It’s getting colder, which for me means fewer park picnics and more time at home to hunt down the good deals for you. In this issue: tax deductions on cleaning and repairs that make its real cost lower, a new bank promo I like, my current favorite grocery delivery service, plus a free HelloFresh box and fresh freebies to add to your shopping list.
💡 Featured Tip: Your Cleaner is Tax-deductible
A tax perk that many people don't know about: if you pay for help around the house (cleaning, window washing, gardening, even snow removal), you can deduct 20% of the cost, up to €4,000 a year. Skilled trades like plumbers, painters, or heating repairs also count, with 20% off labor costs up to €1,200. This means that if you order a home cleaning at €20/hour, after tax deduction it effectively becomes €16/hour. Nice, oder?
Keep in mind that this only works with a proper invoice paid by bank transfer or by credit card. Cash payments don’t count, even with a receipt. And while it might be obvious, it’s worth pointing out: if you’re not paying income tax in the first place (say you’re on ALG I with no taxable income that year), there’s nothing to refund.
If you’re looking for a cleaner, check out Helpling (use code xejc18 for 50% off on a recurring booking — you can cancel right after the first cleaning though) or Cleanwhale (€25 off here), which I like for special tasks like carpet or sofa cleaning. Want to know what else is tax-deductible in Germany and if submitting tax refund is worth it? Have a look at my tax refund articles: part 1 and part 2.
🤑 This Week’s Top Deals
💶 BBVA: 3% Interest + 3% Cashback
I recently discovered this BBVA current account that is worth a look if you want both savings interest and cashback in one place. The account is free with no strings attached — no salary deposits, no minimum balance. For the first six months you’ll earn 3% interest on your balance and get 3% cashback on purchases with the included free debit card. The cashback is capped at €350 spend per month, which means you can get up to €10.50 every month (up to €63 back in total).
After the 6 months, the interest rate goes down and the cashback stops — so I’d park money there temporarily, enjoy the perks, and then move funds elsewhere. Personally, I would recommend Trade Republic for afterwards, since it offers 1% permanent cashback (on up to €1,500/month) and matches the ECB interest rate (currently 2%). But for six months, BBVA offer is definitely worth it. Open your BBVA account here.
If you’re not that interested in interest rates (sorry) and would prefer a bigger bonus instead, Berliner Volksbank is still running their popular promo: €200 bonus for opening a new account with three monthly incoming payments of at least €700. And despite the name, you don’t have to live in Berlin to qualify.
One of the most lucrative bank account offers on the market right now, especially if you have savings.
🛒 Why Knuspr Grocery Delivery Got Me Hooked
I first tried Knuspr a couple of months ago, and since then I’ve been using it obsessively. The reason is simple: they really know how to treat new customers. I’ve been getting €10 credits for different categories — fruit and veg, meat, cold products — and on one order I stacked two of them and ended up paying €10 for groceries worth three times that. On top of that, there’s a Knuspr Xtra free trial that lets you place up to four smaller orders per month under the €39 minimum, all with free delivery.
I like the wide selection and the pricing: prices on their own brands are about the same as Lidl or Aldi (€0.99 for milk, €0.79 for spaghetti), but they also carry regional, organic, and higher-end products. Delivery is very fast: I order in the morning and have everything at my door three hours later. Between the discounts, the convenience, and the mix of budget and premium groceries, it’s one of the few services I can see myself continuing to use at full price. Order here.
🎁 HelloFresh: A Free Box
The free box offer from HelloFresh from the last issue is still available – I know many of you loved this one! You can get two meals for two or three people completely free (4 or 6 meals total) — just pay €5.99 for delivery. If you want more, you can make the box bigger for an extra fee.
The subscription continues with discounts on your next few boxes, but you don’t have to keep it if you don't feel like it — you can cancel right after your first one. I've been a customer for a long time, and I still enjoy the boxes very much (I guess I just don't like going to supermarkets?). The deal is available to anyone who hasn’t ordered before or who last used HelloFresh more than a year ago. Redemptions are limited, so don’t wait too long! Get your free box here.
💰 More Deals
AmEx Gold: Sign up for the American Express Gold card by November 10 and get 50,000 Membership Rewards points if you spend €4,500 within the first six months. That’s €500–1,000 in travel value, depending on how you redeem them — the biggest bonus I’ve seen them give out all year. The card costs €20/month, but if you’re looking to collect air miles, this is by far the best option in Germany. Sign up here or read more here.
GetSafe: A very generous deal on travel insurance — if you’re under 40, you can get a full year of coverage completely free, and after that it’s only €15 per year. Everything is handled digitally and the app works smoothly in English. I just canceled my old policy and switched to this one – a free year is hard to beat! Sign up here.
Kindred: Get 5 free nights on this elevated home swap platform just for uploading a few photos of your place — no hosting required. The properties are more curated and design-forward than the classic exchange sites, and with the referral bonus you can book your first nights straight away. Sign up here or read more about Kindred in this article.
Uber: Most of you have used Uber before, but if you haven’t, you can get €4 off your first 5 rides when you sign up here. Their other app, Uber Eats, is offering €15 off each of your first two orders (€20 minimum). There’s also a free trial of Uber One, which removes delivery fees and gives 5–10% back in Uber credit — you get a month as a new user, but I’ve also been offered this free trial multiple times as an existing user, and there is a lot of 2-for-1 deals, so the value is very convincing.
Kindred homes look really beautiful — I can’t wait to use my free nights when I travel next time.
🎁 Freebies
New month, new money-back promotions. These are still one of the most underrated ways to save in Germany, and I always add some of these products to my shopping list. You can find all past and still-running promotions collected here in the previous issues. Here are some highlights for this week:
Patros Kräftig: Buy a pack of this strong feta-style cheese and get up to €3.69 refunded. Promotion runs until December 21, with a weekly cap – if you miss it one week, try again the next. Upload here.
Ricola: These herbal sweets are free to try (full list of the eligible products is on the promo page, but most of their products are eligible). Runs until November 15, with a weekly cap of 12,500 redemptions.
Simply V: Plant-based cheese lovers, this one’s for you. Vegan cheese alternatives (grated pizza, pasta, or gratin) with “Jetzt gratis probieren” sticker are free to try. Runs until December 28; upload here.
Chio Tortillas Extra Hot Sauce Chips: Buy a bag of these new spicy tortilla chips and get your money back. Daily submissions are capped, so upload early in the day. Details here.
Vegan cheese for pizza, pasta or gratin, free to try.
That wraps up this week’s round-up of ways to save money in Germany. If you’d like this kind of content delivered straight to your inbox, you can subscribe to my newsletter here. It’s free, and every week I send practical deals and tips that make life here a little easier and cheaper.
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