Holiday Money-Saving Guide: December 2024

A dm Shopping Trip Worth Your Time

You should schedule a dm trip before the year ends – it can be extra rewarding right now! I just saved €22 through a combination of money-back promos, app coupons, and Payback points – here’s how.

The biggest savings came from "Gratis Testen" (test for free) products. I found three great deals: an Oral-B Pro-Expert Advanced toothpaste (€3.95), Sante shampoo from the previous newsletter issue (€4.95), and Persil 4-in-1 laundry pods (€7.45). Just buy these products, upload a photo of the product and receipt to their website, and get 100% of your money back! To help you find them in dm stores easier, they are usually marked by stickers on the shelves. To take advantage of the Oral-B deal, buy the product until December 31 and upload by January 14; as for the Persil pods, you can buy them until January 31 and upload by February 15. Important: make sure your Persil package has "Gratis testen" printed on it.

Next up, check mein-dm app. You'll find two types of coupons there: dm app coupons that give you direct discounts on certain brands or products, and Payback coupons that give you points on some categories or on your whole purchase. It’s convenient that you don't need to juggle between different apps – all Payback coupons are already integrated into the mein-dm app. On my last trip, I activated a 15x points (7.5% cashback) Payback coupon and earned an extra €4 in points. There are also some nice surprises in the app sometimes: I just got a free organic chocolate for my birthday that was a few weeks ago. I made a quick video about all the savings I got on this shopping trip on Smart Living’s Instagram page.

Money-back promos are a common way for German companies to promote new products and they are not limited to dm. Apart from the products I listed above, you can also test Felix Tasty Nuggets if you have a cat (buy until December 31, upload by January 12) and Ariel All-in-1 Pods (buy until March 15, upload by March 31) – you'll find these products in other stores.

More Deals for Lazy Holidays

• Too lazy to brave the grocery stores after holidays? I definitely am, so I’ll be using Rewe delivery service. I love it because they have the same prices as in store, and one free delivery day per week – for my area it's Wednesday. That means you’re saving time and paying no extra fees at all! The €50 minimum order is also pretty reasonable. If you're a first-time customer, you'll get free delivery and can use code 22900000000000200027 for an extra €5 off. Order with this link.

• Looking for something to listen to? The podcast app Podimo just launched in Germany and is offering 30-day free trial. It's basically Spotify Premium meets Audible: while most audiobooks are in German, they've got a solid English-language podcast lineup including hits like Huberman Lab, Joe Rogan, Tim Ferriss, Radiolab and pretty much any other podcast you want. If you mainly use Spotify for podcasts, this could save you a month's subscription fee! Sign up for your free trial here.

• In the mood for some light reading this holiday season? You can get an almost-free 1-month trial of Readly, a magazine and newspaper app, for €0.99. There’s 7000 titles in English, German, and many other languages, so you’re guaranteed to find something on any topic. You can download issues and read them offline, which is what I’ll be doing on my flight back from the Christmas break: I saved a few Wired and Fast Company issues plus National Geographic Traveler for 2025 trip inspiration. You can share your account with family (5 profiles per account). Sign up here.

Health Insurance in 2025: Here's How Much More You'll Pay

Health insurance, both private and public, is getting more expensive in 2025. The average additional contribution for public health insurance will rise to 2.5%, with individual insurance funds setting rates between 1.84% and 4.4%. You can check the complete list of increases for all insurance providers here. The contribution assessment ceiling is also going up to €66,150 for 2025, meaning more of your income could be subject to contributions.

What exactly does it mean for your paycheck? Take TK (Techniker Krankenkasse) for example: their rate is jumping from 1.2% to 2.45%, bringing the total health insurance contribution to 17.05% of your salary (up from 15.8% in 2024). For someone earning €60,000 a year as an employee, monthly contributions will increase from €510 to €546 – that's a 7% bump. For someone earning €80,000 a year, the bump is more significant: from €527 to €602 – a whopping 14%. Self-employed people will have to bear the whole cost increase themselves instead of splitting it 50/50 with an employer.

Want to check your personal numbers? TK has a calculator where you can input your salary and compare your 2024 and 2025 costs. While you do have a special right to switch insurance providers until January 31st, 2025 due to these increases, it might not make much sense since prices are rising across the board.

Berlin 29€ Ticket Holders Are Getting a Free Upgrade

Good news (at least in the short term) for those who have a Berlin 29-euro ticket: while new subscriptions are no longer available, current subscribers are getting automatically upgraded to the Deutschlandticket (normally €58) while keeping their €29 price until their original contract ends. The Berlin Senate will cover the difference. You don't need to do anything – the switch will happen automatically in early 2025. You can also use this opportunity to cancel your subscription, because its conditions technically did change. Want more details about the transition and your options? Check out the full story below.