Spring is a good time to deal with the things that are draining your budget without you even noticing – savings sitting in your account earning nothing, an electricity contract that's crept up in price, a phone plan you haven't looked at in a few years while the prices went down. You’ll find a few deals in this issue that are meant to help you tackle some of these.
Also on our agenda today: a free product every time you shop at dm, a cultural subscription that might get you to finally go to opera, and new household and food freebies.
Note: this article contains affiliate links, which are marked with *.
🦷 Tip of the Week: Do You Need Dental Insurance in Germany?
Supplemental dental insurance (Zahnzusatzversicherung) is a private add-on that fills the gaps left by your public health insurance. You pay a monthly premium, and in return your insurer covers a percentage of dental costs that the public system doesn't – professional cleanings, bleaching, higher-quality fillings, implants, crowns, and so on. Plans vary by coverage level, typically ranging from 75% to 100% reimbursement, and most have annual limits that increase the longer you hold the policy.
The reason this exists is that public health insurance in Germany covers dental care only at a pretty basic level. Standard fillings and routine checkups are included, but the moment your dentist recommends anything outside that narrow definition of "standard care," you're paying the difference yourself. Professional cleanings cost €80–100 and aren't covered unless there's a diagnosed gum condition. Ceramic fillings for molars aren't covered. And if you ever need an implant, you're looking at up to €3,000 per tooth, with public insurance contributing only around €460.
So, does it make sense for everyone to get supplemental dental insurance? No – it comes down to your situation and how much risk you're comfortable carrying. You probably don't need it if your teeth are in good shape, you get one cleaning a year, don’t do bleaching, and you'd rather just pay out of pocket if something comes up. For genuinely low-maintenance teeth, the monthly premium may never justify itself. I, for one, was blessed with unproblematic teeth, and haven’t purchased any dental insurance so far – however, I might change that as I get older.
Supplemental dental insurance starts to make more sense if you get professional cleanings twice a year (at €100 each, that alone can offset a mid-range plan), you want part of your bleaching costs to be covered, you've had fillings or root canals in the past and expect more work down the line, or you simply wouldn't want a surprise €3,000 implant bill landing without a cushion.
The new dental insurance plan from GetSafe* would be my personal pick – their plan is the best value for money from all the plans I have seen during my research. Also, I like digital-first and foreigner-friendly products, and with GetSafe everything is managed through their app (available in English) – I'm already a customer for their personal liability insurance and the experience has been very smooth.
GetSafe’s dental plan fully covers unlimited professional cleanings: you can have as many as you want with no yearly limit. This is really cool – I don't think I've seen this in any plan before. You also get €200 towards teeth whitening every two years. Naturally, the plan also covers dental replacement (crowns, implants & dentures) at 75-100% depending on the plan you choose and dental treatments (fillings, root canals) at 100%.
There's no waiting period (you can start using your benefits straight away; pre-existing conditions are not covered), and you can cancel daily after the first year. Prices start at €24.44/month for a 35-year-old with no missing teeth on the 75% plan, going up to €26.64 for the 100% plan – if you're older, your quote will be higher. You can get your quote here*. Alternatively, if digital insurance is not your thing and you'd prefer a more traditional German insurer, have a look at DFV* (Deutsche Familienversicherung) with plans starting from €19.20 for a 35-year-old on a 50% plan.
Getsafe’s new dental plan is excellent value for money — and them offering unlimited dental cleanings is very cool.
🔥 Hot Deals
🎁 A Free Product Every Time You Shop at dm
Everyone’s favorite drogerie, dm, is running a very nice promotion: from now until August 30, every time you make a purchase in-store or online, you get a coupon for a free product in your mein-dm app – it is added to your app about 24 hours after your purchase. You can get maximum one coupon per week, each coupon is valid for 25 days.
The conditions are really easy: in-store, you need to spend at least €1; for online orders, the minimum is €10 (after discounts and deposits; gift cards and mobile credit are excluded). You need the mein-dm app and a dm account. If your dm account is linked to PAYBACK, you can also use the PAYBACK app or card instead.
I checked my app last week and there was already a coupon waiting – it was a Jean & Len hand cream, which is a brand I actually like, so I picked it up when I went to dm. 24 hours later, I got a coupon for Alverde body butter, which I'll be getting on my next dm trip. Other free products include YogiTea, dm Bio snacks and oat milk, protein bars, cleaning supplies, and much more. I love going to dm anyway (who doesn’t?!), and this promo makes it even more fun. Read more about the promo here or download the app here.
