Blog - BFF Finance Coaching

Finances in Germany: the guide you needed from day one

Guides and strategies for migrant women who want to build a solid financial future in Germany. No jargon. No judgment. New article every week.

Series 01
I arrived. Now what?
Financial orientation for your first year in Germany
4 articles - new every week
2
Banking - First steps
Traditional bank account or N26? The plain-language guide you needed
When to use a neobank, when to open a traditional bank - and why the smart answer is to have both.
3
Story - Personal brand
My story: how I signed a financial product I didn't understand (and what I learned)
The founding story of BFF - and why that mistake changed everything.
4
Planning - First year
Your financial roadmap for your first year in Germany
Month-by-month timeline: which process, which account, which insurance - and in what order.
Series 02
Your pension in Germany: what the system never tells you
Private provision, the public system, and how to build your retirement from scratch
4 articles - new every week
2
Public system - GRV
How the German public pension works and what you will actually receive
Pension points, contribution years, migration gaps - and how to calculate your projected pension before 40.
3
Gaps - Gender and migration
The real pension gap: being a migrant woman in the German system
33% less pension than men, years outside the system, part-time work - the numbers behind the real risk.
4
Action - Personal plan
Your retirement plan at 30, 40 and 50: where to start based on your situation
What to do first based on your age, your years in Germany, and your current employment situation.
Series 03
Investing in Germany: with confidence and the right information
Why qualified migrant women are not investing, and how to change that
4 articles - new every week
2
Compound interest - Time
The real cost of waiting: €281,000 nobody calculates for you
Every year that passes without investing has an exact price. Here are the numbers.
3
Products - Germany
ETFs, funds and deposits: what options exist for someone in your situation
A plain-language guide to the investment products available in Germany for migrant women.
4
Action - First step
How to start investing in Germany with €100 a month
The concrete step-by-step: what to open, where, in what order, and with how much to start today.
Series 04
Money and life decisions: the full picture
When personal decisions carry financial consequences nobody calculates for you
Standalone articles
2
Pension - Motherhood
The financial cost of motherhood in Germany: what the system leaves out
Years out of the labour market, part-time work, the gender pay gap, and their cumulative impact on your pension.
3
Divorce - Wealth
Divorce in Germany: what happens to your money, your pension, and your rights
Zugewinngemeinschaft, Versorgungsausgleich, and what every migrant woman should know before she needs to.
4
Self-employment - Transition
Leaving employment: the financial checklist nobody gives you
Health insurance, pension, taxes, and liquidity: what changes when you stop being an employee in Germany.
Coming soon
More series are on their way

Savings, budgeting, taxes, remittances, investing... Every topic that matters when building your financial life in Germany will have its own series. Subscribe to be the first to know.