It is the month of the holiday pay. But what do people do with this 'extra'? More than half do not use the holiday pay for holidays. Most Dutch people save or invest the money. Only 37 percent use it for a break. This is apparent from a recent Zoover survey conducted among more than 8,000 respondents.
It appears that more than half of the Dutch (51%) do not spend their holiday money on a holiday; only 37 percent do. The other 12 percent do not receive holiday pay. Of those who do pay for their holidays, only 34 percent use it for a summer holiday. In addition, for the majority of the respondents (60%) the holiday pay is never enough to pay for the entire holiday.
For people who do not spend the money on a holiday, 'saving and investing' is a popular way of spending the holiday money. As many as 48 percent of the men and 42 percent of the women put the money aside. It is striking that saving and investing are the most popular for all age groups and in both low and high social classes.
For some of these respondents, the holiday pay ends up 'on the big pile' (17%). Especially young people and seniors use it for daily expenses. This is 28 percent among young people between the ages of 18 and 24 and slightly more than a quarter among people over 75 (26%). The money is used by 10 percent for major purchases such as a washing machine or a car. A very small percentage uses the money to pay off debts (5%).
No less than 85 percent of the respondents do not wait to book until the holiday pay has been received. However, this is not a reason for most people to prefer to receive the 'extra' at another time. 60 percent of the respondents prefer to receive the money in May, after that January is the most popular month. The reason why Dutch people would like to receive their holiday pay at a different time is that a quarter of them book their holiday then.