🎭 A Month of Event Tickets for €9
If you're done with your winter hibernation and want to get out more, this one is for you. With Abundo* (available in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne), you pay a monthly subscription and your tickets to events (theatre, concerts, comedy, exhibitions, cinema) are included – no extra costs. Plans start at €29/month for a solo subscription, or €55/month for a Plus 1 if you want to bring someone along to every event – but right now, new subscribers can try Abundo for just €9 in their first month (extends at full price, cancel anytime).
The variety of events is really impressive for the price: in Berlin, recent events have included films at Hackesche Höfe cinema, plays and opera at Gorki Theater, classical music at the Berliner Philharmonie, jazz concerts, comedy nights, dance shows, and exhibitions. You can browse past events in your city on Abundo’s website. Sign up here*.
The list of events is impressive — you can get a lot of value out of your subscription.
💰 More Deals
35% off on Marley Spoon box: New customers get 35% off their first box, plus free delivery – which means you can get 3 meals for 2 people (6 portions) for €29.99 – that's €5 per portion for great meals from high-quality ingredients. The bigger the box, the better the deal: 4 meals for 2 people comes to €37.39 (€4.67/portion), and the largest box works out to only €3.57/portion. You can pick your meals from 40+ options, and I really like their recipes. The second box is also 35% off and the next ones are discounted too, but you can cancel any time after your first box. If you don’t want to cook, you can get a box with ready-to-eat meals instead. Get your box here*.
MediaMarkt sale: Until April 20, myMediaMarkt/mySaturn customers can save the VAT on selected Samsung home appliances – a discount of around 16% on top of products that are already heavily marked down. There are some great deals to be had: I saw a microwave marked down from €199 to €91.60, a washing machine from €1,149 to €487, and a cordless vacuum from €549 to €145. Browse Samsung deals here* or have a look at the broader sale* with more brands and products. On top of that, until May 3, myMediaMarkt and mySaturn customers can split purchases over up to 18 months at 0% interest instead of usual 12 months.
15% off Octopus Energy electricity for a year: If you haven't looked at your electricity contract in a while, switching providers is an easy ways to cut a recurring cost. Octopus Energy* is offering 15% off your first annual bill with code OCTOBONUS (advertisement), valid on standard electricity and gas tariffs with 12 or 24-month terms. For a 1,500 kWh household on the 12-month plan, the plan costs around €49/month – and the 15% discount translates to roughly €89 saved over the first year. Switching an electricity provider in Germany is quite painless too – your new provider handles the cancellation of your old contract. Get your quote here*.
10% off Playhouse Social Club games league: I rarely mention events and Berlin-only offers, but with so many of us looking for social events, communities and making friends, I figured I’d make an exception! Playhouse Social Club is a weekly games league running in 6-week seasons (the games are shuffleboard and cornhole in season 1), same night each week. It’s run by Kunal – a sport coach whose events I love attending, so I'm sure it's gonna be really fun. You can sign up solo or come as a group of 2 or 4. Season 1 starts April 20. The prices range between €99 and 119 for the whole season, and code SMARTLIVING10 (advertisement) gets you 10% off. Sign up here.
I love me some meal kits, especially when they are heavily discounted like that.
🎁 Freebies
Gatorade: Buy any of the three participating Gatorade varieties at Rewe (Blue Bolt, ZERO Glacier Freeze, or ZERO Fruit Punch, all 0.5L), photograph your receipt together with the product, and upload here until April 26 to get a full refund. Up to 3 bottles per person – the easiest would be to have them on the same receipt. The daily quota is limited, so it's worth submitting early in the day.
Wasa Crunchy Bites: Buy either the Sour Cream & Onion or Cheddar variety of these crispbread snack at any German retailer, then upload your receipt here to get your money back. Available until July 31.
elmex toothpaste: Buy the elmex Sensitive Professional Repair & Prevent Gentle Whitening toothpaste with promotional sticker at dm, Müller, or budni (in-store only) then upload your receipt and product photo by May 15 to get the full price refunded. I never miss promos on toothpaste because they are quite lucrative (this particular one, for instance, is €7.95), and by keeping an eye out for the promo stickers I haven’t paid for it in two years.
Billy Boy condoms: Buy the Billy Boy Find Your Favorite 6-pack at dm by May 12, then upload a photo of your receipt and the pack to get your money back. Another high-value deal if you take into account the regular price of €6.95 for a 10-pack.
Money-back grocery and household product promos are one of the easiest ways to cut everyday costs. A lot of promotions from previous issues are still active – you can find them all here if you’d like to try more. For more free grocery products, Rewe product tests are worth a look as well.
Make sure you get the Elmex toothpaste with a promotional sticker to receive your money back.
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