“Even people who had everything nicely under control are suddenly unable to make ends meet”

At the bank, we want to help people get into, or stay in, good financial shape. Our budget coaches can lend a helping hand. Our colleague Casandra is a budget coach and seeks to prevent clients from getting into debt. “We can stop people from getting into debt before things get dire by giving them insight into their situation and providing a step-by-step plan. Using savings to pay your regular bills, like the gas bill or your grocery shopping, is a sure sign that things are getting out of hand. If people come to us sooner, we can prevent a lot of pain and suffering.” Watch the interview with Casandra.

Rising inflation is causing people serious financial stress. There’s probably someone among your close family or friends who is finding it more difficult to get by, since six in ten Dutch households are unable to get by. Our budget coaches are needed more than ever, and yet some people still find it hard to ask for help.

Raise the alarm sooner

Budget coaches have noticed that people are often too late concluding or admitting that they need help. “It’s such a shame, because we could do so much more for them at an earlier stage,” explains budget coach Casandra. Casandra has been an ABN AMRO budget coach for six years, and is currently seeing a new trend. “People with jobs, who never used to have to watch their spending, are now finding it difficult to make ends meet. Soaring energy costs and rising grocery prices are forcing them to use their financial buffers to pay their regular monthly bills. And of course, their buffers will eventually run out. The situation is already urgent for some people: their savings are depleted and they have nothing left to pay for groceries, so they are sliding into debt. But it doesn’t have to come to this.”

Easier said than done, as Casandra is all too aware. “I’ve got a son at university who’s just turned 18. The supplementary child budget no longer applies and I don’t get child benefit any more. High energy costs and a rented house in the private sector mean that my bills have risen considerably over the past months. Financial stress can happen to anybody. People aren’t always immediately aware that they’re eating into their savings, and the financial stress comes later. This is what we’re seeing more often at the moment: people who had everything nicely under control, but are now unable to make ends meet because of inflation. They have to adjust their spending, but don’t quite know how because they’ve never been in this position before.”

We’re here to help everyone

At certain periods in your life, your financial situation can change and you may have to make choices or change things to stay financially fit. This could be due to the current rate of inflation, but it could also be because of a divorce, the death of your partner or because you lost your job. If you’re brave enough to ask for help and raise the alarm in time, you’ll save yourself a good deal of financial stress further down the line. Our budget coaches can help you get a grip on your finances and avoid financial hardship and stress. So if you notice that you’ve been dipping into your savings to pay your regular bills more often recently, please don’t hesitate to contact our budget coaches.

• To find out more about our budget coaches and make an appointment for a chat, click this link.

• If you need help managing your finances, click this link.