The Cost of Things

Laundry: €6 for a wash and dry
Expensive!

Cell phone plans: I get 200 minutes, 200 text messages and 1 GB of internet data transfer €14.80/30 days - all taxes and fees included and no contract!
Cheap!

Train: Round-trip ticket (as mentioned in previous post) for work €15.40
Expensive!

Cable, Internet, Phone package: Basic cable channels, all-inclusive internet, and all of Germany phone calls: €35/month
Cheap!

Real Estate Agents: This is why it's so difficult to find an apartment. Owners hire real estate agents to rent their apartments and the agents charge 2.38 months of rent + 19% VAT (tax) commission to the renter
EXPENSIVE!

Flights: Round-trip tickets to England for Christmas, €127 with all taxes and fees included. The flight is only 1 hour 15 minutes, but you couldn't find a flight from Chicago to Miami for that unless you took a trip back to the year 2002.

CHEAP!

Used furniture: Special days during the month are allocated for people to put their unwanted goods on the curb with a sign for others to take (for free).
CHEAP!
This was our first free piece of furniture:

This was our recent find - a TV!: