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This is How You Can Save Money While You are at School

From the school cone to the graduation trip – over the years, parents face high costs related to school attendance. In many areas, however, there is potential for savings that add up over the entire school year and are therefore worthwhile. Because not everything is really necessary for the school success of your child.

Parents pay around 21,000 euros for their children’s 12-year school education. There are sometimes horrendous differences between the individual federal states: If you live in Lower Saxony, for example, you will have to pay almost 30,000 euros for your child’s schooling. If you live in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, it is just under half. It is therefore worth taking a close look and exploiting the existing savings potential.

Potential savings in care

More and more parents are working full-time while their children are at school. In this respect, they are dependent on supervision. It is therefore not surprising that the costs for after-school care make up the largest proportion of the total costs of school life. Because: In the open all-day schools, care is offered at lunchtime and also in the afternoon, even if there are no more classes. Many parents are happy to take advantage of this, which means that a share of the childcare costs is incurred. On average in Germany, this amounts to 7,911 euros over the course of school life. In Thuringia, parents only pay 2,750 euros, while in Lower Saxony they are asked to pay 14,000 euros.

If you don’t want to resort to school care, you should try to organize care yourself. Together with other parents or even grandmas, grandpas, aunts, and uncles, neighborhood care can be organized that is completely free of charge. If a childcare contract is drawn up, the costs up to the age of 14 can even be deducted from tax as a special expense. Alternatively, you can hire a childminder or a student to organize the children’s afternoons in a meaningful way. This may even be beneficial for school success.

Potential savings in school materials

School satchels and sports gear are offered in new designs by the manufacturers every year. However, if you go back to a previous year’s model instead, you can save significantly. In terms of quality, this usually makes no difference and most materials are not used for long anyway. And since the children in the higher grades use the same models, your child is not at a disadvantage. In any case, it is worthwhile to compare different providers online, as the prices sometimes vary greatly. If the things no longer fit after a year, it is also advisable to sell them on. For this purpose, many schools have book fairs for school books, where you can buy used books and sell them again.

Potential savings in school meals

A healthy lunch is important. Nevertheless, you can still save here if you give your child a lunch box that you have put together yourself instead of letting them take part in the school lunch. However, arithmetic is required here, since school meals are often subsidized and therefore very cheap.

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Lifestyle

8 Tips to Save Money Online

Tips for saving money when shopping on the Internet. This way you can save a lot of money online. Because shopping online saves a lot of time. Although you hear again and again that it doesn’t have to be cheaper on the internet, it’s always cheaper on the internet.

We have collected many tips and tricks for cheap online shopping. It is worth taking a close look at most items to save a lot of money. Not only the pure price of the goods should be compared when shopping online, but the shipping costs should also be considered. Online shopping has made shopping even easier. What could be nicer than surfing the Internet for hours on end for great and exciting things when it’s raining. There’s nothing that doesn’t exist, clothes, shoes, toys, jewelry, everything.

Reasons for better prices on the Internet

By buying in online shops, you can save a lot on the Internet, since the goods can usually be offered cheaper than in normal shops, by saving on rent and sales staff – although of course there are also moral concerns in relation to unemployment, for example.

  • Large quantities are sold at the big shops
  • High competitive pressure between the shops for the same product leads to price wars
  • Savings on rent and sales staff at the providers

1) Overview of search engines, special offers, and marketplaces

If you have decided on a specific product, you should first of all generally check from which providers the product is available. General search engines such as Google or the online auction house eBay and the marketplace Amazon are suitable for an initial overview. If you are not looking for special branded goods, you can first get an overview of which manufacturer offers the best price-performance ratio overall.

2) Price comparison when shopping online

A good way to save money is to compare prices. In our experience, this works particularly well on the Internet, as you can find many comparison websites and savings sites here. Here it is important that you take your time and, if possible, compare several offers and websites with each other until you have found the best price for you.

The advantages of comparing prices are that you can buy the product you want without paying the highest price for it. Another advantage is that you may find another product that is cheaper and better than what you wanted in the first place. Here are the most important providers for price comparison:

  • idealo.de – Germany’s big price comparison for all products.
  • preisvergleich.de – price comparison of products, electricity, gas, and other tariffs.

