Negative home equity is due to declines in home values, largely driven by economic factors, and increases in mortgage debt, a decision made by individuals. Yet, empirical research assessing the individual’s role in the occurrence of negative home equity is limited. This study used the 2018 National Financial Capability Study to explore the association between financial literacy, savings, and debt at the individual level on the occurrence of negative home equity. The findings revealed that objective financial knowledge and financial security were negatively associated with the occurrence of negative home equity, while having a home equity loan, using a payday loan, having medical debt, and exceeding credit card limits were positively associated with the occurrence of negative home equity.

Financial literacy scales are often used as a diagnostic tool to assess financial knowledge levels among various populations, although few of them have undergone empirical testing. This study utilized exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with a sample of Chinese rural migrant workers to identify the underlying structure of a financial literacy scale and its psychometric properties. EFA reduced the 23 items to 5 factors that explain for 69.08% of the variance in financial literacy. Five factors are identified that are daily money management, math skills, saving and borrowing, inflation, and long-term investment. Findings suggest that practitioners who work with migrant workers or groups with lower income, lower educational levels can use this instrument to assess financial literacy levels and explore interventions that improve specific areas of financial knowledge.

This study examined attitudes about the relevance of retirement planning and affect associated with it (retirement involvement) of adults (18–65-years-old), taking racial/ethnic status into consideration. Drawing on online survey data, between-group significance testing revealed that racial/ethnic minority (REM; n = 355) and White (n = 543) participants did not differ in mean levels of retirement involvement, but the REM sample perceived retirement involvement as less relevant to their respective racial/ethnic groups. Similar four-profile solutions consisting of Low, Moderate, High, and Mixed-Reactive Retirement Involvement latent subgroups emerged for both samples in Latent Profile Analyses. Findings revealed distinct racial/ethnic variations in demographic and financial capacity predictors of profile subgroup classification. Results signaled a need for more culturally focused financial counseling and planning research and interventions.

The focus of this article is to quantitatively evaluate and compare three of the most popular defined benefit plan types based on various variable assumptions. The decision of when to retire and take a pension, or being given the option to change plans, often happens only once. This makes the evaluation and comparison critical. This paper provides a numerical analysis with a broad perspective so that employees with varying career situations and retirement plans can better evaluate their financial standing. Data sources include standard economic assumptions used in valuing pension plans, as well as a survey of employer sponsored pension plans. Recent pension plans provide more flexibility by paying out pensions as a single lump sum, however, these plans generally provide lower benefits.

Using data from the 2018 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS), this study examined the associations between financial stressors and financial behaviors, and how these associations differ by race/ethnicity. The descriptive results showed that Black and Hispanic individuals reported higher financial stressors than White and Asian/Other individuals. The regression results showed that higher financial stressors significantly increased undesirable financial behaviors and decreased desirable financial behaviors. The regression results also revealed that Black individuals engaged in significantly more undesirable financial behaviors, while Hispanic and Asian/Other individuals did not differ significantly from White individuals. Further analyses for racial/ethnic differences in the associations between financial stressors and behaviors suggest that race/ethnicity moderated the relationship between the financial stressors and financial behaviors. Specifically, Black individuals with high financial stressors engaged in fewer undesirable financial behaviors, but they also engaged in fewer desirable financial behaviors as compared to the other racial and ethnic groups. Implications for financial counselors, financial educators, and other financial professionals are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to examine the likelihood of consumers hiring a financial planner based on race and gender utilizing an experimental design. Using a sample of Black and White MTurk respondents, cumulative logistic regression was employed to determine the effects of race and gender on the likelihood to hire a financial planner. Findings suggested that, overall, consumers did not have racially biased preferences when hiring a financial planner. However, they did express a preference for hiring female planners over male planners. Financial planning firms can use these findings to strengthen their support for and recruitment of women financial planners, as well as address concerns of racial bias amongst consumers.

