The cumulation of household samples is on the agenda of a new regulation of European household surveys. Within the framework of the German Federal Statistical Office project ‘Official statistics and socio-economic analyses’ and with EUROSTAT requirements for new household samples (EU-SILC) in this study solutions are discussed, how yearly household budget samples can be aggregated to achieve similar results of more extensive studies but with longer periods in between. A cumulation concept is developed and presented for discussion. Based on this cumulation concept in a second part simulations are planned to evaluate this concept.