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Tool to help you decide who to vote
Currently, everyone is talking about the February elections. If you recently got the German citizenship, you are eligible to vote in these elections.
Here are a few things you should know.
All the citizens eligible to vote will receive a letter detailing how and where they can vote.
The German government has launched a tool to assist you in picking the party that aligns the most with your preferences. The tool is called Wahlomat. It'll be online from 06 Feb evening. You can read how the tool works here (German).
Activists projected the word "Heil" together with the Elon's image
Led by donkeys Instagram post
Elon Musk actively participates in world politics. He openly supports the AfD and happily shares his opinions on every burning political topic, be it the Ukraine war, the Israel conflict, European politics, or anything else.
Just search "Musk + <any political topic>," and you'll find thousands of results in 0.03 seconds.
"Led by Donkeys" is an activist group of artists who share their opinions—well, in an artistic way (as you can see in the picture above). They literally projected Elon's image together with the word "Heil" on the Tesla Gigafactory. It's not Photoshop.
Is now the time to buy a house in Germany?
The ECB (European Central Bank) might lower the key interest rates at its next meeting on Thursday (January 30). The deposit rate was 4% pa at the beginning of 2024. It is now 3% pa and may fall further towards 2% pa in 2025.
This means two things.
The interest you get on daily accounts and fixed deposits will go down. So, securing a long-term fixed interest on your savings account is better now. You can compare the interest rates different banks offer on fixed deposits here*.
The mortgage interest rate will also go down. This means buying a house in Germany will be more attractive.
If you are a first-time home buyer, we recommend you read our book "How to buy a house in Germany." In the book, you'll learn
the whole buying process
how can you negotiate a mortgage offer to save thousands of euros
tricks banks use to make a bad deal look good
avoid expensive mistakes
average property renovation costs in Germany
how to evaluate a property and its documents
and more
Do you know?
You can save thousands by decreasing your interest rate by just 0.1%. Many people either ignore this fact or are unaware of it.
Here is how much you save over the entire loan term if you can reduce your interest by just 0.03%, 0.1%, 0.2%, or 0.3%.
0.03% interest rate reduction: €2,487
0.1% interest rate reduction: €8,290
0.2% interest rate reduction: €16,500
0.3% interest rate reduction: €24,700
The calculation is based on
Loan amount: 500k
Loan Term: 30 years
Loan repayment rate (TIlgung): 2%
So, educate yourself before investing such huge amounts.
Expensive public healthcare to affordable public healthcare
For a person like me changing my public health insurance seems like a lot of hassel. Especially when the savings are not high.
However, both statements are not true.
Changing public health insurance takes only 5 minutes. You can do it online, without calling or writing a letter to anyone. We find TK to be the best public health insurer for expats in Germany.
The premium savings might be low. However, you should also consider other perks you get by switching to TK.
What perks?
95% of the medical coverage is the same in all the public health insurance companies as it's regulated by law. However, public insurers offer some extras to set them apart.
TK pays 40€ for professional teeth cleaning. It's not much, but better than many public health insurers who pay nothing.
120€ for Osteopathy
Up to 400€ in bonus program
NOTE: There are other public health insurers who offer better subsidies in the areas we mentioned above. However, TK comes ahead when you consider the overall price-performance ratio.
So, don't pay more for a public insurer when you can get the same or better services at another public insurer (TK) by paying less.
Community Shoutouts!
One of our readers recommended the "SteuerCheck" by Check24 for filing tax returns. We didn't get the chance to review it. However, it's free, and the reader shared very positive feedback. So, give it a try and let us know what you think.
We are working on adding mock tests for the German citizenship test. This will allow you to take unlimited time-based exams when preparing for the Geman naturalization test. It'll be live by next week. 🥳
Thank you, everyone, for your positive feedback. Today, we have reached a milestone with 100 positive feedbacks. 🎉
95% of the services offered by all public health insurance companies are the same. The reason is that the government regulates health insurers and ensures they provide the same coverage.
This is why locals switch to a public insurance company that charges lower premiums.
You can compare the premium you pay with your current public insurer and potential savings here.
The information provided here is based on our own experience and in-depth research. The content might be inaccurate. It should not be considered financial, insurance, tax, legal, or any kind of advice.
We are not certified brokers or consultants. Always do your research and contact certified professionals before making any decision.
We finance our extensive work via affiliate links. Thus, some or all of the links in the post might be affiliate links.
We get money if you click on such a link or conclude a contract with the provider without costing you a cent extra.
Investment involves risk of losing money.
All links marked with the "*" are affiliate links.
GermanPedia
Wikipedia for expats to succeed in Germany
Learn something new about Germany every day. We cover every aspect of life in Germany: insurance, tax, real estate, schooling, scams, etc.