Sunday, July 6, 2025

Maanak Avodah 2024 - Reminder to apply!



It's time for your yearly reminder to check if you might be able to claim this benefit! Maybe you've heard about this already, and maybe this is new information for you. There is a reverse-tax benefit in Israel for low-income families. It's called the "Maanak Avodah" or "Working Grant". The point of this grant is to put more money in your pocket if you earn less than a certain amount of money!

Please don't miss out on this if you qualify - apply as soon as possible in order to avoid disappointment later. It won't take much of your time to apply, and you can do it now, BEFORE YOU FORGET! Right now, you can apply for the 2024 grant, and some people may still be able to apply for the 2023 grant.
  
Updated information for the 2024 grant: 

Who can apply for this grant?


You can apply for this grant if: 


1. You were employed or self-employed
 

2. You were 21 years of age or older, and have minor children*, or 55 years of age or above, even if you have no minor children
 

3. You did not own more than 50% of a property or rights to a property (anywhere in the world) in the 2022 tax year, other than your primary residence
 

4. If you have one or two children, or are age 55+ without children, and your average monthly income falls between 2,390 and 7,220 you may be eligible for this grant. If you are a single parent of 1-2 children (with custody of your minor children), your average monthly income must fall between 1,470 and 10,930 NIS to qualify抓
 

5. If you have 3 or more children, and your average monthly income falls between 2,390 NIS and 7,910 NIS, you may be eligible for this grant. If you are a single parent of 3 or more children (with custody), you may qualify if your income is between 1,470 and 13,340 NIS per month.

*children who are counted are those who are under the age of 19 as of 31/12/2023

How do you apply? 


Online, using the Israeli tax website - this form lets you apply for this year and last year
OR
At the post office, where you'll need to answer a few questions. BE SURE to bring your teudat zehut (ID card) and either your checkbook or an "ishur" from your bank that you have an account with them. Please keep any paperwork you receive at the post office and/or in the mail. (This option only allows you to apply for 2024, whereas online you may still be able to apply for the previous year).

If you have questions after you've applied, or to check the status of your application, you can check the status of your request online in your "eizor ishi", or call *4954 or or 02-565-6400 to speak with the Tax Authority. 

Your payment may arrive in anywhere from 1-4 installments.

How much can you expect to receive? 


The amount you receive will vary depending on your circumstances, and if you qualify, could be up to 10,080 NIS.

Your spouse's income may affect your eligibility, as may various other factors.


I hope this helps some of you out there! It's worth it to check if you are eligible.


Please share this information with your friends and family who may benefit from it!

Don't miss out on useful tips and tricks for living in Israel! Follow me on FB and join my Kosher Frugal group!

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Recipe - Homemade BBQ Sauce

 This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

You've probably stumbled across this blog post because you're trying to save money, or because you love Israel, and I'm so glad you're here - welcome!

Here we are, in late May of 2025, and I can't possibly be the only one noticing those grocery bills creeping higher, right?

It seems like each week I have to adjust my expectations - item after item, prices are going up, and I adjust my shopping. And I'll be honest, I don't want to spend every moment of my day doing food prep, but I also don't want to spend more than I've budgeted, and I don't want to have to give up too much to stick to the budget! It's a tough spot to be in.

So while I've always made some things from scratch, I have begun to make a few more things from scratch.

This week, I made a large batch of chummus with a high percentage of techina, and stashed a lot of it in my freezer packaged in convenient portions for single-meal use. And you know what? I really don't think I'm going back to supermarket chummus - this homemade stuff is so much better (and healthier!), and the hardest part is remembering to put some chickpeas up to soak the night before. 馃槅

But this post isn't about chummus, it's about another favorite that I have stopped buying: BBQ Sauce. The supermarket options that are affordable have ingredients I don't actually want to eat, and we didn't love the way they taste, either. So I decided to make my own.

Using tomato paste, brown sugar, maple syrup, spices, and vinegar - I think it came out good!

Here's what I did:

Take out a mixing bowl and silicone spatula. Put the following in the bowl:

240g of tomato paste (this is the larger tub option in the supermarket, not a big can)

half a cup of water

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons maple syrup, but you can use honey if you prefer

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1.5 teaspoons granulated garlic

pinch of salt (or more!), to taste

hot pepper flakes and/or smoked hot pepper, to taste

All amounts are approximate, and can be adjusted!

Mix well. If you're using this as a marinade before cooking, you don't even need to heat it up before using it. If you want to serve it as a sauce at the table, I recommend heating it in a pot on the stove until it's been heated all the way through. Don't use a high flame, it will bubble and make a mess! You can throw in a pinch of baking soda when warming it if you want to reduce the acid a bit.

Use a silicone spatula to help scrape it out of the pot into a jar or bowl for serving or storage.

