Even work is becoming less and less a guarantee of financial freedom, according to the latest family barometer from the Gezinsbond. Nearly a third of working parents indicate that they have difficulty making ends meet.
“Rather difficult to very difficult to make ends meet,” is how 32 percent of parents with children up to the age of 18 describe their own financial situation. The family barometer questions 1,000 parents in Flanders every quarter, including about their financial situation. Things don’t turn out to be so rosy for many families. It is striking that working parents also indicate that it is becoming increasingly difficult to make ends meet.
Borrow from friends and family
Fifteen percent of working people indicate that they have asked for or received financial help from family or friends in the past year. Savings reserves also score poorly: 18 percent of working people have no reserves at all, and another 24 percent indicate that they have a savings reserve of less than 3 months’ wages. “Less than a year ago, at the first family barometer, this was 13 and 21 percent respectively. The purchasing power of families is really under pressure, and things are moving in the wrong direction,” says Ivo Mechels, chairman of the Gezinsbond.
A big difference is in the education level of the employees, according to the family association. Highly educated employees with a well-paid job and fringe benefits generally have a high level of well-being in all areas of life. The families on the other side of the spectrum were already having a hard time, and are finding it increasingly difficult to get all the bills paid. “As a Family Association, we are concerned about this evolution. It is clear to us that measures to protect and strengthen the purchasing power of households are urgently needed. It is 5 to 12,” says Mechels.
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