Six in ten households are having trouble making ends meet, a survey conducted in 2022 by Deloitte, the Nibud family spending institute and Leiden University has shown.

Deloitte defines the 30% of households unable to live on their income as ‘financially unhealthy’ and the 30% which can just about manage but are hard put to cope with unexpected costs as ‘financially vulnerable’.

‘Inflation is hitting some households very hard,’ researcher Wendy Brink-den Nieuwenboer told broadcaster NOS. ‘They may have an income that is reasonably stable but with inflation it becomes much more difficult to create a financial buffer,’ she said.

The report looked into savings, financial planning, pensions and mortgage payments.  It concluded that in most cases families had not suffered a drop in income but that paying for basic needs had become more difficult. In 2021 one in eight households had problems meeting basic costs. That figure has gone up to one in five, the survey showed.

Young people in particularl have been hit by inflation, with some 45% of 18 to 25 year-olds considered have unhealthy finances, compared to 26% in 2021.

‘The thing that stood out in the survey is that young people are not changing their spending patterns despite facing higher costs,’ Brink-den Nieuwenboer said. ‘They are very focused on the short term. They would rather spend now than save money to meet unexpected expenses, making them more financially vulnerable.’