Your Lazy Holiday Guide to Smart Spending – December 30

Everyone in Germany gets a tax-free allowance for investment income each year: the Sparer-Pauschbetrag (€1,000 per person / €2,000 for couples). If you still have some of it unused in December, one optional move is to realize gains up to that amount — basically using the allowance now instead of letting it expire.

Some investors do this by selling a position with gains and buying it back, which resets the purchase price for tax purposes. It can make sense if the transaction costs (order fees + the spread) are low – do the quick math for your own case. I personally invest via Trade Republic*, and the low fees (€1 per trade) make this move work out for me. I also like that the app shows me how much of my tax-free allowance is unused so that I know exactly how much I need to sell. (Note: this is not financial advice, please make investment decisions at your own risk or consult with a professional).

And, if you’ve been thinking about switching brokers — because your current one is too expensive, too old-school, or just not a good fit anymore — Scalable Capital* is currently offering a switching bonus until January 15. You get €25 if you move €10,000 (cash deposits and/or transferring your investments), €50 for €20,000, €125 for €50,000, and it scales up to €2,500 the more money you move.

FYI: transferring your portfolio usually means your ETFs/stocks are moved over as they are — you don’t have to sell first, so you typically don’t trigger a taxable sale just by switching. Read more about the Scalable Capital bonus here*.

ClassPass’s free trial offer* just got even better. New users get a 1-month free trial with 67 credits instead of the regular 47, which can get you 8-11 free classes depending on your city and the studios you pick.

You can use the credits for the usual “New Year, new-ish me” things like cycling, strength training or pilates, but it also works really well for a softer re-entry after the holidays: think yoga, breathwork, stretching. I originally started with a free ClassPass trial over two years ago and I’m still using it — the choice of studios is great, and I like that I can not only book workouts in the app, but also sauna, massages, manicures and even the occasional smoothie or coffee.

If you’re new to ClassPass and want the full breakdown (how credits work, what to book to get the most value, and what to watch out for), read my full guide to ClassPass. And if you’d like to try it for yourself, you can sign up for the 1-month free trial with 67 credits here*.

If cold weather makes you want to spend more time at home, having good coffee in your kitchen is a nice “everyday luxury” upgrade. The easiest way to get there without a complicated setup or learning pour-over techniques is Nespresso.

Until December 31 (be quick!), new Nespresso customers can get a free Pixie machine in Titan (worth €159) when they buy at least 25 sleeves of Original coffee. To use the offer, add 25+ sleeves of Original coffee of your choice to your basket and enter the code ESSENZAMINI (advertisement) at checkout — the machine will be added automatically. I used the same promotion last year and was really happy with it; back then I had to buy 35 sleeves, so 25 is actually a better deal! Get the offer here*.

If you don’t want to commit to 25 sleeves or you already have a machine, there’s a second option for new customers: 20% off your first coffee order when you buy at least 5 sleeves (excluding limited editions and already discounted bundles). Just add your coffee to the cart and use the code WELCOME2025 (advertisement) at checkout. Shop here*.

If you'd like to save some money on heating this winter, tado° smart thermostats* are worth a look. If your place is heated by radiators, you can replace the manual radiator knob with a smart thermostat, then set schedules in an app — so you can heat the rooms that you’re using, and schedule the heating to automatically turn down at night or when you’re out. Lower bills, same level of warm and cozy.

If your home is not heated with radiators, tado° also sells smart thermostats for boilers, (water-based) underfloor heating, and heat pumps.

Besides the lower heating bill later, you can also get a lower price now: tado° is running a sale on their tado° X range, with up to 45% off selected products until January 15. Here are some of the reduced prices:

I think that tado° thermostats are a smart long-term purchase, and these are some of the best prices I’ve seen on them this season. Shop the tado° sale*.

Money-back and “try it free” promos are one of the easiest ways to cut everyday costs in Germany. You can find more promos here in the previous issues if you want to stack a few more into your next supermarket trip. For more free grocery products, Rewe product tests are also worth a look.