Students spend the most money on clothing, on average about 48 euros per month. The proportion of parents that fully pays for this has decreased. But the part that pays for everything for days out, the phone and the holidays has actually increased.
Yet more than half of the students think that they are short of money. Young people up to and including 16 experience a shortage more often than 17 and 18 year olds. They also often have a higher income. 43 percent of young people ask for extra money from their parents in case of a shortage. Young people also borrow money if they think they have too little.
Shortage is ‘in the mind’
According to Nibud, students are influenced in their handling of money by what they see on social media. “The shortage of money is not so much in the wallet, but mainly in the mind,” says professor Wilco van Dijk, who holds the Nibud chair at Leiden University. “Young people look at what others do and also want to do what others do. When it seems that others can spend more money on a daily basis than you, that frustrates.”
Nibud does see a number of positive developments in the financial behavior of students. Compared to 2016, students more often talk to their parents about planning and calculating expenses and they help parents save more often. And more young people now receive clothing allowance. Nibud thinks clothing allowance is a good way to practice with money and make choices. “It is good to see that more than three quarters of the students discuss with their parents what they have bought with their clothing allowance or pocket money,” said Nibud.
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