Groceries are becoming increasingly expensive, extra VAT on soft drinks and municipal taxes are also rising sharply. Many people have to pay more and more attention to their little ones. But is that possible? In our series Duurder Leven, Maayke (33) from Eindhoven says: “In the winter we often had a window open, but not anymore.”
Maayke is an independent HR advisor and lives with her husband and two children in a new-build house in Eindhoven.
How do you save when you go shopping?
I think I have started shopping more consciously. I look at offers more than before and also go to different stores. There are no things that we really don’t buy anymore. We have just been to another supermarket for groceries and now we are going to visit Nettorama.
Why are you visiting two supermarkets?
We forgot something at the Albert Heijn and happened to drop by here. I think Albert Heijn is a much nicer store, I do my weekly shopping there. But at Nettorama there is a big difference in price. I always buy some products here. For example, a tub of butter is fifty cents cheaper here. I always come early in the morning on Monday or Wednesday. Then it’s a bit quieter, because I actually think it’s a terrible store. It’s a bit run-down, I don’t enjoy going there much.
What do you notice in the supermarket, and what do you think has become very expensive?
Dairy, butter and cheese have become very expensive in my opinion. That quickly scares me. But recently I bought fresh cheese from a cheesemonger, and then you were completely shocked. I had three pieces of cheese: old, young and one with Italian herbs. That cost me almost forty euros. They were super tasty, but we don’t do that every week.
How is your energy consumption?
We have district heating, which is cheaper than gas. Our house is seven years old, so it is quite well insulated. We had never set the thermostat very high, now perhaps a degree lower than before. But our house retains heat well. In the winter we often had a window open, but not anymore. Now I open it for half an hour before we go to bed, and then close them again.
Are you going on holiday or will there be cutbacks?
No no, holidays are really sacred to us. We’re really not going to cut back on that. We really enjoy switching off as a family. I work for myself and my husband has a busy job. We are going to Dubai soon and to Spain in the summer, and we often try to get some sun during the autumn holidays. We usually book a hotel or apartment, camping is not for me. But our children also have a great time in a hotel with a swimming pool and kids’ club. Then we will be just a little bit better off.
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