High Holidays on a low budget – Rosh Hashannah
September 15, 2009 at 6:09 am 9 comments
It’s Elul already, and the Chagim are upon us. This is one of the three most expensive times of the year (the others being Pesach and Hannukah), so some frugality is certainly in order. Here are some money saving tips for this upcoming Rosh Hashannah
#1 – Sending flowers abroad? One of the ways I cut down on this cost is by ordering them from a flower place close to where I am sending the flowers, instead of using 1-800-flowers or the like. The big surprise is that not only is it cheaper, but it is the same local florist that 1-800-flowers uses!
#2 – There is a well known custom of buying jewelry/clothes for women and toys for children for the Holidays. Ask your wife about helping you buy something in your price range for her. Take a Friday and go through the shuk to find something nice together. The time spent and the togetherness in finding the item may make up for its lack of material value. As for kids, remember how simple kids are. They are probably happier with a ₪ 5 toy from the shuk then they are with a ₪ 300 doohickey from Toys R Us.
#3 – Share the simanim – Many people buy simanim for Rosh Hashanah. This is a sampling of many rare fruits and vegetables to symbolize a new year that is sweet/fruitful/enemy-destroying/bad-decree-tearing-up. People usually sample these simanim just a bit and the leftovers go bad and get tossed– so serve less. This can be hard, because the fruits only come in a certain size package, so the best thing to do is to go to a neighbor and arrange to share your simanim and split the cost.
#4 – Plan and limit your meals. You don’t need to have every side dish at every meal. Plan a meal with a main dish and a couple of sides, no more. After that people just overeat and don’t get to savor any of your cooking.
#5 – Not every meal has to be meat. You can have a fish meal or (dare I say it) even a dairy meal during a holiday. My family has a dairy meal the first morning of Passover because we just overate the night before and are about to do it again (this is in the States, where we have 2 days). This meal helps out our budget and preserves some of our appetite.
#6 – Eat with friends. Odds are you’re going to cook enough food to feed a small army anyways, so invite a few more people over. In turn, you’re likely to be invited to eat out as well, which can save you from cooking another insanely large meal.
#7 – Borrow a Machzor. It is a bit surprising, but most libraries have Machzorim (even Artscroll) that you can borrow for free. Buy one after the holidays when they go on clearance so you’ll have one for next year.
#8 – Consider the following story, when giving charity this Rosh Hashannah (taken from Gemara Ketubot 66b):
It once happened that R. Johanan Ben-Zakkai left Jerusalem riding upon a donkey, while his students followed him, and he saw a girl picking barley grains in the dung of Arab cattle. As soon as she saw him she wrapped herself with her hair and stood before him. ‘Master’, she said to him, ‘feed me’. ‘My daughter’, he asked her, ‘who are you?’ ‘I am’, she replied, ‘the daughter of Nakdimon Ben-Gorion’ (one of the richest Noblemen of Israel). ‘My daughter’, he said to her, ‘what has become of the wealth of your father’s house?’ ‘Master’, she answered him, ‘is there not a proverb current in Jerusalem: “The salt of money is giving some away?”‘ (If you want to keep your money, give some to charity)…
Did not Nakdimon Ben-Gurion, however, give charity? Surely it was taught: It was said of Nakdimon Ben-Gurion that, when he walked from his house to the house of study, woolen clothes were spread beneath his feet and the poor followed behind him and rolled them up! (to keep and to sell for their own profit).
If you wish I might reply: (1) He did it for his own glorification — (2) And if you prefer I might reply: He did not act as he should have done, as people say, ‘In accordance with the camel is the burden’
In summary (1) give charity, (2) do not just give it for some fancy honor and (3) give according to what you can realistically afford – don’t be too thrifty, nor too cheap.
If you have any more money saving tips for the Rosh Hashanah, please include them in the comments below so that everyone can benefit. Thanks and have a Happy, Healthy New Year.
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1.
tzip | August 31, 2009 at 5:27 pm
great suggestions, but from my experience, a fish/dairy meal is not cheaper than a chicken meal. fish and cheeses can be pretty expensive.
2.
jonnydegani | September 1, 2009 at 7:21 am
true, but if make do something simple, like some soft cheeses and maybe some tuna salad, then it can be inexpensive. I also recommend tuna croquettes – they are really simple to make (just use tuna and oil) and are very good. The idea of an inexpensive, light meal hinges on it being just that, inexpensive and light
3.
ehwhy | September 1, 2009 at 6:56 am
Instead of buying jewelery you can have an old piece repaired or remade. Every woman’s jewelery box is filled with pieces that are no longer wearable. Turn an old sentimental piece into something that can be enjoyed once again.
4.
jonnydegani | September 1, 2009 at 7:24 am
A little over a year ago, I took my wife’s jewelry box to a carpenter (technically a shoe maker) to build little compartments in the drawers so she could organize her jewelry easier. She loved it.
5.
Miriam | September 2, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Meat is often cheaper than chicken. Whole turkeys as well. You have to really cheshbon how many people you are feeding, and a per portion cost. Meat is more expensive per kilo, but people eat less (well, sometimes…) and you aren’t paying for bones, skin, wings,etc that end up not getting used. Whole turkeys can be served in cuts to do portion control, and the carcass makes great pickings for a melava malka meal, or even to make soup.
Rosh Hashana specifically, honey is expensive. New olim, do be careful about honey substitutes you’ll see for sale – they look like honey and are half the price, and they won’t be the same. That said, you can substitute some of the honey in recipes with sugar mixed with apple sauce to save money.
6.
Hadassa | September 15, 2009 at 10:28 am
Great blog!
If you’re buying tuna, buy raw fish and cook it yourself, even for croquettes. It’s much cheaper than buying it canned.
Consider making jewelry. If you have a right hand and a left hand you can easily make a decent necklace or bracelet. Earrings can be a bit harder, but not by much. Hundreds of free step-by-step instruction sheets are available on-line. The materials, including the pliers and wire cutter, which are the only tools you need, cost a fraction of what the finished product costs in a store. Shop carefully for materials. Prices vary greatly from store to store. Pliers and wire cutters are probably cheaper at a hardware store than a jewelry supply store. Make sure that all surfaces are smooth. Other hand-made gifts are also a good option. Surf the ‘net for patterns that suit you. The staff at arts and crafts supply stores are almost always extremely helpful, including on-line stores.
Buy gifts that contribute to causes that matter to you: from a factory that employs the blind, from growers, artisans etc. in Judea and Samaria, from Gush Katif, from stores in Sederot and the rest of the Negev, etc.
Shana Tova to everyone!
7.
Jehoshaphat | September 15, 2009 at 11:23 am
Use date honey. It is about 15 shekel per kilo and it is the the honey that the torah refers to when it calls Israel the land of milk and honey..
8.
Hadassa | September 15, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Jehoshaphat, 15 shekels per kilo for date honey seems too inexpensive to me. Date honey is frequently mixed with a sugar or corn syrup and sold with a name similar to date honey. This is not forgery. The list of ingredients clearly lists date honey and the other ingredients. The taste is very similar to date honey and the saving in price may be worth it.
If you’re buying the genuine article for 15 shekels, could you share the brand name with us? In my experience, that’s a great price.
9.
Ellen Goldstein | September 15, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Ladies, for your new outfit for the holidays, I recommend a classic style such as the sheath dress. This can be dressed up or down, is versatile, and can be used for occasions thoughtout the year…making it a cost saver.