Investing

Overview of investment options in Germany.

When to Think About Investing

Investing is not the first step. Before putting money into the market:

Condition	Why It Matters
✅ Emergency fund (4–6 mo)	Protection from forced selling during income loss
✅ No expensive debt (>5%)	Guaranteed "return" higher than market
✅ Stable income	Ability to invest regularly
✅ 5+ year horizon	Time to recover after drops

For Immigrants

In the first 1–2 years, the priority is stabilization: job, housing, cushion, understanding the system. Investing can wait. This is not "lost time" — it's building the foundation.

Main Instruments

Instrument	Risk	Historical Return*	Liquidity
Tagesgeld	Low	2–4%	High
Festgeld	Low	2–4%	Medium
Bonds	Low-Medium	3–5%	High
Stock ETFs	Medium-High	7–10%	High
Individual stocks	High	Varies widely	High
Real estate	Medium	3–6% + value growth	Low

*Past results do not guarantee future returns.

Section Topics

• Depot — investment account (first step)
• ETF — exchange-traded funds (simple path)
• Stocks — individual companies (more complex)
• Bonds — debt securities (conservative)
• Real estate — property investments (separate topic)

Sequence of Steps

1. Emergency fund → priority
   ↓
2. Pay off expensive debt
   ↓
3. Depot with a broker
   ↓
4. Understand instruments (ETF, stocks)
   ↓
5. Sparplan — regular automatic purchases

Psychological Moment

The desire to "start investing" often comes before the foundation is built. This is normal — you want to feel progress, see growth. But:

• A 30% market drop + job loss = catastrophe without a cushion
• Investing €100/month while having 8% debt — mathematically disadvantageous
• FOMO ("I'll miss the growth!") — bad advisor

The market isn't going anywhere. Foundation first.