The Dutch will have less money left this year | Money

The Dutch will again have about the same amount of money left as in the first quarter of 2020. Just like the first quarter of 2022, that was a period with few corona restrictions. In that quarter, so-called free household savings amounted to €11 billion. That is almost €8.7 billion less than in the first quarter of 2021, when the first restrictions were introduced due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“It certainly has to do with corona,” says chief economist Peter Hein van Mulligen of CBS as the cause of the flattening of the urge to save. “The fact that spending is now higher is not only because people buy more products and services, but also because life has become a lot more expensive. However, the fact that people were left with more in 2021 is due to the fact that people were able to spend less money due to the corona restrictions.”

In the first quarter of 2022, the total income of Dutch households – and non-profit institutions – was €7.1 billion higher than in the same period of 2021. However, consumer spending was €15.8 billion higher. About €4.9 billion of this is attributable to inflation.

Statistics Netherlands does not know how much is in savings accounts. That is why the research institute assumes free savings. “That’s people’s total income minus expenses. The money left over is what we call free savings. They can put that in their savings account, pay off their house, invest or invest. So it’s anything but consumption,” says Van Mulligen.

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