Enjoy!

If you want to find (and share!) shopping deals, please join my deals groups on Facebook: 
I'm also on WhatsApp with an opt-in group where you'll get links to deals I find. Only admins can post.

Sunday, May 18, 2025

iHerb Sale Codes for You!

This post contains affiliate or rewards program links. This means I may receive a small commission if you click on a link and place an order, never at any additional cost to you

注讘专讬转 诇诪讟讛

Recently, iHerb ended one of our favorite site-wide sale codes for orders shipped to Israel, so it's become more important than ever before to watch out for category or brand specific sales for your iHerb purchases!

Here are the sales I found right now: 

20% off Vitamins - use this link to get started

Brands of the week - use this link to get discounts when you purchase any products from the 16 brands of the week!

Sale change all the time! I'll try to find more codes and update when I can!

TIP: Get free shipping if you order $60 USD or more, but keep your order total under $75 to avoid taxes and import fees.

拽讘诇讜 20% 讛谞讞讛 注诇 讜讬讟诪讬谞讬诐 讘讗转专 砖诇 讗讬讬讛专讘 注讻砖讬讜! 讛拽诇讬拽讜 讻讗谉 讻讚讬 诇讛讻谞讬住 讗转 讛拽讜驻讜谉 诇住诇 讛拽谞讬讜转!

讗诐 讛拽讜讚讬诐 诇讗 注讜诇讬诐 讗讜讟讜诪讟讬 诇住诇 讛讝讬谞讜 讗转 讛拽讜讚讬诐
QEJ101
讜讗讝
MAY25VITA
讜转拽讘诇讜 讗转 讛讛谞讞讛!
专拽 讜讜讚讗讜 砖讛住诇 讛住讜驻讬 讬讜爪讗 诇诇讗 诪讬住讬诐 - 爪专讬讱 诇讛讬讝讛专 诪讗讜讚 砖讗讞专讬 讛拽讜讚讬诐 讛住诇 讬讜专讚 诇诪转讞转 诇$75 - 住祝 讛诪注"诪
(讜诇专讜讘 讙诐 转拽讘诇讜 诪砖诇讜讞 讞讬谞诐 注诐 讙诇讜讘诇 讗讬讬专 诇讜拽专 注诐 诪讜住讬驻讬诐 诪讜爪专讬诐 讻讚讬 砖住讻讜诐 讛专讻讬砖讛
讙讬注 诇$60)!
讘诪拽专讛 讜讗转诐 诪注讚讬驻讬诐 诇拽谞讜转 诪讗转专 讬砖专讗诇讬, 讗谞讬 诪诪诇讬爪讛 诇讘讚讜拽 讗转 诪讘讞专 讛讜讬讟诪讬谞讬诐 砖诇 拽讬.讗住.驻讬!

转讛讬谞讜!
iHerb is one of my favorite ways to find products that I can't get in Israel. Or products that may be available in Israel, but at inflated prices.

Need some ideas for your iHerb order?

Here are just a few things I recommend - several of these are eligible for the extra discount! I'd love to hear what your favorites are:

Teas

Witch Hazel Toner 

Vitamin E Moisturizing Cream 

Plant-based (coconut milk based) Caramel 

Hand Sanitizer (great size for your bag!)

Lip balm 

Concentrated Laundry Detergent 

Unscented Compostable Dryer Sheets

Witch Hazel Cleansing Pads 

Stridex acne control pads 

Cocoa Butter Lotion 

Dental Floss 

Pain Relief Cream (herbal) (the athletes in my house like this one a lot) 

Aspercreme pain relief products (conventional)

Makeup Remover

Aquaphor 

Scar gel

Maple Syrup Granules 

Made Good Granola Bars (allergy friendly!)

Cheddar Cheese Powder

Your order of $60 and up will usually qualify for FREE Global Air Locker shipping!

Don't forget these important, basic principles of shopping online from Israel:

  • Keep your order under $75 to avoid paying VAT!!
  • Spread out your orders. If you want to buy more than $75 worth of items from one website, and you have the option of splitting your order - DO IT. BUT don't order more than $75 worth on any given day to the same shipping name/address/ID. If you do, customs may combine your orders and charge you. Give it about 3 days between orders. Best to ship to a different name using a different ID for customs, so you can order it all on the same day.
  • Always look for the free shipping option - usually, it's to a pickup spot.

I love to see how close to $75 I can get without going over, and get free delivery to maximize savings while avoiding import taxes!

Enjoy and happy savings!
If you prefer to buy from Israeli sites - check out KSP's selection of Vitamin products!

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Free Museum Day May 2025

Sorry for the late post, but you need to know that TODAY, Thursday, May 15, 2025 is FREE Museum Day in Israel!!

