How Germans Treat Money

Another famous German saying about money is “wer den Cent nicht ehrt, der ist des Euros nicht wehrt” witch roughly translat into “ the one who doesn’t honors the cent is not worthy of the euro” and I think that shows again that Germans really care about their money

I'm a 19 years old german and the most valuable lesson I was taught was the following: never buy anything that you can't afford right now. only exception to that would be a own house. any loan or tariff, for a new phone for example, is unacceptable, unless the required total is safed up right now.

Just a little tip. If you do ad placements on YouTube in Germany you need to declare it by putting the word "Werbung" on the screen.

The American attitude was once summed up with this: "Buy things, that you don't need, to impress people who you don't like, with money that you don't have." Very different from "save - save - save - built a house". When I was a kid (1970s - sorry, but I'm OLD) - the local Sparkasse held special events to teach us how to save money. That planted the savings-idea deeply into our minds and almost 50 years afterwards it's still in me.

Actually, Germany has in its constitution the Schuldenbremse (debt brake), which means the German government is not allowed to spend money they don't have and get in debt as a country. They made an exception since 2020 because of covid and the war but for 2023 they are planning to put it back in.

That shot of you talking about the germans saving money while doing the laundry...socks... is genius. Wether planned or not,ever heard of "sparstrumpf"? A good wide smile was had 😃

Interesting; the Swedish word för debt is "Skuld" and is the same as guilt. But it presumable came from German language, and both forms has been found written down in document from the early 1500 (in year 1523 and 1524). Ernst Wigforss (politician i Sweden) wrote 1932 "Den som är försatt i skuld är inte fri" that can be translated to "He who is in debt is not free". It seems like Germany and Sweden got the same mindset in several areas.

Ein weiser Mann sagte mal: 'Vom Geld ausgeben ist noch keiner Reich geworden' thats my favorite Quote. 🤑☺️

Another secret: Discipline and control. German housewives often use a book where they write down what they have and what they buy. This is called a "Haushaltsbuch". I heard that something similar is also very common in another region of saving, Japan. I am not so sure how much this is a common thing in the USA....

Growing up in Germany as a military dependent, I remember when our maid had a party and invited us to her new home. She and her husband had been saving over their lifetime and @ age 45, they were able to buy their home...for cash. No Mortgage. She was a maid (she helped my mom clean and she ironed, as I remember) and her husband was Hans, The Beer Man. He delivered Beer and Cokes and bread and eggs to American Families on a regular weekly route. He also always had Gummi Bears candy in his Lederhosen pockets, for children, who had been "good."

"German's and their money, what a weird relationship." Notice the slow pull back of the camera just after the very beginning, revealing the man and woman having a warm relationship of their own. TSGO

This was a great video. Not all Germans hate 'Schulden', my husband for instance, was happy each and every time he was okayed for a credit card here in the States. I, on the other hand, was having sleepless nights about the credit card debt we now had. I turned it around, cut up all cards and we are now schuldfrei! It was really getting out of hand. Thank you for the research and info.

Your videos are getting better and better, not only the filming but also the scripting. They are so pleasant to watch and the research you do is so interesting!

As I've stated before in comments paying with cards lets many people lose oversight over their finances and I personally love the anonymity (electronically nontraceable transactions) of paying with cash. Don't live beyond your means. Save for a rainy day (or get insurance). Only borrow money for the right purpose with value (e.g. a house). Pay back all your loans on time (or even early). Ever heard of a Bausparkasse? Typical German form of investment and mortgage managing.

I love Cash and the fact that only i know where i spend it!

Found myself (as German) in this description… 😄 Very good explained. 👍🏻😉 Another saying here in southern Germany is „Über Geld spricht man nicht, man hat es“, roughly: don’t speak about money, just have it. 😉

I also don't carry a lot of cash, but cash is important. Cash means freedom and privacy. A society without cash could turn very problematic very quickly.

Speaking of saving, there were recent pleas from the government to save on power, water, gas, and fuel this winter. My mother made the following remark about this: "Those of us who grew up in the GDR are used to saving and rationing. It will be much harder for the West Germans and the younger generations."

Oh my god, Nick! 100K, congrats! When I started following you about 2 years ago, it was about half. I immediately started rooting for you to reach this milestone, because I honestly think you are one of the best persons out there, and seeing it has finally happened feels incredibly good. Much love to you! I'm glad you kept making your videos.

Maybe you could also make a video on why a lot of Germans love their cash money and why they feel controlled by the authorities if they couldn't choose between cash or card.