Dutch unwilling to use their savings to pay their debts

The Dutch are keen to hang on to their savings even though it makes more financial sense in some cases to pay off their debts, family spending institute Nibud said on Friday.

People prefer to save money than, say, pay off student loans, the institute says in a new report. In addition, people would rather overdraw at the bank than take money out of their savings account.

This behaviour is often irrational because it is more expensive to pay interest on loans or debts, Nibud says.

The research shows that people’s financial choices are strongly influenced by psychological factors. The institute recommends politicians and debt advisors take these factors more into account when drawing up policy.