Did you know that around 50% of households in the Netherlands are financially vulnerable?
In 2024, Deloitte conducted its fourth survey on the financial health of Dutch households. This annual study, developed in collaboration with Nibud (National Institute for Family Finance Information) and academics from Tilburg University and Leiden University, provides insight into the interaction between five key areas: Income, Expenses, Savings, Debt, and Planning. Although a slight improvement in financial health was observed, 47% of households in the Netherlands remain in a financially vulnerable or unhealthy situation. If you want to read the report you can see it here.
If you identify with this situation, don’t worry: it’s not a coincidence, it’s a matter of habits. And the good news is that habits can be changed.
Today I am going to tell you about the 9 most common financial habits that keep us economically stagnant. The best part is that once you identify them and start changing them, your chances of achieving financial stability will multiply.
1. Not Paying Yourself First
The mistake: You receive your salary and the first thing you do is pay the rent or mortgage, the mobile plan, subscriptions, dine out… and if there’s something left at the end of the month, then you save it. The problem is there’s never anything left.
The solution: Change the order. As soon as you get paid, set aside a fixed percentage of your salary (at least 10%) for savings and investment. Then pay the rest and get used to living with what remains.
Why does it work? Because of Parkinson’s Law: expenses expand to consume all available money. If you set aside money first, it “disappears” from your mind and you get used to living without it.
2. Getting Used to Bad Debt
The mistake: Using debt to finance a lifestyle beyond your means: exotic vacations, expensive whims, the latest iPhone every year, even dinners or clothes.
The solution: If you can’t pay for it in cash, don’t buy it with debt. Even though credit card debt in the Netherlands is not that common, it is still possible to get consumer loans from some other institutions, and these loans have high-interest rates that make things much more expensive.
Remember: Credit card companies want you to mismanage your money, that’s their business. Living debt-free is a form of freedom worth pursuing.
If you want to know more about credit cards, you can check out the post Credit cards in Holland
3. Not Having an Emergency Fund
The mistake: Not having a financial cushion. Any unforeseen event (breakdown, illness, dismissal) becomes a crisis that forces you to go into debt or sell investments at a bad time.
The solution: Build an emergency fund that covers 3-6 months of expenses (6-12 if you are self-employed/zzp’r). Start with a small goal like 1,000, for example, and gradually expand it until you reach the necessary figure.
Practical advice: Keep this money in a separate account, no card, no easy access, but available for true emergencies (not for Amazon deals). Maybe one of the accounts I mention in the entry The savings account with the highest interest in Holland is for you.
4. Having Disorganized Finances
The mistake: Not knowing clearly how much you earn, how much you spend, or how your current financial situation is.
The solution: If you don’t know where you are, you can’t know where you’re going. People who advance financially know their numbers and review them frequently.
Useful tips:
- Concentrate your financial products in a few entities
- Use technological tools (apps, spreadsheets)
- Review your numbers regularly
- Beware of “lifestyle inflation”: spending more when you earn more
- Make a budget, if you don’t know how to make one, consult the entry How to make a quick household budget
5. Having Expensive Hobbies
The mistake: Having costly hobbies or surrounding yourself with people whose tastes are beyond your means and trying to keep up with them.
The solution: Enjoying yourself is fine, but if every time you earn more, you spend it, you will never build wealth. Be honest about what you can afford.
Important reflection: Do you prefer to appear rich or actually be rich? Many of those “perfect lives” on social media are financed with debt.
6. Paying More Due to Lack of Planning
The mistake: Not planning is expensive for you. Common examples:
- More expensive plane tickets for buying last minute
- More expensive tickets for procrastinating and not buying in time
- Overdraft fees
- Using a credit card for unforeseen events
The solution: A bit of foresight will save you a lot of money. Plan trips in advance, take advantage of early deals, review your accounts regularly.
7. Focusing Only on Saving
The mistake: Becoming obsessed only with cutting expenses, ignoring that savings have a ceiling but income does not.
The solution: Think about both sides of the coin: save more AND earn more money. You can ask for raises, invest, start a business, create additional income.
The key: Saving gives you stability, income gives you speed. You need both.
8. Waiting Too Long to Invest
The mistake: Postponing investment waiting for the perfect moment, having more money, or understanding everything completely.
The solution: Start now, even if it’s with € 50 a month. Time is your greatest ally. As the saying goes: the best time to invest was yesterday, the second-best time is today.
Real example: Starting to invest 5,000€ annually at age 25 will give you over 1 million euros by age 65. If you wait until age 35, you’ll only have 500,000€. Half a million difference for waiting 10 years!
If you’ve never invested and want to start, you can consult the entry Investment account for beginners
Your Next Step
If you’ve read this far, you’ve already done something very few people do: face your financial habits head-on. Financial freedom is not built with luck or magic tricks, but with conscious habits and small actions repeated every day.
The challenge: Choose ONE of these habits and start changing it today. Don’t wait to have it all perfect, just start. The path to financial stability doesn’t begin tomorrow, it begins now.
Which of these habits do you feel most identified with? The first step to change is recognizing where we are, and you’ve already done it.
