You don’t have to be a trained professional to manage your finances wisely. Because there are simple tricks that have been tried and tested over many years. Like the four-pot principle, which saves you time, money and nerves.
The first and most essential pot is the checking account. This is where all income comes together and standing orders, for example for rent, are processed regularly. With the Girocard (“EC card”) you can withdraw cash or pay for purchases in the shop.
It is important that you choose a checking account with favorable conditions! Our FOCUS Online current account comparison helps you to find the best account for your purposes; there are also still many free checking accounts.
You can save here! That’s even the point. You store your nest egg in the call money account, i.e. money for bad times or unforeseeable expenses such as repairs, but also short-term, foreseeable expenses such as a holiday, for example.
FOCUS Online also offers a comparison for call money interest, where you can always find the current offers with the best conditions.
An ETF savings plan is basically a long-term investment. Unlike the first two pots, do not touch this first. Hands off! The investments you make here should bring you a decent return over several years or even decades, so that you can use them to build up a small fortune for a big savings goal (e.g. equity for a house) or in old age alongside your statutory pension are additionally secured. That’s why it’s worth comparing the best offers here too! And choosing the cheapest possible provider for your ETF portfolio
If you go on holiday, you need a credit card to withdraw money and pay, especially outside the EU. In Germany, too, a credit card is often helpful, for example to book rental cars or hotels or to be able to use Apple Pay and Google Pay or other NFC payment options on your cell phone. In addition, many credit card providers lure you with additional bonuses such as discounts on travel bookings or cashback programs if you spend certain amounts every month.
You can find your ideal credit card on our independent comparison portal Cardscout.
If you’ve got your four pots together, you’re almost there! Now all you have to do is set up two standing orders on your checking account.
Finished! Now you always have an overview of your finances and are not so easily tempted to tap into your reserves. On top of that, you secure a little bit more each month! Managing money can be that easy.