Car Rental Deals!

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Searching for a rental car - I've found some deals for you!

Pickup spots in Holon, Haifa, Jerusalem, Ashdod, Raanana, Netanya, Tel Aviv

Deal 1: Daily car rental from Shagrir
- Rent a Hyundai i10 or equivalent, for 129 NIS per day (up to 6 days) (100 km per day)

CLICK HERE TO GET THIS DEAL 

Deal 2: Weekly car rental from Shagrir

Rent a Hyundai i10 or equivalent, for 799 NIS weekly rate
(700 km included)

CLICK HERE TO GET THIS DEAL

Deal 3: Monthly car rental from Shagrir

Rent a Kia Picanto or Hyundai i10, for a monthly rate of 2689 NIS (2500 km included)

CLICK HERE TO GET THIS DEAL

Enjoy your days out!

Discount admission tickets (things to do with your kids)!

This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may be paid a small commission, at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!

Keeping kids entertained with discounts is easier than ever - I've found some deals for you!

Deal 1: Discount admission to the "Pe'alton" chain of play-places
- Choose option 1 for 35 NIS if you want to visit one of the 3 locations listed for that option
- Choose option 2 for 38 NIS if you want to visit one of the 8 locations listed for that option
- Choose option 3 for 43 NIS if you want to visit one of the 14 locations listed for that option

CLICK HERE TO GET THIS DEAL 

Deal 2: Water skiing with "Lake TLV" in Tel Aviv

2 hours of water skiing for 109 NIS. Age 10 and up. Limited time deal that ends very soon! Use the voucher within 90 days of purchase.

CLICK HERE TO GET THIS DEAL

Deal 3: Gravity Park in Jerusalem

- Choose option 1 to get admission for young kids, up to 3 years old, for just 36NIS
- Choose option 2 to get admission for people over 3 years of age, for just 44 NIS

CLICK HERE TO GET THIS DEAL

Deal 4: Biblical Museum of Natural History, Bet Shemesh

-Choose option 1 for one child ticket, for 35.90 NIS
Choose option 2 for one adult ticket, for 45.90 NIS

CLICK HERE TO GET THIS DEAL

Deal 5: Apple Picking in Moshav Odem

- Choose option 1 for one child ticket, for 25 NIS
Choose option 2 for one adult ticket, for 35 NIS

CLICK HERE TO GET THIS DEAL

Deal 6: Acco Extreme Park

-  89.90 per person. Call ahead to make sure the place is not rented out by a large group

CLICK HERE TO GET THIS DEAL

Let me know which one of these you think is best! 

Enjoy your days out!

BOOKS!!! - Discount code Inside!

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

 

Everyone seems to be looking for a good book to read. And since we all know that our favorite online bookstore with free shipping closed down recently, I wanted to let you know about a local option you might not have heard of!

YES! You heard that right - a local online English bookstore - Eva's Used Books! Eva's got a great selection of previously owned books in good condition, albeit in limited quantities, and it's definitely worth checking out her shop!

And I'm so excited to bring you a discount today! Get 10% off your order with code KOSHERFRUGAL!

As far as shipping goes - orders over 75 NIS ship FREE within Israel! This could just change our lives - because I still CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT BOOKS (yes I have the mug!).

Happy reading!

iHerb Savings! הנחה באייהרב

This post contains affiliate or referral links. This means if you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

עברית למטה

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.

Right now, there's this sale: 

Get 27% Off Sitewide Through 9/18/23 at 10:00 AM PT

Use Reward Code QEJ101 and promo code 27IHERB - Just copy and paste them into your cart, one at a time, OR Click here to load the discount into your cart automatically!

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

Lip balm 

Specialty sea salt grinders 

Witch Hazel Toner

Concentrated Laundry Detergent 

Unscented Compostable Dryer Sheets

Witch Hazel Cleansing Pads 

Stridex acne control pads 

Cocoa Butter Lotion 

Dental Floss 

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

Makeup Remover

Aquaphor

Maple Syrup Granules 

Made Good Granola Bars 

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 was so excited when my order came to $74.64 after the discount was applied, and with free delivery! Talk about maximizing savings while avoiding import taxes! I hope you're just as successful!

Enjoy and happy savings!

קבלו 27% הנחה על כל האתר של אייהרב עכשיו!

אם הקודים לא עולים אוטומטי לסל הזינו את הקודים

QEJ101

ואז

27IHERB

ותקבלו ההנחה המרבית!

