Imanuxuf

I once signed a bank document for one of my (english) students. Would a teacher be considered a person of standing?

When I moved to my current apartment, I also bought the previous tenant's kitchen. She had me sign a contract stating I would buy it, along with a few other things she left behind. I payed half of it upfront and the other half at the Schlüsselübergabe, where both she and the Vermieter where present. I only payed the first half after I signed the renting contract though... but she only recommended me to the landlord after I signed her contract. Now I remember she stated in the contract that IF I was chosen for the apartment, I would commit to buying her kitchen and said other things. So I didn't commit to a kitchen in an apartment which I wasn't sure I'd get.  I can send you a copy of the contract she gave me, if you like. 

I was in a similar situation a couple of years ago (artist, EU, full time freelancer, kleinunternehmer) and also asked myself: is it worth it? For me yes. I'm not planning on moving abroad anytime soon and It makes sense for me to start paying into pension as soon as possible. Being insured through the KSK also made it possible for me to switch from private to public insurance and now I pay the same I used to pay for private insurance, but for health insurance AND pension. Besides, the big bonus for me is that you pay according to your yearly income; so if you have a weaker year, you don't have the burden of paying so much insurance. So maybe what you have to think about is: am I planning on staying in Germany? If yes, do I want to pay into the public Renteversicherung, knowing that when the time comes most probably I will get less money than I paid into? Do I want to switch to public insurance - this is good for when you want to start a family, even if in only 10 years, plus you avoid ever increasing premiums? if your answer is yes for two of the above, I'd say go for it.