How I Saved NIS 3600 in 40 Minutes

This is a guest post by Talia Klein Perez.   Over the last year, our government passed laws that favor consumers, mainly canceling the high fines we have had to pay to leave one service provider for another. With the current formula, you pay 8% of your monthly bill times the number of months … [Read more...]

Top Fifty Frugality Blogs

I'm honored to be included in Frugal Dad's list of the Top Fifty Frugality Blogs. For new visitors, I've picked out some of my favorite frugal posts: Making a Sourdough Starter Washing Machines and Making Laundry More Frugal Frugal Strategies for Young Children that Pay Off as Your Family … [Read more...]

More Frugal Strategies, Breastfeeding in the Summer, and Haveil Havalim, and Childcare Choices

I wrote about keeping babies hydrated in hot weather at Green Prophet. Squawkfox compiled a list of the best frugal advice from 41 bloggers, dividing them into categories and adding eye-catching graphics. You can see them all here. And in the spirit of frugality, Batya at me-ander presents the … [Read more...]

Washing Machines and Laundry: Tips for Making Laundry More Frugal

In honor of Earth Day, here's a water-saving tip from Paamonim. Paamonim, which I wrote about here, helps Israeli families in debt avoid poverty, and its website contains many money-saving tips. Saving water and energy is not only a personal financial consideration, as natural resources belong to … [Read more...]

Creative Cooking Using Leftovers: Chicken Casserole

chicken casserole I am enjoying Mimi's challenge of cooking with whatever she has in the house. As food manager of a large family I have had to learn to keep well-stocked, but when I run low I try not to run across the street. We shop at a large grocery every three weeks or so, the shuk for produce … [Read more...]

Ten Things You May Not Need to Buy if You Breastfeed Your Baby

This post originally appeared on Green Prophet, and is reprinted with permission. Click to view over 70 comments (Haloscan). A common misconception about breastfeeding and babies in general is that they require special equipment. But we already know on Green Prophet that a mom who buys less is … [Read more...]

Paamonim:The long, shorter way to get out of debt

Paamonim is an organization, operating mainly in the national religious community, that helps middle class families manage their budgets and pay off debts. In Friday's alon Matzav Haruach, Rachel Klein wrote about Paamonim and spoke with its director, Uriel Lederberg."Dina," a single mother of … [Read more...]

Using Cloth Diapers in Israel

Katherine has a new baby, and asked me to share my experience with cloth diapers in Israel. Previous posts which mention them are here and here. Some readers may asking why one would consider using cloth diapers in the midst of our serious water shortage. But disposable diapers use up more … [Read more...]

Our English Story Hour

My town doesn't attract a large number of new English-speaking olim, having been eclipsed by Raanana, distant Beit Shemesh and Modiin. But we now have a new attraction--an English story hour.Our group consists of six or seven families. Some I knew before, and the rest met through our community's … [Read more...]

Basic skills for children

Over at Conversations in Klal, ProfK writes about whether children (read girls) should be taught basic homemaking skills. In The Fine Art of Being a Balabusta Part I, she concludes that there's no point teaching girls to sew because the women she knows sew do so mainly for pleasure. Working mothers … [Read more...]