Although risk preferences and inheritance expectations should affect annuitization decisions, few studies have empirically tested these relations. This study bridges the gap in the prior literature by investigating potential effects that consumer risk aversion and inheritance expectations have on annuitization. Using data from the 2012 wave of the Health and Retirement Study, this study finds that consumers who are more risk averse have a higher likelihood of owning household annuity income compared to consumers who are less risk averse. Consumers with a higher inheritance expectation are more likely to have household annuity income compared to those with a lower inheritance expectation. Finally, when risk aversion is interacted with inheritance expectation, it increases the likelihood of household annuity ownership.

This study used the 2015 National Financial Capability Study to investigate the relationships among financial capability, financial education, and student loan debt outcomes. Specifically, this study examines four student loan outcomes: delinquency, stress, preparation, and satisfaction among borrowers who obtained loans for themselves. Three forms of financial capability (objective financial knowledge, subjective financial knowledge, and perceived financial capability) and two forms of financial education (formal school/workplace education and informal parental education) were used as potential predictors in the study. The Probit regression results showed that expectedly, several financial capability and financial education factors were positively associated with desirable financial outcomes such as loan calculation and loan satisfaction, and negatively associated with undesirable outcomes such as loan stress and loan delinquency. However, this study also showed several unexpected results. For example, objective financial knowledge was negatively associated with loan calculation and loan satisfaction, and subjective knowledge and formal financial education were positively associated with loan delinquency.

This article adds to the existing literature on financial risk aversion and risk taking by testing the possibility that a person’s degree of disappointment aversion, as an anticipatory emotion, may be an antecedent of risk-taking behavior. In this regard, the purpose of this article is to introduce two interrelated measures—the expectation-proclivity scale and the disappointment-aversion scale—and to establish the empirical association between expectation-proclivity and disappointment-aversion scale scores and financial risk aversion and financial risk taking. Results from this study show that disappointment aversion is positively associated with financial risk aversion, whereas establishing high outcome expectations is negatively related with financial risk aversion. Additionally, findings show that disappointment aversion and expectation proclivity are inversely related. Findings from this study provide support for what is termed in this article the disappointment dilemma hypothesis. Specifically, financial decision-makers who are averse to disappointment may be prone to allocating assets and investment dollars in ways that minimize or avoid disappointment in the short-run, but by doing so, may regret risk-avoiding behavior in the future.

The purpose of this article is to utilize decision tree (DT) analysis to examine the relationship between income level, financial satisfaction, financial confidence, financial knowledge, and several demographics with a goal of better understanding desirable financial behavior. The emphasis of this analysis is focused particularly upon better understanding the role of financial knowledge in desirable behavior outcomes. DT analysis is most useful when an analysis includes numerous variables and solving problems where the cumulative learning process is inherent. Our DT analysis of four FINRA National Financial Capability datasets (2009, 2012, 2015, and 2018) suggest that financial knowledge is a relevant variable only under specific circumstances and for respondents with relatively higher income levels. Key variables in the DT analysis included income level and financial satisfaction.

Using consumer socialization theory, this study examined the associations between perceived influence of parents, peers, employment, and media and spending behaviors of emerging adult college students from three different regions of the US: Northeast, South Atlantic, and Mountain regions. Data from the Emerging Adult Financial Capability Study (N = 2,322) were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Greater parental and employment influences perceived by the students were linked with more responsible spending behaviors, while greater peer and media influences were associated with less responsible spending behaviors. This study highlights the importance of the home and the workplace as the nexus for financial learning. This knowledge can help focus efforts to help future emerging adult college students learn responsible spending behaviors.

When the COVID-19 pandemic caused businesses to close and triggered high unemployment in 2020, millions of unbanked U.S. households, those without a bank account, had to wait for weeks and months for their stimulus checks to arrive. The delayed delivery of stimulus checks issued by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act sheds light on the critical role that safe, affordable financial services and products play in people’s ability to cope with financial shocks. Dialogues over banking practices have been framed with a banked-unbanked dichotomous framework that masks more nuanced understandings of households’ financial realities, including the underbanked, who use a bank account and alternative financial services simultaneously. Using data from the 2015 National Financial Capability Study, this study identifies and compares predictors of being underbanked and unbanked, respectively. We found that the underbanked group is a sizable, distinctively different group. Income volatility and welfare benefit receipt are both associated with being underbanked rather than unbanked. Our findings call for expanding the current, limited framework to gain more complete, nuanced understandings of banking practices.