There are 130 participating museums - - there's something for everyone!!


Let me know where you decide to go!

Have fun! 

Sunday, May 11, 2025

Getting Travel Ready? Save Some Money!

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

Shoppers in Israel, and many other non-US locations, this is for you! If you're getting ready to travel, you might have noticed that it's not always easy to find travel size products here. It was always pretty easy in the USA when I lived there (though it's been a while), so I was checking for options from there that ship here.

And guess what? I found that the best deals are bulk deals - so either stock up for several trips at a time, or split this order with a friend or two!

I found these toothbrush/toothpaste packages, or ones that are similar and also have a flosser, and also little mouthwashes! These make traveling easy - I never want to get stuck without a toothbrush, you know?

If you want, you can even get Cetaphil face cleanser in travel size, and antiperspirant/deodorants for both men and women

OR, if you don't want to buy in bulk, you could choose this convenient 10-piece convenience kit for traveling, which has lots of essentials.

I also highly recommend you get lightweight luggage so you can maximize your packing space.

Let me know if this is helpful!

Feel free to share with anyone who might be interested!

If you want to find (and share!) shopping deals, please join my deals groups on Facebook: 
I'm also on WhatsApp with an opt-in group where you'll get links to deals I find. Only admins can post.

Thursday, May 8, 2025

Replace your old 2G/3G "dumbphone" now - before it stops working!

 This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission, but never at any additional cost to you.

Picture of 4 old cellphones
Image from the public domain

This is important for people who use older non-smartphones in Israel. The older cell networks (2G and 3G as far as I understood), are being RETIRED and will stop working. This means your phone will stop working if it uses those cell networks and not the newer ones. The bitter truth here is that means you will need to get a new phone if you want to have cell service.

So if you're set on keeping your status as a "non-smartphone user", I'm happy to share that you can currently get a "dumbphone" that works on the 4G network for under 200 NIS! If you prefer a flip-phone that can be had for under 225 NIS right now! Go get them now before they run out!

Click here for option 1

Click here for option 2 

Of course, you can take this opportunity to upgrade to a smartphone if you prefer.

There are so many options, you can even find a Samsung phone in any price range starting at about 350 NIS! Hope this helps someone out there!

Feel free to share with anyone who might be interested!

If you want to find (and share!) shopping deals, please join my deals groups on Facebook: 
I'm also on WhatsApp with an opt-in group where you'll get links to deals I find. Only admins can post.


Tuesday, April 15, 2025

FREE help with your Israeli taxes! (for tax year 2024)


Every year, many of us have to file a yearly tax report with the Israel Tax Authority.

(Are you looking for info about filing US taxes as a dual Israeli-American citizen? Check HERE: https://www.kosherfrugal.com/2025/03/us-expats-tax-season-is-here-and-i-have.html)

Many, many people pay an accountant to handle this report, but did you know that in some cases you can also get FREE help?

Here's the deal:

The Israel Tax Authority runs Free Clinics for filing yearly tax reports: this year, assistance is available for Atzmaim (freelancers/self employed people) with income up to 60,000 NIS using Form 137, people who need to file a tax report using Form 1301, and employed individuals requested a refund using Form 135.

Find this help at all regional tax offices:

Regional Tax Offices will operate these services between May 4, 2025 and June 25, 2024, Sundays and Wednesdays from 1pm - 6:00pm.



Some offices may be closed on certain days of the week. I recommend calling before you go to verify they are open!

In Eilat, the service will be available only on Mondays and Wednesdays. In Um Al Fahem and Holon, the service is only available on Sundays. 

NOTE: These clinics are for getting help filing your yearly tax report if you're self-employed, or to request a refund for employed people (only forms 1301 and 137).

Bring ALL your relevant paperwork with you so you can get the most accurate assistance.

Good luck!


Follow me on Facebook for more tips and info!
Please share this with anyone who will appreciate this info!
 

Thursday, March 27, 2025

FREE on Pesach 2025


I just HAD to take a break from Pesach cleaning to share this with you all!

Here's the list of Bank Hapoalim's free attractions for Pesach 2025. I have linked to websites in English, whenever possible. I hope you find this list helpful, and that you get to have some super-frugal fun over Pesach!

*Please note that I put a lot of effort into this post, tracking down websites in English for your convenience. I know the Bank Hapoalim info and other info is available to the public in Hebrew, but this blog post has added benefits for the English-speaking community. Because it was so much work, I request that you link back to this post if you share this information. Thank you!*

Please leave a comment with your favorite place to visit!

If you haven't already, go ahead and like my Facebook page so you don't miss out on deals and great info all year round!

