Retail therapy? Don't go broke, though!

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Do you need a diversion from everything? Sometimes the best thing to do is to give something to someone. I know many people are volunteering in countless ways, but maybe you know someone who will be comforted by a more physical gesture or gift? If so, shopping is your answer!

And here I am, with a number of cute and inexpensive gift ideas! These are from Amazon, with free shipping options to Israel (and they ship to other places too):

The best gift I found this winter, and gave to my whole family are cozy blanket hoodies! They are awesome and (I've been told that some people have even been spotted wearing them to class at college.) Right now there's a coupon you can activate to get it for even less - so hurry and take advantage of that!

These options are all $6 (about 21 NIS) or less:

"Hug this till you can hug me" pillow cover (I can think of a number of scenarios for which this pillow cover is PERFECT)

Stainless steel large Coffee thermos (I love getting people to switch over to reusable cups!)

Fancy Vanilla Coffee Turmeric Soap (washing your face with coffee? I'm intrigued!)

Paint by number kits (I couldn't believe how much more these cost locally, this is a huge savings for those who like these)

Jewelry making/Beading kit (great for fun with the kids - note: these are plastic beads)

Wooden Fruit toys (these are great for toddlers)

If you're looking for something else, let me know, maybe I've already stumbled across a deal!

Get all the deals in my groups: Israel Deals Made Easy and Live in Israel. Shop Online, and Kosher Frugal)!

Things to know about ordering from Israel: Shipping takes time, and lately they seem to be building in a lot of extra delivery time to cover worst-case scenarios, but most packages arrive earlier than the "deliver by" date.

Amazon's prices change frequently but they're really great about letting you know if an item in your cart has changed price - so if you found one and deliberated about it, you'll know if something changed when you decide to complete your purchase. Of course, if you want to lock in the sale price (all the items listed above are DISCOUNTED right now), you should click, add to cart, and buy without waiting!

Sometimes free shipping offers disappear, so please check carefully before you order. Most free shipping offers require a minimum purchase of $49. Just remember - you can avoid VAT and other import fees by staying below the $75 tax threshold for any single order! If you do go over, you will see exactly what you'll pay in taxes at checkout. I only do this if I'm actually buying a product that costs more than $75. And I don't add any other small things to these orders, because once you're over, you're over and you'll pay fees on the entire order.

For smaller purchases, I place separate orders that each total under $75.

If you're in the USA and buying a gift for someone in Israel, please follow those guidelines, too - or be prepared to prepay all taxes and fees. You'll see them before you checkout, so don't worry about surprises. You will need to enter the recipient's ID number at checkout too, so the package can clear customs.

Hope you found this helpful!

Free samples! (New ones!)

Today's deal: FREE SAMPLES!

Don't you love freebies - specifically, useful freebies!?

Of course you do!

So I'm really excited to be able to bring back the Freebie section of this blog - today I found two freebies to share with you.

First up, grab a free sample pack of Flexitol skin cream products! (These are intense skin repair creams, and really great!)

Screenshot from www.altman.co.il

Click here for your Flexitol sample

Next, you can grab a sample of Perskindol pain relief gel. They make two versions, and I believe you'll need to choose which one you want to sample - the "active" version or the "thermo" version.

Screenshot from perskindolinfo.co.il

Click here to get your Perskindol sample

You just have to fill out basic information (name, address, etc) and they'll send you a sample pack in the mail.

In my experience, they often send a coupon towards your next purchase, too.

Hope you found this helpful - if yes, please share this blog post!

And don't forget to join my groups:

Kosher Frugal (savings group on Facebook)

Great Deals Israel WhatsApp group 

See you there!

-Ester

Aliyah Tips: Lost your wallet? Useful tips inside!

It can happen to anyone. Your wallet got lost (or perhaps stolen)! You've looked everywhere, but it's nowhere to be found!

Now what?

First, make a list of all the things you had inside it that you'll need to cancel and replace.

This may include your teudat zehut, kupat cholim card, credit card, debit card, ID cards for work/school, Rav Kav, etc

Don't give up. You're going to manage. Hopefully, you didn't have anything like a LOT of cash in there!