A significant ongoing initiative is to identify the conditions under which financial education is most effective, as it has been shown to work much better in some circumstances than others. One factor to consider is mathematical capability, as it has been linked to improved financial knowledge and financial outcomes. In this paper, we investigated one aspect of math capability: math confidence (that is, self-reported math ability). We examined how this factor interacts with financial education (measured by the number of financial education courses taken) with data from the 2018 National Financial Capability Survey (NFCS). We found that both mathematical confidence and financial education were positively associated with financial behaviors and, moreover, that the effects were largely independent rather than acting as substitutes – suggesting that future intervention work should consider both factors.

This study investigated the association between student debt and healthcare service usage utilizing pooled data collected from the 2015 to 2018 waves of the National Financial Capability Study. The findings of this study suggest that, when compared to those without student debt, student debt holders have a lower likelihood of filling prescriptions for medicine, going to a doctor or clinic when they have a medical problem, and going to medical tests, treatments, and follow-up appointments. The findings and ensuing discussion add to the mounting evidence of the many challenges associated with student debt repayment.

This study examined the U.S. household financial access trends during 2012–2018 after the Great Recession of 2007–2009. Data was from a nationally representative sample (n = 2,094) of adults from the American Life Panel who completed questions from the National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) in 2012 and 2018. Latent transition analysis (LTA) was used to examine trends across seven financial access indicators, including banked status and alternative financial services (AFS) use. Results suggest the presence of three latent statuses Low Access, Partial Access, and High Access. Only 24.5% of people in the Low Access status and 2.6% of people in the Partial Access status in 2012 transitioned into the better financial access status in 2018. Policy and practice implications to improve people’s financial access are discussed.

Identity theft victims often experience negative financial, emotional, and physical consequences. Many cases of identity theft are perpetrated by family members, yet little is known about consequences familial identity theft victims experience and how they may differ from those who were victimized by a non-relative. The purpose of this study was to examine potential differences in consequences of identity theft victimization among familial and non-familial identity theft victims. Findings indicate younger identity theft victims are more likely to experience feelings of worry and anxiousness due to victimization, relative to older identity theft victims. No differences were found among familial and non-familial identity theft victims regarding physical consequences of victimization, nor were any differences found in the amount of financial losses incurred.

In this article, we projected household financial vulnerability in the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a nationally representative sample of households from the 2017 Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), we analyzed potential changes in financial status in the pandemic resulting from loss of income and savings from discretionary consumption. We provided a ranking of household groups by their financial vulnerability and the first estimate of the number of households at various degrees of financial vulnerability. Our study showed that a substantial part of the universal stimulus payments was made to households that had sufficient income to cover basic needs and those saved by reducing discretionary expenses. For the most financially vulnerable, the first one-time stimulus payment was too little and too late to help with their financial difficulties. Our findings shed light on to whom and in what form the US government should direct financial assistance during the pandemic.

This study explores the association between financial knowledge and financial fragility. Data from the 2015 National Financial Capability Study were used to create an index of financial fragility. Relationships between this index and three different measures of financial knowledge were assessed. To mitigate potential endogeneity in the financial knowledge measures, such as neighborhood effect defined as social interactions or characteristics of communities that influence socioeconomic and health behaviors or outcomes of individuals, the neighborhood average education level in US zip code units was used as an instrumental variable. The results from the baseline Ordinary Least Squares regression models and Two Stage Least Squares (2SLS) regression models indicated a negative relationship between financial knowledge and financial fragility; the effect was greater when the instrumental variable was used. Our findings with the neighborhood effect suggest which groups could be a focus for future research as well as offering practical interventions. Further, when designing and implementing educational and behavioral interventions, the knowledge-based approach should gain continued support from financial education, planning, and counseling programs.