3) Special price comparison provider

  • smava.de – Germany’s largest loan comparison. Find loans quickly, easily, and cheaply.
  • medizinfuchs.de – Very good drug price comparison.
  • arzneisucher.de – Price comparison for approx. 130,000 pharmacy products.
  • billiger-mietwagen.de – price comparison for rental cars in Germany and abroad.

4) Use cashback

Use cashback systems. In this way, you get a part of your purchase money back. The principle is simple: earn money when shopping on the Internet. Money is credited to the account for every purchase made on the Internet. This makes online shopping a lot of fun. The whole thing is called cashback, which translates as getting money back. In some cases, you can get back up to 30% of the order amount.

5) Use vouchers automatically

Also called cash bar. These are browser plugins that automatically inform you about vouchers. As soon as you surf an internet shop and want to buy, you will be automatically reminded to save with vouchers.

6) Note shipping costs

When shopping on the Internet, you should also consider the shipping costs in addition to the purchase price. These can vary greatly, especially with larger products. While one provider allows free shipping, the next provider sometimes pays almost ten euros for a package, and even more for bulky things.

7) Use shipping costs and cancellation cleverly

By the way, an important tip in this context for things that cost around 40 euros. If you have to return a product, since you have a statutory right of withdrawal of at least 14 days from receipt of the product for online orders, then the free delivery is often cheaper. If the value of the goods is less than 40 euros, the buyer bears the return costs. For example, if something costs 39.50 euros plus shipping, you pay the full shipping costs for the return. At a price of 43 euros including free shipping, for example, you have saved the shipping portion in the event of a return.

8) Saving through product reviews on the Internet

For many products, a short search on the Internet on price comparison sites and the reviews there is very interesting. Even if you don’t want to buy the item in the online shop because you’d rather take it with you in the store right away or you’re not quite comfortable with online shopping, you can get a good comparison here and maybe some good information from other buyers of the product.

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Cooking Tips

Food Oversalted: This is How You Can Still Save it

A moment of inattention and the whole elaborate dish is oversalted. However, that is no reason to waste your efforts and food! Here you can find out how you can easily make oversalted food edible again.

Dilute oversalted food with water, milk & Co.

It is a common method to first dilute oversalted dishes with a little water. In some cases, you can use milk or a plant-based alternative such as rice, oat, or soy milk instead. Fatty foods such as cream, sour cream, coconut milk or butter are even better because they mask the salty taste particularly well.

Save oversalted food with the potato trick

This trick is especially useful for over-salted sauces, soups, or stews that you don’t want to dilute with more liquid.

Simply grate a potato or cut it into small pieces.
Add them to the dish in the pot and let everything simmer for about ten minutes.
If the potato doesn’t go well with the dish, simply remove it before serving the soup or sauce.
The potato draws most of the salt out of the liquid by soaking it up like a sponge. Alternatively, you can use carrots or bread for this. However, the bread will quickly dissolve, making it difficult to remove from the dish. A few prunes will also do the trick. You should let it simmer for at least 15 minutes.

Sweet helpers with over-salted dishes

Sweet flavors also balance a strong salty taste very well. This method is particularly suitable for dressings, marinades or dips. You can use e.g. honey, sugar or cane or whole cane sugar as a sweetener. Agave syrup, maple syrup or coconut blossom sugar are also suitable from a culinary point of view. Due to their poor ecological balance, however, they are not recommended from an ecological perspective.

If the food no longer tastes salty afterwards, but is a little too sweet, you can balance this out with a little acidity: simply add some lemon or lime juice or vinegar.

Two is Better!

Even if your dish is extremely salty, you still have options for using it. For example, just take it as an opportunity to pre-cook for the next few days. Cook the dish exactly the same way again. Leave out the salt completely! Then mix it with the over-salted version and freeze portions of the meal for later, if needed.

With sauces that are too salty, you can also freeze parts of the sauce in small ice cube trays and use them later as a flavorful base for other dishes.

For soups or stews, it is also a good idea to cook a large portion of vegetables, potatoes or pasta and stir them into the over-salted food to balance out the salty taste.

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Cooking Tips

Save Oversalted Vegetables

It has probably happened to every housewife that potatoes or vegetables were oversalted. What’s left to save? The simplest thing, of course, is to cook everything again. Since this is not always possible, we reach into our bag of tricks.