Start with filing a report of your lost item:

• File a report with the police: CLICK HERE to file a report with the police (this link is for LOST ITEMS - it can be anything, not just your wallet) 
• File a report with Egged if you lost it on the bus or in a bus station they manage 
• File a report with Superbus if you lost it on the bus or in a bus station they manage
• Contact Nateev Express if you lost it on a bus they operate
• Contact Dan bus lines at 03-6933280 - they don't have an online lost and found form
• Contact Israel Railways if you lost it on the train
• Contact Kavim at 03-7732060 if you lost it on a bus they operate
• Contact Metropoline at *5900 if you lost it on one of their lines
• If you lost it in a mall, file a report with mall management
• Other places may accept a report as well - definitely worth checking, because you might just get a call that someone turned it in!

Next, make an appointment with Misrad Hapnim to start the process of replacing your ID card (teudat zehut). You WILL need another form of ID with you when you do this - hopefully, you have a qualifying ID, like a passport, in a safe place (tip: they may allow you to use a recently expired passport for this, AND renew your passport at the same time as replacing your TZ). It may be easier for you to get an appointment in another city - currently, some of the far-flung offices sometimes even have same-day TZ or Passport appointments available (I know this because I live in one of them!).

Next, contact your debit card and credit card issuers to block your card. You can put a 48-hour block on your card anytime 24/7 that will turn into a card cancellation if you don't update them before the 48 hours are up. They'll then send you a new card to your home address. You can do this by logging into your credit card's app, via their website, or by calling or whatsapping their customer service.

Here's how to reach them:

• Isracard
• Cal 
• Max 

To get a new kupat cholim card, the easiest thing to do is GO TO YOUR CLINIC and speak with the front desk. They can cancel your old card and, in most cases, will issue a new one on the spot (you'll want to be sure the old one is cancelled and you're not just getting a duplicate if you've connected your kupat cholim card to your bank account or credit card, because you don't want someone else to be able to charge your account for items purchased at the kupat choim pharmacy, or fill your scripts and take your meds!). If you can't go in to the clinic, you can log in to your kupat cholim app and request a new one.

Driver's Licenses can be replaced by logging in to your MyGov account. Due to a backlog, they are currently recommending downloading a PDF of your license instead of requesting a physical replacement.

Your work or school ID will have to be replaced at work or school, and shouldn't be too much of a hassle.

If you lost your Rav Kav, you'll want to cancel it and get your balance reloaded onto a new one. You can only do this for personalized cards. Anonymous Rav Kav users cannot do this. It will take a few days to process your balance transfer request. Click here to order a replacement Rav Kav 

Please let me know if I forgot anything that might be lost when you lost your wallet! I'd be happy to make sure to add it and links to helpful sites for replacing it, too.

I hope you don't lose these things, but if you know someone who's panicking after losing a wallet or similar, please share this with them so they can quickly get their stuff back in order!

If you think this is a helpful post, please share it on social media!

Money Saving Tip: Tax Breaks for Residents of Some Cities/Yishuvim

 

Do you live in a border town or development town? Many of these places offer a tax break for full-time residents. The percentage varies by community, but even if you only get a small break, you don't want to miss out on this! To get this tax break, you'll need an "Ishur Toshav" for tax purposes, which must be updated every January. Your employer or accountant will need it.

You're eligible if you've been a full-time resident of an eligible city/town/yishuv for at least 1 full year.

If you're eligible, your moetza or iriya will have a way to get it - most likely on their website.

Here's what I found on my moetza website:

So be sure to take care of this! Visit your municipality's website and get yours, and get your tax break!

List of eligible cities and towns (info in Hebrew)

List of additional cities and towns approved for 2023-2025 ONLY, at 12% (info in Hebrew)

It seems the percentage varies widely - and can change from one year to the next.

Hope you found this helpful! If you did, please share and also, join my Facebook group and follow my Facebook page!

Love getting cash back when you shop? Then this post's FOR YOU!

This post contains referral and/or affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase or register, I may receive a payment or commission or something of the sort, but it will never cost you extra!

If you like to shop online (and really, who doesn't?), and are based in Israel - you need to know about this!

Cashdo is a cashback site that offers you a small rebate on your purchases. They have a lot of Israeli sites, and even some international ones. You can use it to get cashback at Superpharm online, Steimatzky, and other Israeli websites, including Lastprice, Delta, Hamashbir and many more.

It's easy to use - most of the time you can activate cashback when you're already shopping - just be sure to install the browser plug-in and pay attention to the pop-up notifications from it.

Hope this helps you keep more money in your pocket!