The study examined the influence of financial literacy and financial advice on individuals’ stock market participation in Malaysia. Using survey data from 216 individuals aged 18 years old and above, this study revealed that both financial literacy and financial advice were positively associated with the likelihood of participating in the stock market. Individuals with higher financial literacy, especially advanced financial literacy, were more likely to participate in the stock market. Those who sought advice from financial advisors were also more likely to invest in the stock market. The findings underscore intervention opportunities for regulators, educators and financial advisors in promoting stock market participation in emerging countries.

This article summarizes a field-based experiment exploring an individual and small-group financial coaching intervention. Both types of coaching programs had the same goal: To develop clients’ financial capability through a series of planned meetings focusing on client driven goals. Results indicated clients who were coached either individually or in groups demonstrated increases in financial knowledge, gains in confidence, reductions in stress, and positive changes in behavior. The findings provide support for coaching as an intervention for developing financial capability and suggests group coaching as an alternative for reaching more clients and spreading financial capability more widely in a cost-effective way.

This study explores financial knowledge patterns from 2009 to 2018, focusing on objective and subjective knowledge, overconfidence in financial knowledge, and “Don’t know” responses. We used four waves of National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) datasets. Objective financial knowledge was lower in 2018 than in 2009, and the proportion of individuals who were overconfident was higher in 2018 than in 2009. The mean number of “Don’t know” responses to objective knowledge questions increased consistently over the period. Most of these patterns persisted when we controlled for household characteristics in regressions. The lack of increases in financial knowledge despite formal and informal educational efforts raises the question as to whether existing efforts for formal and informal education are sufficient.

We examined the association between financial knowledge overconfidence and the perception of emergency fund needs using the 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) dataset. Only 28% of respondents reported a perceived amount of emergency funds needed that would cover at least three months of estimated spending. We conducted an OLS regression analysis on the log of the ratio of perceived emergency fund needs to household monthly expenditure. Overconfident respondents perceived a ratio 21.4% lower than those who had objective and subjective financial knowledge above median levels. Overconfident respondents might be underestimating emergency fund needs, suggesting the importance of not only increasing objective financial knowledge but also making consumers aware of the limitations of their financial knowledge.

Financial professionals involved in divorce proceedings, whether for a client or an attorney, often use software to project the ability of a dependent spouse to earn income off of her separate estate. These projections have historically relied on static inputs and use a Monte Carlo simulation to illustrate the paths a portfolio might take. Within this study, the effects on dynamic income and expense changes on outcomes were examined. A comparison was made between the traditional Monte Carlo methods and Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. Results using MCMC methods more closely approximated investment return distribution, and illustrated investable assets were the primary driver of long-term success, and not items such as spousal or child support. Practical implications for financial professionals, family law attorneys, judges, and clients are discussed as well as opportunities for future research.

This study examines the timing of financial education and its impact on short-term and long-term financial behavior. We also explore the power of financial education on financial knowledge and examine the link between financial knowledge and positive financial behavior. Exposure to financial education during multiple life stages leads to a better financial outcome. Financial education taught via multiple channels, including high school, college, the workplace, and at home, is the most optimal in the long run. For those who did not attend college, being exposed to financial education in high school is significantly associated with positive financial behavior. We cite implications for all financial education advocates. Policymakers in the financial capability arena can stay abreast of the channels of financial education that produce the most fruitful economic and societal gains.

The purpose of this article is to show that emotions matter when predicting the financial well-being of U.S. households. The broaden and build theory (BBT) was used to predict that positive emotions would be positively associated with financial well-being and negative emotions would be negatively associated with financial well-being. Using a convenience sample of 993 U.S. adults, emotions were found to explain the variation in family financial well-being, measured by income and net worth, of U.S. households beyond demographic variables. More specifically, feelings of contentment, love, anger, anxiety, and loneliness were found to be associated with financial well-being. Results suggest that policymakers, financial professionals, and academics should collect more data on the emotions of individuals to help explain the variation in the financial well-being of U.S. households. Results also provide evidence in support of the financial counseling industry’s efforts to incorporate emotions as an important variable when modeling family financial well-being.

