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Making Pesach on $300!
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SacN




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 07 2013, 6:48 am
Thank you!

We can't ditch the car, unfortunately, because we need to also spend time with family all over Israel (over chol hamoed and before pesach). My DH is Israeli, and his grandmother will kill us if we don't make it there for her to meet our baby.
We did the math (my sister in seminary looked up the bus prices for the long distance busses)--for the price of the car rental we found, we could take all the buses and cabs we will need, but not having the car won't save us any money. This way, with the car (for the same price as buses and cabs), we can have a car seat (instead of not, like in cabs), and we can travel more easily and quickly both for our interviews and our family, as well as the communities we would like to visit. We don't plan to drive much within Yerushaliyim. Our interviews are the morning after we arrive, so we are essentially just not counting that day as part of our pesach plans.

Perhaps we are overly ambitious--we are in Israel for three weeks, and are predicting very little sleep between a jet lagged/off schedule 18 month old and turning over a kitchen. We plan to spend our first couple entire days grocery shopping, and mornings of every other day turning over the kitchen and cooking, as well as when our baby is sleeping in the evenings. I will bring any/all kitchen goods that I will need with me (in our extra suitcase), so we won't need to schlep to buy that there. We are going away the shabbos before pesach, which will also leave me with more time to cook for yom tov (instead of shabbos).
I also don't mind cooking on yom tov, which will leave most of chol hamoed for visiting family and new communities. I work full time--I'm very very efficient at cooking for yom tov/shabbos, and my husband has turned over many many many kitchens over the course of his years supporting himself in yeshiva. Our hosts have also offered to do some shopping for us before we arrive, so that may be a huge help, as well as some help from my 19 year old sister, who can babysit, shop, etc, and will love every second with her niece she hasn't seen since August.

If we find that something needs to be cut from our schedule in order to make pesach, that's what we will do. Additionally, if we need to spend more money than expected, we can probably scrounge up an extra couple hundred dollars. We just want to be responsible about a budget rather than a hey, it's pesach, it's expensive, lets just buy stuff kind of attitude. We will try to keep it to $300, and, if we see that it's truly impossible, we will frugally spend a bit more.

Lest you think I am going away for shabbos hagadol simply to save myself time to cook for yom tov, let me assure you that my husband has been dying to spend shabbos by this rebbe of his since we even started thinking of aliyah.

I really really appreciate all of your help, from all of you! I know we sound crazy and idealistic, and bH, we've done crazy and idealistic successfully before. Bezras Hashem, we can do it again!
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Karnash




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 07 2013, 7:54 am
SacN you seem to really have thought this through - and you seem the type able to deal with small glitches in your plan.
I really wish you the best of luck, good results with your interviews and a wonderful chag.

Let us know how it all went.
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Merrymom




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 07 2013, 7:57 am
SacN wrote:
Thank you!

We can't ditch the car, unfortunately, because we need to also spend time with family all over Israel (over chol hamoed and before pesach). My DH is Israeli, and his grandmother will kill us if we don't make it there for her to meet our baby.
We did the math (my sister in seminary looked up the bus prices for the long distance busses)--for the price of the car rental we found, we could take all the buses and cabs we will need, but not having the car won't save us any money. This way, with the car (for the same price as buses and cabs), we can have a car seat (instead of not, like in cabs), and we can travel more easily and quickly both for our interviews and our family, as well as the communities we would like to visit. We don't plan to drive much within Yerushaliyim. Our interviews are the morning after we arrive, so we are essentially just not counting that day as part of our pesach plans.

Perhaps we are overly ambitious--we are in Israel for three weeks, and are predicting very little sleep between a jet lagged/off schedule 18 month old and turning over a kitchen. We plan to spend our first couple entire days grocery shopping, and mornings of every other day turning over the kitchen and cooking, as well as when our baby is sleeping in the evenings. I will bring any/all kitchen goods that I will need with me (in our extra suitcase), so we won't need to schlep to buy that there. We are going away the shabbos before pesach, which will also leave me with more time to cook for yom tov (instead of shabbos).
I also don't mind cooking on yom tov, which will leave most of chol hamoed for visiting family and new communities. I work full time--I'm very very efficient at cooking for yom tov/shabbos, and my husband has turned over many many many kitchens over the course of his years supporting himself in yeshiva. Our hosts have also offered to do some shopping for us before we arrive, so that may be a huge help, as well as some help from my 19 year old sister, who can babysit, shop, etc, and will love every second with her niece she hasn't seen since August.

