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or We're not quite there yet This post is a follow-up on a previous post which looked at the new proposed "Riester 2.0", or Altersvorsorgedepot. Since then there's been some updates to the draft so I'm revisiting this topic with updated calculations. You know how sometimes in blogs the writer tells you you should read another post before reading this one? and it's all a bit tiring? not today! here's the original post AND everything that's changed, all in one. exciting, I kn

Before you read on, I should start with a disclaimer: this one is a bit hard-core. Reading it might feel like you accidentally ordered a cocktail which has 2 parts complexity, one part pessimism and a sprinkle of what-the-fuck on top. And then you realized you didn't order just one, but a whole bucket. Read on at your own risk. With that being said, let's go. I often write and talk about all the different ways in which the German state pension system is broken. I think by now

or It's happy hour! but the bar is on the titanic... The original "Riester" pension was first introduced in 2002. By now it's safe to say that it failed miserably - high fees and very low returns due to the "guaranteed capital" concept made it an un-attractive investment product. The proposed Altersvorsorgedepot, nicknamed "Riester 2.0", is planned to be launched in 2027 and is meant to address some of those issues: In short, it's a state-incentivized investment portfolio,

In the first part of this post, I tried to show just how expensive “free” consulting might be for you. My point here is simple -...

The Landscape of Financial Consulting in Germany At the time of writing this, there are a total of 41,050 financial consultants and...

There are some things we do that always make us feel really good about doing them. When you come back from a run or working out. When you...

If there's one thing Donald Trump is really good at, it's making everyone talk about him and his actions. So here, it worked this time...