Dominique and her husband worked in business until three years ago. Both then made the switch to education. She as a kindergarten teacher, he in higher education. A great job, she says. “Still, at the end of the month, we’re wondering: are we buying those new kids’ shoes now or are we waiting?”
The couple has three children aged 12, 10 and 3 years old and lives in an owner-occupied home in Amersfoort. Thanks to their previous jobs, they have been able to build up a buffer with which they can now supplement their income. Needed, now life a lot more expensive has become for them.
Heating at 18 degrees, no holiday
“Our energy bill went from 150 to 300 euros per month, so the heating does not go higher than 18 degrees,” says Dominique. They are not going on vacation right now.
About her move from business to education, she says, “I’ve never worked as hard as I do now in education.” She finds it really shocking what is financially in return. She now suddenly has to think about all her expenses, a new situation.
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Dominique is not the only one who has to think about spending due to rising prices. 3047 RTL Nieuws viewers and readers from all over the Netherlands responded to our call and completed an extensive questionnaire (see box at the bottom of this article). They are people who work in healthcare (nursing, care giver, home care, care for the disabled), teachers or teachers, civil servants, logistics employees and mechanics.
The questionnaire shows that of the group of respondents who earn up to 1.5 times the average average, 534 received a higher energy bill and 353 higher housing costs. An average income in 2022 will be 38,000 euros gross per year, including holiday allowance.
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The people who responded to the survey indicated that they have to make crucial choices in basic needs. “Swimming lessons and sports subscriptions have been cancelled,” let one know. Family visits are postponed by the high price of petrol or people are skimping on healthcare costs. Another: “The sjeu will come off like this.”
Cut back on travel costs and sports
Sylvia, she herself has been rejected, but her husband does work: “We have an average income, but we feel we are at a minimum. We are not able to make ends meet. We are very selective with groceries, no longer buy meat. I look in all folders for offers and pay the accounts with holiday pay.”
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Maarten lets us know that he doesn’t earn badly, and neither does his wife. “We have two teenagers at home. Fortunately I have found a job closer to home, which saves travel costs. We are cutting back on weekly newspapers and a sports subscription, for example. I can save less. This should not take years.”
Shame on asking for help
419 of the respondents have an income of 2 to 2.5 times the average. 169 of them have a harder time getting by. In addition to the energy bill, the more expensive groceries, fuel and outings are also mentioned here.
Of the people who find it more difficult to make ends meet (2349), more than 600 indicate that they have recently asked for (financial) help from family, friends or the environment. It concerns loans from friends or family, although many people indicate that they are ashamed of this.
Skip a meal, no fresh vegetables
In addition to the data from the survey, RTL Nieuws also interviewed 39 respondents extensively by telephone. This shows that people are mainly faced with the increased costs for groceries. Some therefore no longer buy fresh vegetables or fruit, others skip a meal a day.
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Money is also saved in other ways, such as turning off the heating or lowering the heating, taking a short(er) shower, leaving the car at home, giving up paid hobbies such as sports, music lessons or taking no or less care. Think about skipping a visit to the dentist or dental hygienist.
It is striking that tenants complain a lot about poor insulation and its consequences for the energy bill.
Nibud: middle incomes now also have to puzzle
Nibud recognizes the conclusions. They see more and more people with middle incomes in trouble. Arjan Vliegenthart: “This group now also has to puzzle to be able to pay all the bills. They have to change their behavior and spend less in order to make ends meet.”
Vliegenthart says that it is now mainly a sum of rising prices for food, petrol and groceries. “Everyone notices that in the wallet.” According to him, more and more people are using their savings. “You can hope that prices will drop again,” says Vliegenthart. “Because this situation is quite worrying.”
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How did we conduct this research?
RTL Nieuws received thousands of responses to a call, which was distributed via our own website and social media channels. We asked about people’s personal situation, such as income and living situation. We also asked which costs have increased, such as groceries, fuel and housing costs. And which (difficult) financial choices people have had to make.
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