If we find that something needs to be cut from our schedule in order to make pesach, that's what we will do. Additionally, if we need to spend more money than expected, we can probably scrounge up an extra couple hundred dollars. We just want to be responsible about a budget rather than a hey, it's pesach, it's expensive, lets just buy stuff kind of attitude. We will try to keep it to $300, and, if we see that it's truly impossible, we will frugally spend a bit more.

Lest you think I am going away for shabbos hagadol simply to save myself time to cook for yom tov, let me assure you that my husband has been dying to spend shabbos by this rebbe of his since we even started thinking of aliyah.

I really really appreciate all of your help, from all of you! I know we sound crazy and idealistic, and bH, we've done crazy and idealistic successfully before. Bezras Hashem, we can do it again!


I think you're counting too much on other people to help you. Remember this is a super busy time for everyone. Other people are making pesach for themselves, they don't have all this free time on their hands. I know my posts probably sound very discouraging but I really don't want you to have a rude awakening.
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shalhevet




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 07 2013, 8:05 am
SacN wrote:
Thank you!

We can't ditch the car, unfortunately, because we need to also spend time with family all over Israel (over chol hamoed and before pesach). My DH is Israeli, and his grandmother will kill us if we don't make it there for her to meet our baby.
We did the math (my sister in seminary looked up the bus prices for the long distance busses)--for the price of the car rental we found, we could take all the buses and cabs we will need, but not having the car won't save us any money. This way, with the car (for the same price as buses and cabs), we can have a car seat (instead of not, like in cabs), and we can travel more easily and quickly both for our interviews and our family, as well as the communities we would like to visit.


Are you including the price of gas in your calculations? Or just the rental?
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SacN




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 07 2013, 8:21 am
We are including the price of gas, believe it or not. We BH, got that good a deal on the car rental. I was shocked too--we were planning on busing everywhere before this turned up.

Who am I counting on to help me?
The people we are renting from told us that they would clean and do some shopping for us (which, of course, we are paying them back for), as part of the incentive to stay in their apartment instead of elsewhere, and my sister is off from school and is looking forward to spending ever day with us, if we would let her. She misses me, and she can't wait to reacquaint with my baby. My DH is available to help me because, well, he's really helping both of us and he wants to eat kosher food on Pesach too.

Thank you for all of your good wishes ladies! If you have any other tips, I'm very happy to hear them. I can't wait for this trip!
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shabri




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 07 2013, 8:33 am
I would double check your numbers. Even if you got your car for free, it's impossible that the cost of gas is cheaper than busing anywhere in the country. I filled up my car last night. Wasn't even on empty, it had an 1/8 of a tank left. Cost 342 shekel. Just under $100. If you are going to be traveling as much and as far as you say, you will need o fill up once or 2x a week. That's $400 or o right there.

I agree a car is a convenience. But no way is it cheaper than a bus. Just so ou can budget effectively
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miriamnechama




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 07 2013, 9:00 am
Rami Levi is also very cheap, he can have mad sales but be forwarned it'll be a zoo a total madhouse!!

also for what my sils have told me and what dh has bought hand made shmura matza can sometimes go as high as 160 nis. but again I can't remember.
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SacN




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 07 2013, 9:02 am
thanks--we did look at the gas efficiency of the car we are renting, and it seemed cheaper than that to fill up, and probably like we would fill up less (given that our traveling will be restricted to certain days, etc) than you estimate.
I'll check the numbers again. Smile
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miriamnechama




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 07 2013, 10:15 am
I must mention that like other posters said I certainly wouldn't eat out to cut expenses, pesach is the most expensive yom tov, we've eaten out once or twice but that's cus good friends invited us, whether we bought matza and wine it was a regular seuda I can't remember though prob not, I left that to dh..

