adjusting to the idea of giving up pesticide-free foods I'd gotten SO used to buying. I had a hard time finding healthy ready-to-eat snacks and treats for the family. Strawberries were suddenly a luxury, and we'd had them regularly in Florida! My kids had a hard time with the new flavors of Israel - bananas tasted different, milk tasted different, and to this day, one of my former yogurt loving children will NOT touch Israeli yogurt! Everything seemed like an uphill climb. I sought out familiar brands online and at health food stores, but suddenly my grocery spending was completely out of control!

Eventually, I realized it was time to adjust, using a bit of tough love - "Kids," I said, "from now on, we are going to learn to love the foods of Israel". And we started to reign in the spending (around the time this blog was "born").

Here are some ideas I have if you are struggling to adjust to Israeli grocery shopping, and if you are spending more than you can afford:

1. Decide what your maximum expenditure on food will be per week, and do NOT allow yourself to go over. It helps a lot to add up your purchases on a calculator as you walk thru the store! I have been seen at the grocery store many, many times carrying a calculator! (Now I mainly use my phone, but you can see my well-worn calculator pictured above!)

2. Do not buy any convenience foods - these end up costing a lot and are usually not so healthy. Find acceptable alternatives tailored to your family's needs. If you're buying bourekas, consider serving roasted potatoes (even with a sprinkling of cheese melted on top it will still be less expensive!); if it's cookies, consider baking your own, or substituting with fresh fruit, if you're buying frozen pizza, find a way to make your own easily, or else at least save some of the expense by making pita pizzas...

3. Get to know the list of price controlled foods. While you are getting your bearings, it's worth it to buy the cheapest bread, eggs, etc that you can.

4. Find alternatives to cereal. In America, cereal is a dirt cheap breakfast, especially with sales and coupons. Not So in Israel! Here it's expensive. Try making oatmeal, breakfast muffins, or other simple breakfast options.

5. Fresh fruit in season is the least expensive sweet treat you'll find. And when you buy what's in season, they will taste best AND will give you the best value. (If you have access to a shuk, you'll often get the best deal there! I saw tons of fruit at the shuk in Teverya for 10 shekels for 3kg last week - and yes, even stalls with a teudah had this price!) Oh - and if you have space in your freezer, buy extra fruit, chop, and freeze for out-of-season use! You can also freeze those deliciously sweet grapes for an awesome treat.

6. Buy fresh vegetables at the best price you can find! I really try to get lots and lots of vegetables for 2 shekels/kg - Seek out the deals! You'll be eating healthy for much less money!

7. Carrots and cucumbers make a great snack. Make a simple dip (chumus works, as does techina, or many other options) if your family won't eat them plain. They are a lot less expensive than crackers and pretzels!

8. Eggs can be the basis of a meal, and are a pretty inexpensive protein. So are legumes. Get to know lentils and black beans and chick peas! Save the chicken and meat for Shabbat.

9. When your budget is not very flexible, don't stock up! You don't need to pay interest on a minus in the bank because you have 3 months worth of food in the pantry. There will be another sale. (If you are trying to build a stockpile, then you'll need to find a way to clear some room in your budget to do so - don't go into minus for a stockpile!)

Those are my thoughts for today! Please help me add more tips to this list - leave me a comment below about how YOU control your spending.

Ways to Cut Back

This month, I want to try to cut back our spending a little more. I haven't set an actual shekel figure, but I want to see if some small changes can make a difference.

First and foremost, I want to lower our electric bill. It's been a little on the high side since our dud shemesh (solar water heater) went kaput when we had a cold snap. We really want to replace the dud shemesh with a new, cold-weather resistant one, but we still have to figure out how to pay for it. So I *thought* that the one place to find some the money would be to lower our electric bill.

So this is the month where we go back to checking for forgotten electricity hogs - most often this is the children leaving lights and fans on! But it could also be things like the modem and the router. I recently moved them from a back room into a spot in the kitchen, and this way I am more likely to remember to unplug them before going to bed and before Shabbat. Also, we now turn off and unplug the printer when it's not in use. And never leave cellphone chargers plugged in for longer than needed for charging (or better, use a solar powered charger for your phone, digital camera, etc)! Time to remind the kiddos of these rules, so we can do better with our electric bills! We'll also try to figure out where we may be wasting electricity without realizing it and implement other changes. If you want to see how much your electrical appliances cost to run, so you can also make small changes with big savings, check out this Cost Calculator, which is up-to-date with the current IEC price per kwH.

This month we are also going to try to re-instate the "grocery shopping on Tuesday" rule. Many stores have special produce sales on Tuesdays, and we like to take advantage of that. Lately, this has meant finding onions, potatoes, cabbages, carrots, tomatoes, and cucumbers (sometimes other things too) for about 1 shekel/kg. Without having to find sug bet or scouring the shuk at the end of the day! This saves us a lot of money, especially if we plan meals that highlight the cheaper types of produce. Another thing we do is take a couple of minutes and upload receipts to SnapIn, even if we did not buy something on their list. Sometimes they give "surprise" rebates, and it takes so little time. (Check out my post about SnapIn if you want to find out more about it!)

The other area I want to target is the laundry room. I've been using the dryer a lot, so I guess this is actually related to the "electricity hogs" part of this post! While I know it's not frugal, it's one of those things I just have to do, as hanging the laundry outside to dry is not an option for me (I have allergies, and many of those allergens are air-borne. Like pollens, dust, smoke, cat dander, dog dander... and if I hang laundry outside, I end up with allergens all over our freshly laundered (in hypo-allergenic laundry detergent!) clothes and linens, and I get sick. So it's not an option). But I can hang more things to dry inside the house! So I hope to go back to hanging a lot more things to dry! This will mean I need to declutter my laundry room ASAP!

I also hope to declutter and organize some of our supplies. I know that having my stuff organized means I won't run out and buy something that I already have. Just lately, things have gotten a bit out of control. So it's time to reclaim control, before I start buying things I should not have to purchase again!

And it's time to take a good look at the cellphone plans and internet subscription and find cheaper deals! 


I'd love to hear your ideas - ways to cut back -- especially when you already shop at the second hand shop, don't go out to eat nor get coffee out, swap books or check them out of the library, etc.


this post contains affiliate links