Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Frugal Choices Even for Simple Slippers

My slippers bit the dust. I can't complain; I got my money's worth. I bought them about four years ago in the states. They were washable,  comfortable and not expensive. They certainly did their job, but a few weeks ago I noticed that the soles were falling apart. Yes, it was time to dump them and buy a new pair.

I wanted the same sort of slippers. Why not? I began slipper shopping and discovered that similar washable slippers don't seem to exist here in Israel.

A few stores sell slippers that look rather similar, but they all have "care labels" saying:
אין לכבס "Ain lichabes." Most accurately translated as "Don't you dare try to wash them." or "wash at your own risk."
And they weren't at all cheap. I went through every possible store in the Hadar Mall, plus the Hamashbir department store at Zion Square. A few times I even tried on a pair, and they weren't comfortable. Besides not fulfilling that important requirement, prices were high, NS100 and more. A few people recommended buying online, but I don't do that.

Then yesterday I got a tremp to Jerusalem, near the Clal Building. The Stock, a junky discount chain, store had some open packages for NS20. Some seemed mislabeled. But as I continued walking down Rechov Yaffo, I spotted other stores with packaged/wrapped NS20 slippers, and decided to walk into one.

I picked out and tried on this funky pair. They fit and were walkable. Considering that the least expensive I had seen the week before cost NS60, I can buy a new pair three years running, and it would cost the same. Most of the slippers I had considered buying were even more expensive. These are for the house only. I have rubber ones for the pool.

my new slippers
PS I'll keep my eyes posted for sales, so maybe I can find an additional pair even cheaper.

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