Your Guide to Smart Spending – January 29

Confession: I’m very picky with skincare and usually gravitate towards mid-range or premium brands; none of the drugstore beauty products I tried hit quite the same. What helped me keep the quality while lowering the bill is switching a lot of my routine over to Korean and Japanese skincare. For many products, like sunscreens, toners, serums and moisturisers, you get similar or better quality than premium European brands at roughly 30–50% lower prices. The sunscreens in particular are chef’s kiss – the textures are so much lighter and more comfortable than any European products, and you can get them for something like €10-€12.

Where you buy makes a big difference. German resellers often add a solid mark-up, so I prefer to go straight to the source and order from the Asian stores. My favorite one is Stylevana*. Their prices are by far the best I could find, and there’s always some kind of extra promotion running for both new and existing customers. The only drawback is delivery time (packages usually take around 2–3 weeks to arrive), but as long as I reorder before I run out, it’s only a minor inconvenience.

Stylevana is currently running a strong promo for new customers: you get 16% off with the code SVWSFC (advertisement) on your first order, and a €10 voucher once your first order is complete if you order via the link below. This stacks on top of their already low prices, so you really get great value for money.

If you’re new to Korean skincare, I’d start by looking at brands like Beauty of Joseon, Missha (these two brands make my favorite sunscreens), Celimax, d’Alba, Shiseido, LANEIGE, Isntree, medicube and COSRX. Shop here*.

SIMon mobile*, Vodafone’s discount brand, currently has one of the best-value tariffs around if you use a lot of data. For €9.99 per month, you can get a 60 GB 5G/LTE plan in the Vodafone network with up to 150 Mbit/s, all-net and SMS flat with EU roaming and eSIM included. The contract is cancellable monthly, and there’s no setup fee.

To get this price, you need to bring your number over from another provider (pretty much any except other Vodafone brands, like Vodafone itself, mobi and allmobil); otherwise the plan costs €12.99/month.

On top of the already strong offer, there are voucher codes. You can use code SHOPPING10 (advertisement) to get an extra 10 GB per month for six months (code valid until Feb 10). If you prefer a smaller boost that lasts longer, code DEAL5 (advertisement) gives you 5 GB extra per month for 12 months (valid until Feb 22). The extra data simply drops away once the promo period ends, and you stay with the regular 60 GB plan.

For what you get – Vodafone network, a large data allowance, no connection fee and a contract you can cancel monthly – this is a very strong offer. Get your SIMon mobile plan here*.

P.S.: If you don’t need that much data and want an even cheaper plan, tariffs from providers like sim24* that start from €2.99 for 3GB can also be worth a look.

Revolut* is running a promotion where you can use the Metal plan (normally €13.99 per month) free for up to six months if at least €1,600 in salary (from a non-Revolut bank account that isn’t in your name) is paid into your Revolut account every month. During that time, you get 0.8% cashback on card payments and 1 RevPoint for every €2 you spend (these are bonus points redeemable for vouchers and discounts).

Metal comes with free ATM withdrawals of up to €800 per month and unlimited currency exchange without the extra weekend mark-up. You also get comprehensive travel insurance (medical cover abroad incl. winter sports, plus flight delays and lost luggage) and purchase protection for eligible card purchases.

What’s most tempting about Metal for me, though, is the subscriptions included in it – I know multiple people who pay for the Metal plan specifically because of these. According to Revolut, these subscriptions are worth €2,200 per year, but even if you only use a few of them, you still get a bang for your buck – ClassPass credits alone fully cover the monthly fee.

Here are the subscriptions that are included in Metal: Perplexity Pro, Uber One, Tinder Gold, ClassPass (10 credits per month), WeWork (1 pass per month), Headspace, NordVPN Plus plan, MasterClass (45+ classes), Financial Times Standard Digital, Chess.com Platinum, Headway, Freeletics, Sleep Cycle, Picsart, The Athletic and a few others.

To use this promo, you first need to open a free Revolut account on the Standard plan. After that, you will receive the Metal salary offer directly from Revolut – either as a push notification/email or by tapping “Get Metal” in the app. It’s not guaranteed for everyone, but Revolut is pushing this campaign quite actively at the moment, so it’s fairly likely to appear in your account too. The promotion runs until 20 March.

Once the promo period ends or you miss the salary requirement, you can either stay on Metal at €13.99 per month, or downgrade to the free plan within the grace period. Open a Revolut account here*.

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.