Anxious spenders: Background factors of financial vulnerability

Abstract

1) Background: Financial literacy, its attitudinal and behavioral components are subject to increasing awareness in Hungary, especially after the economical crisis of 2018. 2) Methods: Our study examines the selected aspects of the Hungarian young adults' behavior, using the data of the survey conducted on a representative sample to compare financial knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and habits of the 18-35 year-olds with the group of older ones. We also analyze what kind can describe the selected groups, and whether clusters can be established. 3) Results: Financial consciousness and setting long-term financial goals are less typical among young adults. They intend to reach their financial aims not by decreasing their costs or saving but rather by preparing action plans or undertaking more work. Three clusters were identified: worried spenders, satisfied risk-takers and careful considerers. 4) Conclusions: Financial vulnerability is specific to the worried spenders, this cluster represents almost a quarter of young adults. They live for today, financial problems make their existence harder, this, in turn, causes depression, they do not dispose savings. Furthermore, when comparing this cluster to the two other clusters, their financial knowledge and skills are of lower level, less of them make a budget, their income is lower and they tend not to set financial goals as such. JEL Classification: A22financially vulnerable groups have, what information they use for orientation, how they deal with their finances and how they see their own competencies. We are convinced that before any good-intentioned intervention it is important to examine the distinctive features of the social group in need for support, especially in the field of attitudes and behavioural patterns.

Külső és belső kontrollos stratégia : A felsőoktatásban tanulók pénzügyi tudása, attitűdjei és magatartása

“…Az attitűdökhöz kapcsolódó külső-belső kontrollhely fogalmát elsőként Rotter (1966) definiálta, majd számos további kutatás foglalkozott a belső és a külső kontroll attitűd, a jólét, illetve szegénység és a hátrányos helyzet közötti összefüggésekkel, az oktulajdonítás fajtáival. (April et al, 2012;Hankiss, 1982;Németh et al, 2017;Farbstein, 2011;Németh, 2019;Andorka, 1992). Az emberek ugyanis viszonylag stabilan különböznek abban, hogy saját viselkedésüket külső vagy belső okokkal magyarázzák.…”

Innovative solutions in the development of households’ financial awareness: A Hungarian example

“…Arising from their function, civil society organisations can have a proactive role in expanding individual (in this case: student) skills, in converting the acquired knowledge into values, and in facilitating the birth of functional outcomes from theoretical knowledge (Robeyns, 2006). Also, they can moderate the hazards posed by risky financial decisions made as a result of insufficient financial literacy to the given individual's quality of life and, indirectly, to society (Sen, 2004, Walker, 2005and Qizilbash, 2002 may transfer the values arising from corporate social responsibility to young adults in higher education (Rim et al, 2016), especially considering the fact that financial consciousness and setting long-term financial goals are less typical among young adults (Németh & Zsótér, 2019).…”

Order Creates Value: Personality, Attitudinal and Behavioral Factors of Financial Vulnerability

“…Financial vulnerability has mainly concerned researchers since the global economic crisis. They try to understand what characterises people who are financially vulnerable (Lewis and Lewis, 2014, Németh, Zsótér and Luksander, 2017; Németh and Zsótér, 2019). It is also important to scrutinise social groups of a non-negligible size, because financial vulnerability affects well-beingin financial, health, and mental terms -at the level of households and individuals as well.…”