💰The Netherlands and Money: Our Basic Expenses

From approaches to calculating how much money you'll be spending in a new country, let's move on to actual figures. After living in the Netherlands for 10 months, we've accumulated some statistics on expenses. Below, I'll detail how much we consistently spend and compare it with what we spent in Poland.

🏡Most of our money goes to rent apartment. We pay €1,800 per month for a two-bedroom apartment, including €100 for service costs. In Poland, we spent exactly half — €900, and that amount included utilities.

🥑For food for four people, we spend an average of €850. In Poland, €500 was enough each month, but in Poland the children ate in nurseries, not bringing packed lunches.

🛍️Shopping, clothing, and shoes are individual expense categories that depend on tastes, habits, and the situation you find yourself in. Nevertheless, I will describe how our expenses changed after moving:

🔸On shopping (furniture, appliances, household items, etc.), we spent twice as much as in Poland. This is primarily because we moved into an absolutely empty apartment;

🔸We spend 1.5 times more on clothing than in Poland. Given that prices are roughly the same, the increase in spending is associated with updating our wardrobe;

🔸We spend the same on shoes as we did in Poland.

👶🏻On children, we spend €200 as opposed to the €245 we used to spend in Poland. In Poland, we spent around €150 on children's meals at the nursery, while in the Netherlands, we spend the same €150 on swimming lessons. There is no food provided at school, so our children take packed lunches.

🚗Expenses for a car greatly depend on the vehicle's condition and mileage. Fixed costs include insurance (€30-50 per month) and road tax (€50-80 per month).

🧘🏻Insurance. In the Netherlands, life insurance and liability insurance cost us €301.5 per month. In Poland, we spent a total of €490 per year on insurance.

🚋Public transport. In Poland, it cost €60 per month, whereas in the Netherlands we spend €200.

🚰Utilities. In Poland, they were included in the rent, while in the Netherlands we pay an average of €220 per month for water, electricity, water supply tax, and waste collection.

💊Healthcare. In the Netherlands, doctor visits through insurance and dentistry for children are free, so we spend an average of €25 per month. In Poland, we spent an average of €130, including dentistry.

☎️Communication. For phones and internet, we spend €55 per month, whereas in Poland we spent €35.

🤑I will separately detail the taxes from the municipality, which come once a year and can be paid in full or in up to nine installments:

🔸Water supply tax for four people — €368.32;

🔸Waste collection tax for four people — €508.08.

💅🏻Everything else — education, entertainment, alcohol, sports, cosmetics, household chemicals, various services, and bills — is highly individual and can vary greatly from family to family.

🏁Total, our fixed expenses amount to — €3,750:

1. Rent — €1,800;

2. Food — €850;

3. Children — €200;

4. Car — €100 (if not used and not repaired);

5. Insurance — €300;

6. Transportation — €200;

7. Utilities — €220;

8. Healthcare — €25;

9. Communication — €55.

➕To get the full picture, you should add expenses for shopping, clothes, footwear, education, entertainment, alcohol, sports, cosmetics, household chemicals, various services, and bills, as well as travel and vacations. This can amount to between €1,000 and €2,000 or more per month.

☹️And don't forget about unexpected expenses such as car breakdowns, appliance repairs, dentistry, etc.

❓How much do you spend per month?

#life #relocation #netherlands #poland #money