The following are free to the public (April 14-18) courtesy of Bank HaPoalim. Pre-registration is required, and will open on Sunday, April 9. Click here to register

North:

Ancient Katzrin Park
























Other venues that are also FREE:

April 15-16, 10:00AM - 3:00PM: Register in advance

Israel Parks and Nature: free guided tours at various sites. Register HERE 

More coming soon, as I find them!
5 ​ 6
Have a great time!

Please share this with your friends, so everyone can plan a fun and frugal Pesach!


If you want to find (and share!) shopping deals, please join my deals groups on Facebook: 
I'm also on WhatsApp with an opt-in group where you'll get links to deals I find. Only admins can post.


Tuesday, March 25, 2025

US expats: tax season is here and I have a discount for you

this post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.



Americans in Israel, this is for you!

If you're an American ex-pat like me, you probably get an annual headache when thinking about filing your US tax return. What an absolute pain, am I right?

Currently, this is something most of us MUST do, even if we don't like it. There's just no getting around it for now - no matter how much we complain (maybe one day it will change!). And because of the complexity of navigating tax documents issued to comply with Israeli tax law (as opposed to US tax law), it is usually NOT recommended to use automated software for filing your overseas tax return.

But now there's SimpleTax, have you heard of them? I've had a long chat with the founder of the company, and they've worked so hard to make this service available (it's designed to work in a way that standard tax software doesn't). Basically, you upload files and answer questions, and their team will put your tax return together for you for your approval.

SimpleTax will usually save you money on fees - I've gotten multiple quotes for taxes and almost all were much higher than Simpletax.

If your taxes are complicated, you will still pay a higher rate than the lowest one listed on their site, but it will most likely still be MUCH lower than the quotes I've gotten from accountants recently.

This is a game changer. 

I invite you to find more details at SimpleTax. If you use my referral link (the links to SimpleTax on this site are referral links), you'll get 10% off your first tax return! If for some reason you can't open the link, simply copy-paste this link to go to their site: https://simpletax.co.il/register?referral=KOFRU. Or go to their site on your own and be sure to enter my referral code (KOFRU).

So spread the word that this year, we'll all be doing our taxes smarter and cheaper! Use my referral code to get a great 10% discount: 
MY-CODE: KOFRU

SimpleTax is also on Facebook and has plans to help US citizens in Israel navigate financial issues better. You can be sure I'll be following them and waiting for more helpful developments. 

诪讬讚注 讞砖讜讘 注讘讜专 讗讝专讞讬诐 讗诪专讬拽讗讬诐 砖讙专讬诐 讘讗专抓: 讛讙讬注 驻转专讜谉 砖讬讞住讜讱 诇谞讜 讛专讘讛 讻住讱!

讙诐 讛砖谞讛, 讗驻砖专 诇诪诇讗 讚讜"讞 诪住 讗诪专讬拽谞讬 注诐 讞讘专转 住讬诪驻诇讟拽住 - 讜转专讗讜 讞住讻讜谉 讗诪讬转讬!

讗驻砖专 诇讞住讜讱 注讜讚 讬讜转专 注诐 讛拽讜讚 砖诇讬 讘注转 讛讛专砖诪讛. 讛讛专砖诪讛 诇诇讗 注诇讜转 - 专拽 转爪讟专讻讜 诇砖诇诐 注诐 诪砖转诪砖讬诐 讘诪注专讻转 诇讚讜讜讞. 讛砖转诪砖讜 讘拽讜讚 KOFRU 讜转拽讘诇讜 10% 讛谞讞讛.

讗讜 讛拽诇讬拽讜 讻讗谉: https://simpletax.co.il/register?referral=KOFRU


Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Food vouchers from Misrad Hapnim

To combat food insecurity in Israel, Misrad Hapnim is distributing hundreds of thousands of shekels worth of food vouchers right now (February 2025). Many people have been automatically admitted to the program through their revacha services, but some eligible people may not be on the list.

If you think you might be eligible but aren't on a list to receive it, check out the Eligibility Simulator at https://govforms.gov.il/mw/forms/PopulationWithOutMunicipalityGalilArea@MOIN.gov.il 

After checking the simulator, clicking on the "Next Stage" button will take you to the "Submit Request" page. If you don't want to submit a request, don't click Next. If you do want to submit a request, be sure you have the required documentation available (a scan of your Teudat Zehut, including the "sefach", and income documentation).

Hope this helps someone out there get extra help when they need it! Feel free to share this post with anyone who might find it helpful!

If you need more financial assistance, you may find these posts helpful:
Click here to see posts labeled "financial assistance"
https://www.kosherfrugal.com/search/label/financial%20assistance

If you want to find (and share!) shopping deals, please join my deals groups on Facebook: 

I'm also on WhatsApp with an opt-in group where you'll get links to deals I find. Only admins can post.