When Mara Strom lived in Israel, she found it easy to keep kosher. Now that she’s back in Kansas City, this time with a husband and three children in tow, she’s running a kosher home — on a budget.
Saving money and keeping kosher? Impossible. Not so, says this writer, blogger and coupon clipper.
“The most important thing you can do while shopping is to pay attention,” says Strom, whose blog — kosheronabudget.com — offers tips from what stores have the best specials to money-saving kosher recipes. She also shares her insights on Facebook at: facebook.com/kosheronabudget, and on Twitter@kosheronabudget. Strom will teach a Kosher on a Budget class at the Jewish Community Center in January. (See below for details)
“I’ve always loved to score a good deal,” Strom says, “but it wasn’t until we became savvy with our finances that I finally understand the most fundamental lesson of budgeting: If you can’t afford it, it’s not a bargain!”
Applying strategies
Strom began this adventure by writing down expenditures in a small notebook. “After the month was over, I tallied it all up. I was shocked. I had figured we were spending a couple hundred dollars at most at the grocery store. Boy was I wrong it was almost $1,000. No wonder I couldn’t make our budget work!”
One reason her shopping was getting out of hand is because there are more and more kosher products available. Today more than 70,000 products are labeled kosher, totaling about $40 million in annual sales. And every year, hundreds of new products are added. According to Menachem Lubinsky, president of Lubicom Marketing who has covered the kosher food market for years, “The number of booths (at last summer’s Fancy Food Show in New York) that touted their kosher symbol was unprecedented.” Today’s shoppers can find everything from kosher gluten-free products to fancy chocolates, not to mention a growing number of award-winning wines.
But excitement about all these new kosher products can overwhelm a family’s budget, Strom says. “We were spending more on food and household expenses than just about any other category in our budget. I knew we needed to get this under control, so I spent a lot of time learning about couponing, menu planning, stockpiling, cash-based budgeting and more. Once I started implementing these strategies, I was able to cut our spending by more than half without compromising quality or kashrut.”
For instance she learned that shopping on an empty stomach leads to overspending. Then she found that attempting to capture every deal out there can cause overbuying. Clipping coupons — or in today’s version, printing online coupons — really does work, as does writing a shopping list in advance and sticking to it.
“No more buying another jar of mayonnaise only to discover you have four half-used jars hidden in your fridge,” she laughs. “I learned about couponing, stockpiling, menu planning and more. But then I had to figure out how to apply all these strategies to keeping kosher.”
That’s probably the trickiest part of “Kosher on a Budget,” but it just means being watchful and alert for “deals” Strom says. Checking out sites that offer coupons for specific kosher products (like Empire chickens, for example) and combining store coupons (like a chain store’s $5 off when you purchase $50 worth of merchandise) with product coupons can result in extra savings.
Of course, it’s not just paying attention while grocery shopping that can save families money. Strom points out there are freebies out there, just for the taking — everything from samples of products you already use (like toothpaste and detergent) to toys for your kids. “One of the best sources for free samples is a marketing website,” Strom explains. In fact, she says it has the best high-value coupons and she often gets coupons for free products — the best deal yet!
Not only are kosher products available locally at nearly every grocery and discount store, this community boasts a kosher co-op where it’s easy to order in bulk. And readers of Strom’s blog also will find that her website contains links to other useful sites — from all-kosher grocery stores to companies that specialize in a single kosher product, as well as ads for products (kosher and generic).
While Strom isn’t a dietician or a trained chef, she is a wife and mother and that requires balancing the household budget and serving tasty yet nutritious meals. “My background in freelance writing no doubt helps me with the blog, but ultimately, I believe that experience is the best education of all,” Strom says. “My most valuable qualification is that I have been doing this for two-and-a-half years,” she added, noting that she has “saved more than $5,000 a year.”
Strom started a freelancing writing business in 2003 in Israel, where she had met her husband, Frankie Sachs. The family moved to Kansas City from Modi’in, Israel, in 2008 in order to be closer to their children’s grandparents. Two of their children, Avinoam, now 7, and Matan, age 5, were born in Israel. Their daughter, Nili, was born here 18 months ago.
Kosher on a budget
So many people are struggling financially right now; but getting control of your food and household spending can go a long way in correcting a lopsided budget.
As an introduction to a three-part series “Kosher on a Budget,” Mara Strom, author of the blog kosheronabudget.com will cover the basic principles of strategic shopping, including a general discussion of budgeting and tracking spending; creating a price book; and using coupons and stockpiling. This information could help participants begin saving as much as 20 to 25 percent on their current grocery bill.
Those choosing to enroll in the actual class will take part in a more in-depth workshop that will speak to specific organizational and shopping habits that can trim 40 to 60 percent from the normal grocery bill.
When: Monday evenings, 7:30-8:30pm, Jan. 10, Jan. 17, Jan. 24 and Jan. 31
Where: The Jewish Community Center
Instructor: Mara Strom
Tuition: $25 (no charge to attend introductory session on Jan. 10)
For more information contact Jeff Goldenberg, Director of Adult Jewish Learning, at 913-327-4647 or .