רק וודאו שהסל הסופי יוצא ללא מיסים - צריך להיזהר מאוד שאחרי הקודים הסל יורד למתחת ל$75 - סף המע"מ

(ולרוב גם תקבלו משלוח חינם עם גלובל אייר לוקר עם מוסיפים מוצרים כדי שסכום הרכישה

יגיע ל$40)!

תהינו!

Updated Post: Some Money Saving Tips

This post may contain affiliate or referral links. This means that if you click on a link I may receive a commission or other compensation. This will never cost you any extra!

This is a repost of an old post with updates - hope you find it helpful.

In trying to help a few friends find ways to reduce their monthly expenses, I discovered a few things that may seem obvious to native Israelis, but for the immigrant (oleh) community, they may not be obvious:

1. If you get hurt or sick and think you need to go to urgent care or the ER, if you're conscious, call your kupat cholim first and get a referral. This will keep your copays and fees to a minimum (there are exceptions. Some ER visits are always fully covered but it's not a long list - see the list here). You might still have a copay (especially for urgent care), but at least you won't be stuck with huge fees. You can also try to see a doctor online via your kupat cholim and save yourself a trip sometimes.

2. You can save money on non-prescription medications by buying them at your kupat cholim pharmacy, and getting a script from your doctor will sometimes save you even more! So if your doctor says you should take a supplement - ask for it to be put in your prescription list. Or, buy supplements from iHerb, where many of them are about 1/3 of the cost of the local options.

3. Negotiate your credit card fees. Often, credit card companies will waive your monthly fee if you ask. Sometimes they'll waive it if you spend a minimum amount on the card - but it's definitely worth asking.

4. Negotiate your bank fees. Instead of paying a fee per transaction, see if you can get your fees waived, or at least pay a small flat rate monthly fee that covers all of your transactions. They call these options a "maslool".

5. Use an app (like Moovit) to pay for public transportation, but be sure to register before you get started. The apps will then calculate your monthly payment based upon the cheapest option. If you travel a lot, you'll likely see a charge for a chofshi chodshi. We have one child who pays less than 50 shekels each month to travel all over the region we live in. And another who travels further, so their bill is for a chofshi chodshi artzi. The advantage to this is if your travel habits change, you'll always just pay the best rate. So one month the one who normally pays for a chofshi chodshi artzi (country-wide pass) stayed local, so they only paid for a regional monthly pass. If you qualify for a discount fare, the app can do that too. Just give it a day or 2 to process your paperwork (you'll need to upload some proof of qualifaction for the discount). If you're a senior citizen and eligible for free public transportation, I believe you must go get a Gold Rav Kav instead of using the app.

6. Renew your passport using the online form, during the winter months. Misrad Hapnim discounts passport fees for people who do this during non-peak season. The online part is just the first step - you'll still need to make an appointment and go in. But this will save you money.

7. If you need to renew your US Passport: you will be required to do so via the mail or dropbox if you are able to do that. If you need an in-person appointment, those slots open up every Wednesday at about 3PM Israel time. Go to the Embassy website for full info. DON'T PAY someone to get you a slot. The embassy advises against using these services. You can get an appointment for FREE.

8. If you're out and about and need a quick snack, buying a single fruit (like a banana/apple/orange) from a makolet is almost always the least expensive option, and will give you a healthy burst of energy to help you get thru your errands so you can eat when you get home. 

9. Always carry a water bottle instead of planning to buy a cold drink while you're out. Best if you freeze your water bottle half full the night before, and fill it as you head out. This, and an insulated holder, will help you stay hydrated!

10. Check which day of the week your local store has "shuk day" and buy your produce that day instead of paying full price on the other days! Often, shuk day will be Tuesday, but sometimes it's Wednesday. The makolet near me has shuk day on Mondays and Thursdays, but they generally only discount a small selection - but it's still convenient.

11. If you're going to a movie, check if you can get a buy 1 get 1 free ticket deal via your credit card! Most credit cards have deals like this - some are available to anyone, others require a minimum spend in the month prior in order to activate it. Just be sure to log into your credit card app and check out the "Hatavot".

12. If you're going out to eat, it's worth checking if you can get a discount. Discount vouchers for restaurants are a great way to live it up without draining your bank account.

13. See if you can earn free things or gift cards from your kupat cholim (healthcare company)! I know Clalit has a fitness app that lets you accrue points to redeem for various prizes, including fitness equipment and giftcards to a variety of places. If you're also on Clalit, and have Mushlam coverage, just click this link from your phone to get it! And be sure to add in referral code JPAJKYK for a sign-up bonus - there's a section called מישוש קוד מתנה where you can put the code in for a 600-point bonus! You have to put the code in the day you activate the app in order to get the bonus.