Save oversalted vegetables

  • Rescuing oversalted vegetables is a simple matter. Prepare a light base sauce without spices. Leave out the margarine in the pan and add the same amount of flour. Boil with water to create a creamy sauce. Add the vegetables, and let them soak briefly. If necessary, season to your own taste.
  • Or you can use a ready-made light sauce. However, this is only possible if the dish is not too salty because the finished sauce is already slightly seasoned.
  • Or Boil the vegetables again briefly with fresh water
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Food

Oversalted, Charred, Too Sweet: This is How You Save Your Food

Something went wrong in the kitchen? Most of the time you can still save your food. We give you tips on typical problems.

You weren’t paying attention for a moment, the salt slipped or the recipe didn’t work. This can happen, but don’t worry: you can usually save your food. Before throwing it away, avoid wasting food and try one of our tips.

Save oversalted food

Almost everyone has probably oversalted a meal at some point. This can often be prevented by adding small amounts of salt step by step and tasting in between. However, this is not easy with some dishes such as casseroles and it can also happen that you add too much salt all at once.

How to save oversalted food:

If you’ve just slipped the salt, you may still be able to skim it off the surface of the food.
Cut a raw potato into large pieces and cook them for a few minutes. It absorbs some of the salt. Then remove them from the pot. The same works with carrots, bread or prunes. Cook the latter for about 15 minutes.
Sweeten your dish slightly, for example with honey or maple syrup. If it tastes too sweet afterwards, you can counteract it with a little acid (e.g. lemon).
Serve unsalted side dishes with the dish, such as lettuce leaves or yogurt.
The following tips also work for foods that are too sweet, spicy or sour:

Mix soup, sauce or your stew with water, wine, milk, cream or a vegan cream or plant-based milk. You can then thicken the liquid – there are tips for this below.
Prepare the dish again unsalted (or without spiciness, sugar or acid, as required) and mix both variants together.

Too spicy food? you can do that

Sharpness is not always easy to dose. Some chili peppers are very hot, others hardly at all. In addition, everyone perceives sharpness differently.

How to save overly spicy food:

Capsaicin, which makes the chili hot, is fat-soluble. You can often save overly spicy food by skimming off the fat on the surface.
Again, add a tablespoon or two of honey or maple syrup to the food. You can then compensate for too much sweetness with acid.
Serve the dish with bread and/or yoghurt or quark or provide milk. These foods help mitigate spiciness.
You can also save food that is too spicy by cooking raw potato pieces in it for a few minutes.

Save too sweet food

Sweetness is also a matter of taste – in both savory and sweet dishes. For both variants, you have different options for saving food that is too sweet:

A pinch of salt can help tone down the sweetness of savory foods.
You can season both savory and sweet foods with acid to balance out the sweetness. Lemon juice or vinegar, for example, help with savory dishes (note: some vinegars contain sugar). You can also round off some sweet dishes with lemon juice. For others, it is a good idea to add sour fruit to compensate – for example a berry sauce or rhubarb compote.
As with other taste flaws, you can sometimes salvage food that’s too sweet by stretching it. This works especially well with rather liquid foods. Stretch them with water or a dry wine, for example, and taste them again.

What to do when your food burns

Charred or burnt food is annoying for two reasons: The black spots don’t taste good and contain harmful substances like acrylamide. So you better always keep an eye on your food. Still, you can salvage burnt or charred food.

If something burns in the pot, you may still be able to salvage your food. Be sure not to stir so the burnt doesn’t mix with the rest. Instead, carefully skim off the unharmed portion of the food and place it in a new pot. You can continue cooking the food in it. It may still taste slightly roasted – either that goes well or you can try to cover the roasted flavor with spices.
A few spots have become too dark when roasting or baking? It is best to cut them off generously. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look so nice, especially with a cake. However, you can cover up the broken spots by covering the cake with icing, vegan frosting or whipped cream, for example.

Save food that is too liquid

Soups and sauces don’t always have the desired consistency – they often just don’t want to be creamy. However, food that is too liquid can be saved easily:

If you still have time, you can let the soup or sauce simmer uncovered. This is useful if you are not that far from the desired result. If so, this method is very time-consuming and energy-consuming.
Mix about a tablespoon of flour or starch with a little water, wine, or milk. Stir the mixture into the food and cook again until thick.
(Vegan) cream or crème fraîche (substitute) can also make dishes that are too liquid creamier.
Grate a raw potato and stir it into the food. Cook them until the shavings dissolve and combine with the rest of the sauce.
Stir cold (vegan) butter into the food in chunks.

