Your Guide to Smart Spending – May 15

I love free trials – you can save a lot of money by being smart about them, and I'm usually quite good at canceling on time. But recently, I forgot, and the trial rolled into a yearly subscription that cost me over €100. The company wasn't willing to refund me, so I had to bring out the bigger guns.

In Germany, if you signed up for a subscription online, you generally have a 14-day right of withdrawal under § 355 BGB and the EU Consumer Rights Directive. That means you can cancel a new contract (including one that started when your free trial ended) within 14 days and get your money back. Once you reference the law, companies tend to cooperate. Here's the message I sent, which worked like magic:

I am hereby formally withdrawing from my subscription contract, which was concluded upon the expiry of my free trial. As a resident of Germany who entered into this contract online, I am entitled to a 14-day right of withdrawal under § 355 BGB in conjunction with the EU Consumer Rights Directive. The charge was made on [date], and I am still within this withdrawal period. Please confirm receipt of this withdrawal notice and process a refund of the charged amount.

Even if you're past the 14-day window, or if this isn't your first renewal of the contract, it's still worth writing or calling customer support and saying you didn't mean to extend the subscription. I've done this with Uber One and Audible in the past, and both refunded me straight away – you have nothing to lose by asking.

One more thing worth knowing: for many consumer contracts entered into from March 1, 2022, automatic renewals are only allowed on an open-ended basis with no more than one month's notice, as Verbraucherzentrale explains here. That matters because if you paid upfront for a year and cancel before the paid period is over, you may be entitled to a pro-rated refund for the unused time – worth checking the contract or reaching out to support instead of assuming the remaining amount is gone.

Lingoda* is one of the most established online language schools out there, where you can learn German, Spanish, French, Italian, English, or Business English in live classes with native speakers, in small groups or one-on-one. I've used Lingoda myself and really enjoyed it – the classes are well-structured, the teachers are great, and being able to book sessions whenever your schedule allows makes it much easier to actually stick with it. You also get access to self-study materials like exercises, quizzes, and flashcards to keep practicing between classes.

Until May 26, you can get up to 40% off your first month of the Lingoda Flex subscription with code MAYSALE40 (advertisement). Flex lets you choose how many classes you take per month without committing to a fixed weekly schedule – ideal if your weeks look different from one another. The discount excludes the smallest plan, but applies to all other Flex tiers.

If you've been meaning to seriously work on your German or pick up a new language entirely, this is a good moment to start – especially since Lingoda also offers a 7-day free trial (you can take up to three group classes or one private class during the trial), so you can test the platform before committing. Try Lingoda here*.

Berliner Volksbank* is giving out €200 if you open a new current account by June 30 and receive at least one incoming payment of €700 per month for 5 months starting from month 2. Salary, pension, or student aid all count – but transfers from your own accounts don't. You also need to give marketing consent within the first 4 weeks and not withdraw it until you get the bonus.

The standard account costs €3.95 per month and includes both a Girocard and a credit card. If you're under 30, get the Girokonto blauorange* instead – same €200 bonus, but with no monthly fee and a lower incoming payment requirement of €400/month.

Despite the name, you don't need to live in Berlin to apply – the offer is available nationwide to new customers who haven't had a current account with Berliner Volksbank in the past 24 months. €200 is the highest welcome bonus I've seen for opening a checking account, so this deal is worth considering even if you don't necessarily need a new account. Open your account here*.

Money-back grocery and household product promos are among 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.