Hope you found this list helpful! Do you have more tips? I'd LOVE to hear tips you want to add to this list!

Repost: Overnight Chicken

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

I'm reposting this due to some recent requests for this recipe! I originally posted this several years ago.

Read on for more - I started doing this because sometimes life gets crazy, and I was finding myself exhausted at the end of a long day, needing to sleep, but also really needing to get some food cooked for Shabbat. I hope you like my "cook while you sleep" post!

This post is long, long overdue!

I've been meaning to post about one of my favorite ways to streamline my Shabbat cooking.

Some of you have heard me say that I'm getting some of the cooking out of the way on Thursday night before I go to sleep by prepping "Overnight Chicken". During really busy times, this is a lifesaver!

I know a lot of people really don't like Crock Pot Chicken, but I really love the convenience of prepping food and letting it cook while I sleep. And the thing I love about overnight chicken the way I do it is its forgiving nature. I can leave it in for 8 hours as planned, or if I need to, take it out after 10 hours! It's better than Crock Pot Chicken.

So here's what I do:

I use a nice big roasting pan. I think it's one of the keys to success with this recipe. The other key to success is the baking paper. Read on and I'll explain the method I use. If you don't have a large roasting pan like this, I recommend setting aside some money to buy one. (You can even find a very affordable one - this one ships to Israeli addresses and currently has a FREE shipping option!)

THE BASIC METHOD:

Place cut up chicken in the pan.

*Season the chicken.

Cover with baking paper.

Cover TIGHTLY with aluminum foil.

Place in oven.

Turn oven on 100 C for 8-10 hours.

After it's cooked for 8-10 hours (and most likely the aroma of your Shabbat chicken is driving everyone in the house crazy), take it out of the oven.

Take a look inside the pan:

(This was 2 chickens, cut up)

*Seasonings:

When I make overnight chicken, I default to one of two flavor profiles. And I'm completely imprecise about it. I just line up my seasonings on the counter and then one by one I shake some out onto the top of all the chicken. Obviously, this means it can vary a bit in flavor from week to week...

Flavor Profile #1: "Spicy Chicken"

For this flavor profile, I use:

Soy Sauce (I use GF soy sauce with no sugar added)

Turmeric

Granulated or Minced Garlic (lots)

Ground Ginger (not a lot)

Black Pepper (coarsely ground)

Smoked Paprika

Hot Pepper (I prefer the Chipotle version of this so it's smoked and hot - you can find it on iHerb - note that this link is my referral link)

You can leave out the soy sauce if you're soy-free, but if you do, it might be worth sprinkling a bit of salt onto the chicken with the other seasonings.

Flavor Profile #2: "Date Honey Chicken"

For this flavor profile, I use:

Granulated or Minced Garlic (don't skimp)

Ground Ginger (don't skimp)

Black Pepper (coarsely ground)

About 1/4 cup silan (Date Honey - I use the kind that is 100% dates)

 

I don't add salt to this one.

I'm sure you can use the same method for any other flavor profile you like -- I'd love to hear your favorites!

Hope you like this recipe. Please leave me note if you make it, and I'd be thrilled if you tag me on social media if you post about it. Thanks!

Deep discounts!

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

Rosh Hashana is around the corner, and in Israel that means every store is trying to get you to spend your shekels with them! So sales are everywhere!

You all know that I'm not a fan of just buying things for the sake of buying things - I've been really trying to only buy things we actively decide make sense to buy - that means NO impulse shopping!

And that means that when I do decide I need something, it's usually time to shop around and find the best quality I can afford for the best price I can find.

Ok so with that explanation out there, I just want to let you know about one of the awesome sales I found: you can get a whole lot of Soltam kitchen items for DEEP discounts AND free shipping. That's definitely one of my favorite kinds of sales - the kind where I don't have to do the heavy lifting. 

Check out this sale HERE  

The screenshot you see here is nowhere near all the items on sale! There are just SO many things for your kitchen with free shipping right now! Definitely time to buy if you were missing something.

One of my favorites in the selection is this pizza stone set. Check it out!

I'm a big fan of only buying things when there's a sale. I really don't recommend paying full price if you don't have to. It's just really no fun to watch the shekels flow right out of my bank account, ya know?

Do you need a particular item? I'd love to help you find it! Just join my shopping group on Facebook and post your request!

See you there!