However last year I ended up being on the total receiving end from rosh chodesh nissan and throughout the whole of pesach, though we should never need it or go through such a thing, I broke my ankle really badly last year and needed surgery right before pesach, I wasn't expecting any help and when I asked a neighbour to bring in my hamodia she was like where are you, I brushed her off by saying I broke my ankle I'll be fine I'll buy food ready made, she wouldn't hear of it, she got both shabbbosim organized, we ended up getting pesach food ready made from an organization speifically for these cases, and when I wanted to cook for last days dh's friend wouldn't let me, she again organized the lastt 2 days, besides for sending me cakes, food erev, and taking care of me after pesach.

But I did very simple, just kept food that year to the minimun, and used disposables.
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m in Israel




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 07 2013, 11:33 am
shabri wrote:
I would double check your numbers. Even if you got your car for free, it's impossible that the cost of gas is cheaper than busing anywhere in the country. I filled up my car last night. Wasn't even on empty, it had an 1/8 of a tank left. Cost 342 shekel. Just under $100. If you are going to be traveling as much and as far as you say, you will need o fill up once or 2x a week. That's $400 or o right there.

I agree a car is a convenience. But no way is it cheaper than a bus. Just so ou can budget effectively


Gas is very expensive, but depending on where you are going and what type of car the numbers can be different. Some cars are much more fuel efficient than others, and on the bus you are paying per person. You may also need multiple buses to get where you need to go. We have calculated many scenarios where driving a fuel efficient car costs less than buses, especially if you are a group of people.
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MommyG




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Mar 06 2013, 8:18 am
Hi

It seems to me that you are trying an experiment and that should you need it have resources to augment your proposed expense budget. this is good and hopefully an exciting pleasureable time in Eretz Yisroel.

May you be blessed with all your endevors

the upshot of the posts is
take:
pots/pans
some paper goods or most paper goods and plastic ware
Perhaps a case of Chicken/ meat that is frozen and will hold in luggage compartment, matzah
tin foil, .....

I would not take wine or grape juice it is cheap enough there and you only need it for the Sedarim, Yom Tov and Shobbos.

You may need to cut way down on clothing to get all this stuff in the suitcases that you are allotted since you can only take 50 lbs or perhaps less per case

Sometimes sales happen before Pesach - If you have a way to send cash to your friends in Israel they may be able to shop for you in advance and pick up the things you need from the market. There are people going all the time who could be willing to take cash with them and your friends may be in the position to pick up the cash and not mind doing some shopping on your behalf.

You know your firends the best and will decide.

Jumping to negative conclusions:

Just want to point out: When anyone writes a post - they themselves have their 'whole story' but may be writing 'as if we all know what they are talking about' which is never the case but happens to fit here.

The writer wrote an innocent post with a cogent question. People jumped on her assigning her some type of guilt, bad feeling, usury or other negative quality.....

A guilty person would be more likely to hide such things and just by opening herself up to such comments points to the innocence of her thought process. We need to be way more Dan l'kaf Zechus to people even during zman Cheirusainu

all the best,
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SacN




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Mar 06 2013, 9:19 am
Thanks MommyG!

Just an update, for those of you who asked--bH, something worked out for us to stay in an apartment (of someone we know and trust to keep a kosher kitchen on Pesach), including use of all of her Pesach dishes/utensils/pots/serving dishes.
This loosens up our budget considerably--now we just need to buy foil pans/foil, any paper goods we want so we don't go crazy washing dishes, sponges, paper towels and food. Plus, we have the money we would have spent on the apartment to spend (if we need it). I'll be hosting a seminary seder, so that meal is covered by the school--obviously I'll be paying for it in effort.

B'H--clearly, we know who's orchestrating this. We've been so lucky.
DH has lined up two more interviews for himself, our phones are booked and our home apartment is spring cleaned!
WHOHOO! I can't wait.
I'll be turning the kitchen and shopping and cooking--starting probably the day after we land. Smile
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mfb




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Mar 06 2013, 9:25 am
Good luck
I hope everything works out well, and the interviews help find jobs
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Amelia Bedelia




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Oct 09 2015, 2:30 pm
OP, I know this is old, but just came across your thread. How did everything work out? How was your budget? How were the job interviews? How did you settle in after making aliyah?
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