Family Finances


The pay freeze, reducti ons in allowances, increases in accommodati on charges and the general economic climate conti nue to impact on personal fi nances. We were left in no doubt that many families are certainly ‘feeling the pinch’ and that many now feel a greater need for a second income in order to maintain their lifestyle and to help either save for a deposit on a house, or pay the mortgage.


We asked how people would describe their fi nancial positi on today, compared to 4 years ago. Figure 13 depicts the results over two years.


How would you describe your family’s fi nancial positi on today compared to 4 years ago?


2013 2012


18% 16% 13% 4% 6% 3% 2%


We are much bett er off


We are a bit bett er off


We are in the same positi on


We are a bit worse off


We are much worse off


I don’t know 16% 35% 36% 29% 22%


Figure 13 


“The only reason why we are bett er off fi nancially is because we now both work. Not because of the RAF’s pay.“


“Because of the movement of my husband and our belief of keeping our family together, I left employment which halved our income and I was unable to fi nd employment at our new camp. Then my husband was posted again 9 months later. In this fi nancial climate it does nothing for our family’s fi nance.”


“I may have very litt le debt but I am very fi nancially stretched and because of Service moves over the years I have no savings left . Any sudden drains on my fi nances, such as a broken washing machine will send me into a litt le more debt when I no longer have any spare cash to service that debt. I am teetering on the edge right now.”


“Our fi nancial situati on is never fl uid as it depends on whether my wife can get employment every ti me we move to a new locati on (approx every 2-3 yrs). In my last locati on, aft er 6 months of searching, my wife found employment paying a good wage. In my current locati on, my wife has only managed to fi nd part-ti me employment and for the last 2 years her wage has been £8000 less per annum than where she worked in my previous locati on. It is impossible to plan for larger purchases like a 3-4 year loan for a car etc.”


www.raf-ff .org.uk 21


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