Overcooked food? You can save even that

Some people don’t mind if the vegetables are soft and the noodles have a wobbly texture. For others, overcooked food is inedible. Unfortunately, the cooking process cannot be reversed – you can still save the food:

Prevent worse by immediately removing the food from the stove. You can also rinse noodles or vegetables under cold water to interrupt the cooking process.
Garnish the food with a crunchy topping. You have many options for this – for example (roasted) nuts or seeds, homemade croutons or crispy fried tofu.
You can prepare a delicious mash, puree or vegetable soup from overcooked vegetables and potatoes.
Sear overcooked foods or gratinate them in the oven until they get a crispy surface. This works particularly well with starchy foods such as pasta or potatoes.

Cake base is broken

Cakes are often served on festive occasions, which makes it all the more important that they turn out well. A broken cake base is therefore very annoying. It can break for a variety of reasons:

You took the dough out of the mold too soon. It should always cool down first.
The pan wasn’t greased well and the dough stuck in one spot. You can prevent this by very carefully removing the dough from the mold and, if necessary, using a knife or something similar.
You tried to cut through the cake base.
Even if it is broken, you can of course still eat the cake base. How to save him:

The easiest thing to save is a cake with multiple bases, only one of which is broken. Simply use this as a middle or top pie crust by piecing it back together. In the latter case, you can cover the mishap with a layer of whipped cream or fruit, for example.
If you only have the one cake base, you can also puzzle it back together. When cutting, some pieces may be a bit crumbly later. However, a creamy filling or a layer of fruit with icing will hold the cake together.
For example, if the cake base is very crumbled, you can layer the crumbs in muffin cups, alternating with the filling. With some fruit, for example, they become delicious apple muffins. Or you turn the broken cake base into a mole cake.

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Food

How to Save Money, Time and Nerves When Shopping for the Week

You leave work tired and hungry and head to the nearest supermarket with a growling stomach. When you see the full shelves, you feel a bit overwhelmed and you start to think: What am I going to cook tonight? Sometimes ingredients that are actually still in stock at home end up in the shopping basket, or you reach for a quick frozen pizza again. It quickly becomes clear: something has to change in shopping behavior! We will help you here and explain how you can save money, time and nerves when shopping for the week.

The advantages of a planned weekly shop are obvious: you save time and money, eat more balanced and less food falls victim to the rubbish bin. With a menu plan for the week and a well-thought-out shopping list (or a corresponding app on your smartphone), you can do your weekly shopping without impulse purchases and endless bills.

5 tips for successful weekly shopping

With our 5 helpful tips and a practical example for a successful weekly shop, nothing can go wrong!

But before you can go shopping for the week, you first have to clarify what should/must be in the shopping cart:

Tip 1: The stocks of staple foods should be checked regularly before you go shopping. Because standing in the supermarket and not knowing whether you still have enough pasta at home for the planned spaghetti Bolognese not only costs nerves and time but also money.

Tip 2: Setting a menu plan for the whole week in advance before going shopping prevents deliberations and discussions in the hectic everyday life and every family member knows exactly what to eat on which day.

It is also a good idea to make a list of dishes that all family members enjoy eating again and again. These favorite foods can then be regularly incorporated into the menu plan. Of course, it is also great fun to browse cookbooks or food blogs together and try out new recipes.

Once it is clear what needs to be bought, it is time to write the shopping list, which ideally should not be written when you are hungry:

Tip 3: A shopping list that is clearly visible on the fridge, or an app on your smartphone that you always have at hand, is particularly useful for everyday NORMAL writing down the groceries that have run out. These foods from the list can then easily be supplemented with the ingredients required for the weekly menu plan.

It is particularly practical to build up the finished shopping list in the order in which they can be found in the supermarket (e.g. first the fruit and vegetables, then the dairy products, last the bread and pastries).

Tip 4: The most efficient way is to do your weekly shopping in a supermarket that you already know well because here you will find what you need unerringly and without hesitation. The basic purchase in the supermarket can then be supplemented, for example, with individual products from the market. Most discounters already have a large range of organic products and a great selection of top-quality fresh fruit and vegetables.

Tip 5: Even small animals make a mess: When shopping for the week, it is definitely worth paying attention to discounts and promotions and planning them for the purchase. For example, if the butter is on sale right now, more of it is bought and frozen in stock for the coming weeks.

