Your Guide to Smart Spending — September 18

NeoTaste is an app that gives you access to restaurant deals, and I’ve become slightly obsessed with it lately. Since downloading it, I’ve already used 11 deals and saved about €100. At first, I had a prejudice that restaurants offering big discounts wouldn’t be the best ones, but NeoTaste quickly proved me wrong. The app has plenty of good places — the kind of restaurants I’d happily go to even without a deal.

NeoTaste is now in 39 cities in Germany with the biggest presence in Berlin (1300+ deals), Munich (600+ deals), Cologne (580 deals) and Hamburg (520 deals) — you can find the full list of cities here.

Here’s the kind of offers you’ll find on the app:

Now to the exciting news: NeoTaste was kind enough to provide an extended free trial for Smart Living readers who haven't used the app before. With this link or the code SMARTLIVING2m, you can try it free for two months — plenty of time to see if you’re into it as much I am. After the free trial, NeoTaste costs €3.99 per month with annual billing (€47.88/year) or €6.99 if you pay monthly – you can cancel anytime before the end of the trial to avoid getting charged.

The beloved free box offer is back — and this one doesn’t come around often. You can get a full HelloFresh box completely free and just pay €5.99 for delivery. The free box includes 2 meals for 2 or 3 people, but you can add more portions if you like — for example, 3 meals for 3 people will cost you €10.50 plus delivery.

If you continue the subscription, your next few boxes will also come heavily discounted, but you can cancel right after your first box too. The deal is available if you’ve never used HelloFresh or if your last order was more than a year ago. Redemptions are limited, so don’t wait too long if you’d like to use this offer. Get your free box here.

This Visa deal comes around a few times a year, and I always make use of it. From Sep 16 to Oct 14, you’ll get 3% cashback on online purchases up to €50 with any Visa debit or credit card. Total cashback is capped at €25 per card. That means if you spend up to €833 in online purchases <€50 each, you can get the full €25 back. Register your card here to take part in the promotion.

If you don’t already have a Visa, by far the best option in Germany is the free Visa debit card from Trade Republic. It gives you 1% cashback on your purchases (up to €15/month) – which you can combine with this Visa promo for an even better return on your spending. I'm a big fan of Trade Republic – it has been my everyday money management app and my main spending card for many years now. If you want to know more, you can read my full review here.

I usually write about store-wide promos, not individual products — but I’m willing to make an exception for Estrid razors. I have a weakness for well-designed things, and Estrid really nails it with its sleek Scandi look, a handle that feels satisfyingly heavy (none of that flimsy plastic from the drugstore), and super smooth blades. Oh, and the colors are beautiful. I first tried it four years ago and never went back; I also gifted it to multiple people and everyone ended up loving it too.

Estrid does both body and face razors, made to fit different routines and all genders. The starter kit normally costs €9.95, but with this link you’ll get it for just €2.99 including free delivery, which is a steal. The kit comes with the handle, two blades, and a wall holder. When you order, you set up a subscription for replacement blades (€11.95 for four, delivered every 2–4 months), but you can cancel anytime after the starter kit arrives. I find the subscription convenient, though you can also buy Estrid blades at dm if you prefer picking them up yourself.

Money-back grocery promos are one of the easiest ways to cut everyday costs, and there are usually several running at the same time. 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.