How many Dutch people have money worries? The National Money Worries Monitor hopes to find out
Money worries can vary from person to person and be about different things: for instance, energy bills, healthcare costs or household spending. The new National Money Worries Monitor wants to gain more insight into the money worries and financial vulnerability of the Dutch population.
The National Money Worries Monitor is the initiative of the Leiden University Knowledge Centre for Psychology and Economic Behaviour and Wijzer in geldzaken, a government initiative to promote financial fitness. Every quarter the monitor finds out what Dutch households are most worried about. This not only provides insight into people’s financial worries but also makes it possible to look at differences over time. The first results are now in.
Less worried about energy bills
The first results of the monitor show that the Dutch population became somewhat less worried about paying the energy bill in the period from September to December. Despite this, the energy bill is still the biggest cause of financial concern. Almost half of the Dutch population, 48%, is worried about this (compared with 53% in September 2022). After the energy bill, the Dutch are most concerned about healthcare costs (36%), such as the cost of medicine, medical treatment and healthcare insurance. They also worry relatively often about household expenses, such as food and drink (27%).
The results also show which income groups the financial worries are most of a problem for: people with a low income have more money worries than people with an average income and they in turn are more worried than people with a high income.
‘We should focus not only on the groups that we know to be vulnerable but also on the middle-income groups that money worries can gradually creep up on.’
Help with financial problems
One of the unique aspects of this research is the principle of open science. The data collected is public and thus available to all. ‘The hope is that government and financial institutions will get a picture of specific groups at an earlier stage,’ said Christian Meijer, head of Wijzer in geldzaken. ‘Then they will be able to help these people more effectively before their money worries turn into money problems. We should focus not only on the groups that we know to be vulnerable but also on the middle-income groups that money worries can gradually creep up on.’
Money worries a big role in people’s lives
Marret Noordewier, head of research at the Knowledge Centre for Psychology and Economic Behaviour, welcomes the monitor. ‘In these times of high inflation, money worries play an increasing role in people’s lives. The monitor allows us to get a good picture of this social problem.’
The Knowledge Centre for Psychology and Economic Behaviour was set up in 2020 to increase well-being by developing, applying and sharing behavioural science knowledge on economic behaviour. Wijzer in geldzaken is the initiative of the Ministry of Finance. Partners from the financial sector, academia, government and consumer organisations have joined forces to promote financial fitness in the Netherlands.