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Food

Study: This is How Much Greenhouse Gas Vegans Save

Anyone who eats vegan does something for the climate – and not a little: An ecologist from Oxford University has calculated how much greenhouse gas a single vegan person saves each year. The amount corresponds to several flights.

The meat industry is one of the most polluting sectors of all – this has been known for a long time. Livestock breeding and animal husbandry cause high greenhouse gas emissions, and an extremely large amount of agricultural land is lost for animal feed and animal farms. No wonder, then, that a diet without meat, milk, eggs and other animal products is more sustainable.

How much the vegan lifestyle actually brings, however, may surprise many. In 2019, the ecologist Joseph Poore from the British Oxford University calculated for the Spiegel magazine how many greenhouse gases a vegan in Germany is responsible for per year.

Vegans save eight flights

According to Poore, every person in Europe produces an average of eleven tons of greenhouse gases every year. Anyone who lives vegan saves two tons every year, including 670 kilograms of CO2. According to Der Spiegel, two tons of greenhouse gases correspond to about eight economy class flights between London and Berlin.

In his calculation, Poore assumed, among other things, that the production of vegan food requires significantly less agricultural land. Plants and trees that bind carbon dioxide can grow on the area, which is free thanks to Veganer:innen.

It is worth giving up animal products

The British ecologist and his colleagues published a comprehensive study on the subject last year. For the analysis, the research team evaluated data from 40,000 farms in 119 countries. According to the study, giving up meat and dairy has the biggest impact on our carbon footprint.

Even the animal products that have the least impact on the environment still cause more environmental degradation than the most unsustainable vegetables and grains. (More details from the study here).

The current calculation of the greenhouse gas savings of vegans shows once again why it is worth eating fewer or no animal products. However, for those who are used to eating a lot of meat or dairy products, the transition can be difficult.

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Food

Meal Prep: Save Time and Money with Pre-cooking

Meal Prep is the solution for everyone who, despite the hustle and bustle of everyday life, values healthy food and wants to save money. We’ll tell you what’s behind this trend.

Meal Prep is made up of the English words “meal” (meal) and “preparation” (preparation). It’s all about pre-cooking food to save time and money. In Japan, food has been prepared in boxes, in so-called “bentos”, for on the go since the 5th century. And our grandparents were also excellent “meal preppers” by preserving fruit, beans and even roulades. Meal prep has been a trend in the US for years.

How does meal prep work?

Meal prep is about organization. Before you go shopping, think carefully about what you want to eat in the next few days. Instead of storing food until you need it, Meal Prep processes it right away.

It’s best to do this on a day when you have plenty of time. Because you may have to stand in the kitchen for a few hours to pre-cook. This saves you time for the rest of the week and you can eat the dishes right away or just heat them up when you get home from work.

You should note that dishes with uncooked food only keep for about two days. Cooked and fried food, on the other hand, is still fresh after three to four days in the refrigerator. Soups are easy to freeze and thaw as needed.

Since meal prep involves cooking for several days, you need space to store your supplies. It is best to store the components of your food separately in screw-top jars or cans. Don’t put them together until you’re finally preparing the food. That way everything keeps its consistency and doesn’t get mushy.

If you’re cooking for an entire week, you’re going to need a lot of containers. Start collecting large screw-top jars in good time.

Those are the benefits of meal prep

With meal prep, you do everything yourself. By pre-cooking, you know what is in your dishes. In this way you avoid processed foods and preservatives and can value healthy, regional and seasonal ingredients.

On top of that, you have control over the portion sizes. Since many dishes are suitable for the lunch break and there is no need to go to the snack bar, you also save money. If you buy groceries seasonally and regionally and do this in a planned manner, you can also save money. Spontaneous purchases during the evening supermarket quick shop are no longer necessary. You also have more time for you and your family if you don’t have to shop and cook freshly every day.

These foods are suitable for “Meal Prep”

When it comes to meal prep, vegetables should dominate. For a balanced diet, however, proteins should not be neglected. You can spice up your dishes with sauces and vegan dips. The following foods are particularly suitable for meal prep:

  • carrots
  • zucchini
  • broccoli
  • potatoes
  • rice
  • millet
  • tofu
  • Legumes (chickpeas, lentils, beans)
  • Pesto
  • hummus
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