Your Guide to Smart Spending – April 2

I’m generally a big fan of doing things myself – which is why I still don’t have a tax advisor, much to the horror of my self-employed friends. But lately, I’ve been making peace with the fact that some topics are just too complex and time-consuming to figure out myself, especially when the cost of getting them wrong is high – and for me, pension planning is firmly in that category.

If you’ve ever looked into pensions in Germany, you might already know that the statutory pension isn’t enough to fully replace your income – in fact, it may leave you with less than half of your previous net income. The tricky part is figuring out what to do beyond that. You can make voluntary retirement provisions in several ways – through a Riester-Rente, an employer-sponsored pension scheme, private pension products, or investing on your own. Some options come with tax perks, some are more flexible – so the right choice is not universal and depends heavily on your circumstances.

If you’d rather not do all that research on your own, FrauFUTURE* offers free pension consultations to help you make sense of it. It’s a service created by women for women, with a strong focus on internationals in Germany. They look at your situation, explain your pension and investment options in plain English, and help you build a personal retirement strategy.

One great thing about FrauFUTURE is that they’re licensed financial advisors, which isn’t always the case – a lot of people offering pension or investment consultations aren’t regulated providers. I also like that they focus specifically on internationals in Germany, so everything is explained in clear English, and they’re very familiar with the typical questions foreigners have about the German pension system.

The consultation is completely free, and if you decide to go ahead with a pension or insurance product afterwards, FrauFUTURE earns a commission from the provider. I’ve met the founders, Verena and Yvonne, in person: they clearly know what they’re talking about, and as a bonus, they’re genuinely lovely and empathetic people. So if you’d like some expert help from people who make the whole topic feel a bit less intimidating, book your free consultation here*.

I don’t travel much around Europe in winter because grey is not my favorite color. But now that spring is here, weekend city breaks are very much back on my mind, which is why this caught my attention: GoVolta* is a new low-cost rail company connecting Berlin, Hamburg and Amsterdam that offers a cheaper alternative to Deutsche Bahn.

The Amsterdam routes launched in March and currently run three times a week, but services will become daily from from July onwards. On route from Berlin, the train also stops in Hanover and Osnabrück; from Hamburg, it stops in Bremen. So this is not only useful for Amsterdam trips – it can also work for travel between German cities if the route happens to suit you.

The ticket prices are significantly lower than Deutsche Bahn’s: Hamburg to Amsterdam tickets start from €25, Berlin to Amsterdam from €35, and Berlin to Hanover from €29. The trade-off is that the journeys are longer: Berlin to Amsterdam takes about 8 hours with GoVolta, compared with about 5 hours 50 minutes on the direct DB train. Hamburg to Amsterdam takes around 6 hours with GoVolta instead of about 5 hours 15 minutes with Deutsche Bahn.

Low prices seem to hold up even on short notice, which makes this especially interesting for spontaneous trips. When I checked Berlin-Amsterdam tickets one day before departure, GoVolta had some for €45, while Deutsche Bahn’s price was €160.99. I don’t know about you, but I would absolutely take that kind of price difference for a couple of extra hours on the train.

There still aren’t many reviews online yet, so I wouldn’t make any sweeping claims about comfort. But the trains are refurbished, every passenger gets a guaranteed seat, and there’s a lounge wagon with hot and cold drinks, snacks, and light meals. Wi-Fi, however, is not available, so this is perhaps the moment to rediscover your downloaded podcasts and the lost art of staring out the window.

I’m a big fan of anything that makes travel more affordable and I welcome the competition to Deutsche Bahn – so I’m happy to see this. You can book with GoVolta here* or read my guide to saving money on train travel.

I’m hooked on Nespresso (forever, I’m afraid), so I keep a close eye on their offers – and this one is quite good. Until April 30, you get 10% off your first coffee order in the new Nespresso Store app when you buy 5 or more sleeves of Original or Vertuo capsules (excluding limited editions and discounted bundles). Nespresso rarely offers higher discounts, and they usually start from 10 sleeves, so this is a low-cost way to dip your toe into the Nespresso world.

There’s also a small extra on top: until April 8, you get a free box of Nespresso chocolate with that first app order. You just need to download the new Nespresso Store app, log in with your existing Nespresso account (or create one), and add at least 5 sleeves to your basket. The discount is applied automatically, and the chocolate is added as well. Shop here*.

If you’re ready for a little more commitment and you’re a new customer, there’s an even better offer: when you buy 25 sleeves of Original coffee, you get the PIXIE Titan machine (RRP €159) for free with code PIXIE26 (advertisement). Since Nespresso capsules usually cost around €5 per 10-capsule pack, you’re looking at an order of roughly €125 to get the €159 machine for free – a great deal if you ask me.

In fact, I started my Nespresso journey with the exact same offer last year, and after the years of buying cheaper capsules, the difference in quality was night and day. I’m never going back. My favorite capsules are Arpeggio and Nocciola, but I recommend just trying them all in your first order to discover your own favorites. Get your free coffee machine here*.

It’s a new month, and a few new money-back promos have landed. There are some good offers here – I’ll definitely be adding a few to my own shopping list.

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.