A healthy household has at least one normal savings account with a buffer for unforeseen expenses, such as major repairs, the deductible of the health insurance or a traffic fine. Depending on the composition of your household, this should be at least €3,000 to €10,000, advises budget institute Nibud. It is wise to put this money in an account where you can withdraw it quickly and free of charge if you need it unexpectedly. But that does not necessarily have to be the major bank where you hold your checking account.
Online bank
Various foreign banks, investment platforms and the Dutch online bank Bunq offer savers more than 2 percent savings interest. The requirement is that you arrange your banking online or via an app, because these banks generally do not have offices in the Netherlands. Thanks to the European Deposit Guarantee Scheme, your savings up to €100,000 per bank are safe: if the bank goes bankrupt, the government of the country where the bank comes from will reimburse your savings.
Deposit
Do you want more, and can you spare your savings for a while? In a deposit you put your money for a minimum period and you get more interest. This is possible from six months. The Latvian bamk Rietumu in particular offers high interest rates on deposits: even if you can only spare your money for half a year, you get 3.10 percent. This increases to 3.85 percent if you fix it for three years. Please note that you will not receive the interest if you have to withdraw the money earlier. Sometimes you even pay a fine.
House more energy efficient
You can also use your savings smartly to improve your home and make it more energy efficient. Especially insulation and the installation of solar panels pay for themselves quickly in the form of a lower energy bill. Your house will also be worth more if it gets a better energy label, for example. There are also various subsidies available for homeowners who want to become more sustainable: more information can be found on the government site improvejehuis.nl.
Pay off mortgage
Most lenders offer the option of paying off part of the mortgage early without penalty. This will result in lower monthly payments in the future: your return is equal to the mortgage interest you pay. Sometimes extra repayments also ensure that you fall into a lower risk class (only for mortgages without NHG), so that you benefit even more. Please note that you only do this with money that you can really miss: increasing the mortgage again is often expensive and complicated.
Still investing?
It is not risk-free, but those who really want to achieve a return that outweighs the high inflation, for example, will almost have to invest. The rules are that you should only do it with money that you can really do without for a longer period of time – preferably at least 10 years – and that you invest the money broadly. For example, you can invest at different times and opt for ETFs: a kind of basket containing various shares. By spreading well and really investing for the long term, your chance of a good result is quite high.
Between 2015 and 2021, Dutch investment funds achieved an average annual return of more than 7 percent – but of course these past results offer no guarantees for the future.