Your Guide to Smart Spending – September 18

Sponsored by FrauFUTURE

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 – it may leave you with less than half of your previous net income. The tricky part is figuring out what to do beyond that: an employer-sponsored scheme, private pension products, or investing on your own. Some come with tax perks, some are more flexible, so the right choice depends heavily on your circumstances.

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 options in plain English, and help you build a personal retirement strategy. Unlike a lot of people offering pension or investment consultations, the FrauFUTURE founders are licensed financial advisors.

The consultation is free, and if you 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 they're really lovely and empathetic people. If you'd like expert help from people who make the whole topic feel less intimidating, book your free consultation here.

If you're not after individual advice yet and just want to understand the system better, FrauFUTURE is also running a workshop in Berlin on October 16. The topic is the Altersvorsorgedepot, the state-subsidized ETF pension account replacing Riester from January 2027 – what it is, who benefits from it, and what to weigh up as an expat who might not stay here forever, plus the German financial terms worth knowing and the questions to ask before committing to any product. Early bird tickets are €25 until September 25, then €35. Get your ticket here.

If you have a Visa debit or credit card, there are two easy promos running right now that can get you €30 in total. The first one is from FreeNow*, which is giving you €15 off a ride throughout September if you pay with Visa. The card has to be added as a payment method in the app (not used via Apple or Google Pay) and the voucher has to be used by September 30. Redemptions are limited, so it's worth claiming sooner rather than later.

The second one comes from Visa Bonus, Visa's new rewards program. You register once with your email, add up to five Visa debit or credit cards, and then activate whichever promotion is currently running. The one active now gives you 2% cashback on online payments up to €75 each until November 15, capped at €15 per person (in-store payments don't count). V-Pay, non-reloadable prepaid and Klarna-issued cards aren't eligible.

Promos like these are the reason I always recommend keeping both a Visa and a Mastercard in your wallet, since the issuers take turns running deals you don't want to miss out on. If you're looking for a free bank account with a Visa card, my first choice is always Trade Republic*, which also gives you 1% back on your spending, up to €15 per month – you can read my full Trade Republic review for the details. For Mastercard, it's N26*, where the standard account is free – their banking app is, in my opinion, the best in Germany.

If you want skincare with active ingredients in a concentration that actually does something, you need a prescription for it in Germany – even for retinol, which I find a little wild. That means a dermatologist appointment, and on public insurance the wait can easily run several months. Formel Skin* lets you skip that queue: it's an app-based dermatology service where you upload photos of your skin, describe your skin concerns, and a doctor reviews your case and prescribes a personalized treatment that gets shipped to your door.

Their treatments cover acne, rosacea and melasma, with prescription ingredients like azelaic acid, benzoyl peroxide, and antibiotics such as erythromycin or metronidazole where needed. They also take on "I'd just like better skin" requests for fine lines, wrinkles and dullness, using retinoids and niacinamide. It runs as a subscription, so you get your treatment every two months.

New customers get 40% off their first two months with the code HEY40 (advertisement), which brings the first delivery down to €26 instead of €44. Two months is enough to see whether the treatment is doing anything for your skin, and you can cancel before the next delivery if it isn't. Try Formel Skin here*.

Brands aren't always what they were ten years ago, and it's rarely obvious from the outside until you've already bought something. Worse on Purpose tracks exactly that: whether production has moved, changes in ownership, pressure from the conglomerate that bought them, and what customers say about durability. I've been looking up some brands I'm interested in and it's been eye-opening – worth a check before spending real money on something you expect to last.

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.

If you work in Germany, the 2026 Employee Benefits survey from Talent Crunch is worth six minutes of your time. Last year 36% of the companies surveyed gave no equity at all and 32% gave it to everyone – the kind of number that's useful to know before your next salary conversation. It's anonymous, closes on September 30, and you can register at the end to get the report for free.