Saving in everyday life

In 2023 the average household in Germany spent about 3,032 euros a month on private consumption, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Housing with energy and upkeep is the largest share (1,137 euros, 37.5 percent). Food, drinks and tobacco follow (436 euros, 14.4 percent), then transport (361 euros, 11.9 percent). This is an average across all households. Your own figure can differ a lot.

Start with the biggest item

First see which area costs you the most, and check that one. Ten euros less per month is 120 euros a year. If you manage that with one contract, you do not have to watch small things every day.

Housing and energy

• One degree less room temperature cuts heating use by about 6 percent, according to the consumer advice centre (Verbraucherzentrale). It recommends 19 to 21 degrees in the living room and kitchen and 18 degrees in the bedroom, not below 16 degrees because of mould.
• If your electricity or gas is still on the default supply tariff, you can switch provider. The Verbraucherzentrale explicitly advises it. With bonus tariffs, look at the second year, because the price is usually higher then.
• Owners can have the heating adjusted. The Verbraucherzentrale gives 10 to 15 percent energy savings as a guideline. The real figure can be much lower.

Mobility

• For 15,000 kilometres a year and five years of ownership, the German automobile club ADAC calculates 433 euros a month for a Dacia Spring Electric, 769 euros for an Audi A3 1.5 TFSI and 808 euros for a BMW 116. This includes loss in value, fixed costs, running costs, workshop and tyres. These are examples of new cars (April 2026).
• A roof box raises fuel use at 130 km/h by about 18 percent according to ADAC, roughly one litre per 100 kilometres (2022 measurement). If you do not need it, take it off.
• ADAC advises checking tyre pressure at least once a month.
• According to the Verbraucherzentrale the Deutschlandticket costs 63 euros a month since January 2026 (source dated November 2025). Check the current price with your transport association.

Contracts and subscriptions

• Since 1 July 2022, websites that let you sign contracts must offer an easy to find cancellation button that works without logging in. According to the Verbraucherzentrale this also covers older contracts. Financial services websites are exempt. If the button is missing, you can cancel immediately.
• New contracts from 1 March 2022 renew after the initial term only for an indefinite period, with a notice period of at most one month. Insurance is exempt. Older contracts keep their old rules.
• As a price example the Verbraucherzentrale names prepaid mobile plans with a flat rate to all networks and 3 to 5 GB of data for about 10 euros a month (March 2025). That is an example, not an offer.
• Go through your bank statements for the last three months and mark every recurring charge. For each one, ask whether you still need it.

Insurance

• Car insurance: your cancellation must reach the old insurer by 30 November if the insurance year matches the calendar year. According to the Lower Saxony consumer advice centre, a comparison can save several hundred euros the following year in individual cases. After a premium increase you have a special right to cancel within one month.
• A deductible of 150 euros for partial cover or 300 euros for comprehensive cover saves more than 20 percent of the premium, says the Lower Saxony consumer advice centre. In return you pay small damages yourself. Paying annually avoids the instalment surcharge.
• Private liability: according to Stiftung Warentest the best policies cost 48 to 246 euros a year, and the average of all 401 tested policies is 99 euros (May 2026). Newer policies are often no more expensive than old ones, but better. More on the page Liability insurance.

Food

• A market check by the Hamburg consumer advice centre (prices from May 2024, 86 products in 8 shops in Lower Saxony) found that store brands save up to 40 percent compared with the brand leader. Brand products cost up to three times as much as cheap store brands. This is a sample and not representative.
• In 2023, Germany produced 10.9 million tonnes of food waste, about 58 percent of it in private households (Federal Environment Agency). What you do not throw away, you did not buy for nothing.

Bank account and overdraft

• According to Stiftung Warentest, a model customer pays on average about 130 euros a year for a current account, with a range from 0 to 780 euros (August 2026). Of about 754 accounts, only 12 are free without conditions for online use. If you pay more than 60 euros a year, the test advises asking your own bank for a cheaper plan first and then switching.
• An overdraft is much more expensive than an instalment loan. Examples from the Stiftung Warentest overdraft rate table (18 May 2026) range from 2.175 percent (GLS Bank) to 13.125 percent (Hamburger Volksbank, account plan “Große Freiheit Privatkonto”). For long term use the Verbraucherzentrale advises an instalment loan to refinance. How that works is on the page The overdraft.