Many families bear the burden of high fixed costs and increased expenses. This says the Nybod Budget Institute in a new report. Reflection of Dutch society was interviewed by the institute, and 37 per cent of households said they would find it difficult to make ends meet in 2022.

This is about the same as during the previous survey in 2018, but Nybod sees shifts. Young people up to the age of 35 are likely to find it difficult to make ends meet. “These people are finding it very difficult to make ends meet,” says Arjan Fligenthart, director of Nypod. “Especially the high fixed costs that overwhelm people.”

People 45 or older are finding it harder to make ends meet compared to 2018. Nybod also sees a growing number of payment reminders, payment arrangements and requests for a salary advance. People also withdraw more money from savings accounts and borrow more from the family.

The institute advocates making life affordable again, thus it launches free online training “Start With Your Money”. This allows people to take back control of their finances, according to Nybod.

Vliegenthart: “The panic of so many people over price hikes is reflected in the numbers. Many Dutch people are overburdened with the current situation. We are already in a spending crunch and people are doing their best to pay all the bills. So 2023 will do that to be financial. It’s an exciting year ” .

According to Vliegenthart, it would be best for all families with financial problems to receive assistance. “But we’re also realistic. Not everyone is waiting for help. Increasingly people want to figure things out for themselves, with or without the help of Google or YouTube.

Vliegenthart says the latter is also the reason why Nibud itself now comes with a free online course. “But we also emphasize in it that at some point money problems can become too big to solve on your own.”