Gift Ideas that will not make you go bankrupt

Pessach/Easter is near. And if it is anything like where I live you HAVE to get presents. This year we decided to get our kids one present that they have to share. The only other person to receive a present from us is our nephew. Anyone else will just have to do without.

Honestly, I think it is a disgrace that we live in such a consumption-focused society that we HAVE to buy something. And you have so many occasions – next to birthdays, which I think are the only occasions that may call for more expensive presents, you have any religious holiday,  Valentine's Day, Mother's/Father's Day, anniversary… I am sure that you will find a lot of occasions where you just HAVE to give a present to someone.

I personally love to buy gifts for my children. But I usually buy it on deals. And I carefully choose the presents. Very often it is something as simple as a coloring in book or stickers that I get at a local "everything for 1 Shekel" (which is the equivalent of about 30 cents). They love it and no-one can honestly say that my kids are poor or have nothing to play with.

You've probably heard it before: you don't have to spend a lot of money to find that perfect gift for someone.  Just be sure to put some time and thought into it and your gift will be well received.

When I was a child my mom used to tell me that she rather receives a single rose that was carefully chosen then a large bouquet that was bought in haste and without thought. And this is the key, everyone appreciates our time and love more than anything.

So, before you go out and spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on presents (per occasion or per year), STOP!  Read through the list of inexpensive gift ideas, maybe there is something that you think could work for you or you come up with something else. I would love to hear any new ideas, so, please, do post them.

• There are hundreds of great gifts that can be purchased or made by hand for under $10, you just have to be a little bit imaginative
• Home baked bread, include recipe
• Homemade cocoa mix in a pretty jar
• Home baked cookies
• Homemade cookie mix with instructions for baking
• Baking pans and supplies
• Muffin mixes with muffin pan
• Pepper mill and fresh peppercorns
• Pretty glass jar filled with candy  
• Gourmet coffees with a personal coffee cup
• Teacup with box of herbal tea
• Special coffee cup filled with candy
• Set of Turkish coffee cups with Turkish coffee
•  Set of dish towels and dish cloths
•   Serving bowl or platter
• Decorative napkins and napkin rings
• Basket filled with kitchen gadgets
•  Specialty cookbook
•  Handwritten copies of your favorite recipes
•  Craft supplies
• Child's artwork, framed
•  Collage of special photos
• Gel pens and pretty stationary
• Pretty box for keepsakes
• Makeup tote
• Makeup brush set
• Nail polish kit
• Special soaps and bath puff
• Puzzles
• Board games

These are things that are under $10 in Israel. The list may change according to your location. Again, remember, it is  really not about the amount of money you spend for a gift that matters the most, but that you cared enough to give something special.

How to save both money and time at the supermarket

Now that hard times have hit us, everyone looks for ways to save some cash. Most of us think that saving equals giving something up and with this we see us suffering, losing out etc. But saving money is something that we can do easily without the bitter taste that we thought we would get with it.
Many expenses are quite set. You want to save on your mortgage, energy/water bill? Not impossible, but not something that you can influence virtually every week (or even daily). You can easily save money on your grocery bill – and save time at the supermarket too.

Welcome to your in-house supermarket
This one is really easy. Just check what you have in your cupboards, fridge and freezer. You’ll be surprised what you find there. I did this earlier on as I had to come up with something for super (my hubby, who usually does the shopping is ill… so we are living off the food that we have at home). I came up with quite a variety of veggies that I would have to chuck away in a day or two, Tofu, and some staples (for me staples include peanut butter, sweet chilly sauce and coconut milk) to make tofu and vegetables in a peanut-coconut milk sauce. It is sort of Thai, and we didn’t have to phone for take out. When you go shopping in your own kitchen you can dramatically cut your grocery bill!

Plan your meal
Planning your meals will make preparing your meals hassle free - you just have to look at your meal plan to know what you are making. But even better, you will also know what you need to buy. So you are less likely to impulse buy.

Make a list
When you go shopping, make a list and try to group them like they do at the supermarket. First of all, you are less likely to impulse buy (I still impulse buy, but those things are not wasted. Usually it is things that are on sale or have good deals on - and I ALWAYS impulse buy things that we eat anyway). But more importantly you will save time. Just imagine, you go through your list, thought you have everything that you want from the meat section just to see that when you pack your fruits and veggies (which happens to be at the other end of the supermarket) that you forgot the onions, or what have you not. Now you have to go back. And of course, this doesn’t just happens once, but several times.
If you don’t know the set up of your supermarket, take the five minutes and just write down the set up. You will save much more starting from the next time you go shopping.

Check unit prices
Don’t take the supermarkets word for it, larger packages are not always cheaper per serving then smaller packages. Check to make sure.

Eat before you go
Going shopping when you are not hungry, will, according to several studies, make you less likely to buy on impulse, especially things that you normally won't buy anyway.

Make your own food
Convenient, pre-packaged foods carry a hefty price and health tag. For instance, making your own sandwich is not only cheaper, but also healthier. Want to buy “shake a cake” or something similar – trust me, making your own cake from scratch is just as easy, you don’t have to subject your body to all these nice ingredients like fillers, artificial colors or stabilizers, as well as being much cheaper.
It really doesn’t take much to make your own soups, cakes, cookies, breakfast bars and muffins and international foods (like pasta sauces, Thai, Mexican etc.). And sure enough, you will find many ideas in this blog as time goes by.

And yes, for those who really have the time, patients and opportunities there are coupons, price book, checking for so called loss-leaders (items that a shop wants to get rid off, because it just doesn’t sell well), buy in bulks or shop during off-hours if you can. But these are not must dos or have tos to cut your time and grocery bill.