How much do you spend on fixed expenses - and is that a lot or a little? To answer that question, it helps to compare your own spending with the average of similar households. Below you will find indicative monthly amounts, loosely based on example budgets from Nibud (the Dutch national institute for budget advice) and statistics from CBS (Statistics Netherlands).
Total fixed expenses per household type
Total fixed expenses vary strongly per situation. As an indication, per month:
- Single person: around € 1,335
- Couple without children: around € 1,890
- Couple with children: around € 2,195
- Single-parent family: around € 1,540
Note: these are ballpark figures for comparison, not official norms. Your own situation - renting or owning, city or village, car or no car - makes a big difference.
Average amounts per category
An indication of the largest items for a single person, a couple and a family with children:
- Housing: € 750 / € 950 / € 1,100 - by far the biggest item.
- Energy: € 130 / € 165 / € 210.
- Health insurance: € 150 / € 300 / € 310.
- Transport: € 120 / € 220 / € 250.
- Internet and TV: € 55 / € 60 / € 65.
- Insurance: € 35 / € 50 / € 65.
- Municipal taxes: € 35 / € 50 / € 60.
- Mobile phone: € 20 / € 40 / € 60.
- Subscriptions: € 25 / € 35 / € 45.
- Water: € 15 / € 22 / € 30.
What does deviating from the average mean?
Are you well above average in a category? That is not necessarily bad - perhaps you deliberately live in a bigger home or drive a lot for work. But it is a signal to take a critical look at that contract. Especially for energy, insurance and telecom, prices differ considerably between providers, and switching often pays off immediately. Our ten saving tips show you where to start.
Are you below average? Great. Then mainly check that you are not underinsured and that you are not overlooking a yearly bill somewhere.
Compare your own expenses automatically
The VasteLast calculator automatically compares your spending per category with the average for your household type, and highlights the categories where you can probably save. Free, no account, no ads. Compare your grocery spending with the average for similar households.