More and more Dutch people only have to keep their pants on. Our country now has about three million single people, but financially they still find it difficult to compete with couples. Groceries are relatively more expensive, the rental price is high and going on holiday often turns out to be a bit more complicated. “You have to be very careful if you don’t want to be more expensive as a single person, but you actually always are.”
State of the Netherlands: Generation Next investigated in a poll what singles have the most difficulty with. Finding an affordable home is the number one priority. 34 percent of respondents indicate that they find this difficult. In second place is not being able to share the costs (27 percent) and in third place is going on holiday alone (12 percent).
Many singles find having to bear the costs alone annoying. And then the groceries for one person are also more expensive, because small packages cost relatively more money. Supermarket chain Dirk van den Broek sees society changing and is trying to respond to the needs of single people, says commercial director Ivar Venema.
“What you see is that there are more and more smaller households, so more one- and two-person households. We continuously adapt our range to this,” says Venema in Stand van Nederland: Generation Next on NPO 2. “Smaller households have different needs, they need fewer large products. This means that there will be more products that are specifically made for those households.”
Small products more expensive
So there is more available for the single, but small packages remain relatively more expensive. For example, a liter bottle of red wine at Dirk costs 4.15 euros. A bottle with the same capacity of 250 milliliters costs 1.73 euros. That is a price difference of no less than 2.77 euros per liter. The same applies to fresh juices, for example. A small bottle is a few euros more expensive than a large bottle.
Venema: “If a product becomes smaller, it becomes slightly more expensive, relatively speaking. That’s because a smaller product costs a little more to make than a product with more content. Relatively speaking, it is therefore more expensive.”
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Dirk tries to accommodate singles. “We have stopped doing this for a number of years multi-buys. You do not have to buy more products from us than you need from an offer to still get the low price. While other chains opt for one plus one or two plus two for free, we have stopped doing that. With us you get the advantage from one package within the promotion.”
As a result, fewer products end up in the trash, Venema thinks. “In the end it just makes a difference to your wallet.”
Tips for singles
Adine Faber-Versluis is a financial expert. Many of her customers are millennials, who could use some tips to keep life affordable. “You have to be very careful if you don’t want to be more expensive as a single person, but you actually always are. For the first person the price is of course one hundred percent, for the second person only 15 percent is added. So if there are two of you, it will be much cheaper.”
Faber-Versluis gives a number of tips to save money as a single. “I always say: first start with insight and overview. Make sure you have your financial affairs in order. Then you know what you are paying for. And if you have a single household, you could also think about renting out a room to earn extra money.”
She continues: “And speaking of food: you could, for example meal preppen. Then you make several meals at once and you can buy a value pack without having to throw everything away. You then freeze other meals. Then you don’t have to cook at any other time. That saves effort, time and gas.”
Alone on holiday?
Not only is daily life more expensive, singles often find it difficult to go on holiday. Although a single person cannot share the price of a hotel room, cost is often not the biggest barrier. Many singles find it difficult to cross the border alone. It should therefore come as no surprise that single travel is gaining in popularity.
“We organize group trips for highly educated singles. We have been doing that for 22 years,” says Roy van Ammers, director of a travel agency for singles. “We organize weekends where people come together, but also beach and winter sports holidays. All kinds of fun trips that people can join.”
He sees the demand for single travel growing rapidly. “The company itself is growing very fast. But perhaps the number of highly educated singles in the Netherlands is also increasing,” says Van Ammers, who sees that the taboo on single travel is disappearing. “More and more people are just joining us.”
‘Now my wife’
Before Van Ammers arranged holidays for singles, he worked at one corporate organization in Amsterdam. “I thought: this is not my thing, I want to make an impact and do something fun. Suddenly I saw a vacancy: ‘Wanted, travel and party coordinator for singles in Amsterdam’. Then I thought: this is laughing. It didn’t pay anything, but I didn’t care. I thought: I’ll give up half my salary and have fun.”
He was single himself at the time. “As a tour guide, I have been on all kinds of wonderful ski trips and weekend getaways. Business went well and we ended up hiring someone. Slowly something came together between us and that is now my wife.” The purpose of the trips is to enjoy a well-deserved holiday. Van Ammers: “It’s not about getting into a relationship. But, yes, sometimes love definitely happens.”
The number of single people in the Netherlands is increasing and our country is not fully equipped for this. Many singles experience that it is difficult or impossible for them to find a home to buy. It is not possible to survive financially with one income. Are there solutions for our singles? Watch this episode of Stand van Nederland: Generation Next now here back, via NPO Start.
Door: Peter Visser
2024-02-25 08:30:00
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