This study used the 2017 National Financial Well-Being Survey to investigate the relationship between cognitive ability and seeking financial advice. Three aspects of cognitive ability were examined: memory, objective numeracy, and subjective numeracy. The results showed that in general, the three were not associated with seeking financial advice. However, after decomposing the sources of the advice, we found that among financial advice-seekers, memory and objective numeracy were positively associated with seeking financial advice from family. When adding the interactions between cognitive ability factors and age, older individuals with good memories were less likely to seek advice from family, while older individuals with higher objective numeracy were less likely to use social networks to seek financial advice. The study’s findings suggest future development in policies and practices to benefit those with low cognitive abilities to seek better financial advice using multiple advice sources.

The purpose of this study is to examine migration during retirement and its association with retirement satisfaction. Utilizing longitudinal data collected from the Health and Retirement Study, this study estimates a fixed-effects logit model to examine how changing U.S. Census divisions during retirement is related to retirement satisfaction. The findings suggest that a change in residential location during retirement is associated with an increase in retirement satisfaction. In planning for retirement, individuals should examine what will provide them with the highest level of satisfaction during their retirement and whether their current location can facilitate an enjoyable retirement. Financial planners and counselors should also consider, as a part of their systemic retirement planning process, increasing the attention that is given to the residential location in which their clients will reside during retirement.

The financial exploitation (FE) of older adults affects not only victims’ finances, but also their health. This preliminary study investigated the impacts of a financial coaching program on the financial, neurocognitive, physical, and emotional health of older adult victims of FE. Twenty older adults residing in a large urban area who had experienced FE were compared at baseline and follow-up with a group of 20 older adult of the same area who were making important financial decisions, but had not experienced FE and did not receive the intervention. At baseline, both groups were similar on demographic variables, but participants who had experienced FE had more health problems, poorer memory and executive functioning, less social support, and greater stress than the comparison group. Six months after financial coaching ended, program participants had significantly less anxiety. Overall, older adult victims of FE showed no significant declines and, in fact, showed some improvement.

This study examined the association between financial literacy and the decision to withdraw funds from different types of retirement accounts before retirement. Data from the 2012 and 2015 National Financial Capability Study were used to investigate if financial literacy may potentially influence the decision to dissave from funds already set aside for retirement. The results showed that lower financial literacy appeared to increase the likelihood to retract funds saved for retirement, across different types of retirement accounts. The importance of financial literacy persisted, even after controlling for income shocks to personal finances, the availability of precautionary savings as an alternative source of funding, and an extensive set of demographic variables.

Using data from the 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) and the Family Life Cycle (FLC) and Human Capital Theory (HCT) as a framework, this study examined if factors related to the likelihood of financial ratio adequacy and financial well-being differ for Hispanic and non-Hispanic White households. Hispanics’ comprehensive financial well-being was assessed with three ratios: Liquidity, solvency, and investments/assets. Results of logistic regressions with 612 Hispanic and 4,481 non-Hispanic headed households show that FLC and HCT factors are associated with financial ratios differently between two race/ethnicity groups. For Hispanic households, age is positively related to adequate investment/assets ratio and financial well-being; education is positively related to adequate investment/assets but negatively related to adequate solvency. Implications for practitioners working with Hispanics are discussed.

This article introduces collective rationality and comparative advantage into understanding household financial decision-making responsibility allocation and its relationship to wealth accumulation. Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) shows that conscientiousness, memory, and numeracy are favorable personal attributes for household financial decision-making. Greater relative advantages in these attributes predict a higher probability of assuming financial responsibility. Households that assign the disadvantaged spouse as the financial decision-maker tend to have a lower total net worth and a lower financial net worth. Our results suggest that it is critical for financial planning professionals to engage both spouses in the initial discussion of household finances and to assess the efficiency of the status quo financial decision-making responsibility allocation.

This exploratory study employed quasi-experimental research methods to investigate the relationship between adult participation in a comprehensive workplace financial education program and changes in financial knowledge levels. Results revealed a positive association between participation in the education program and changes in financial knowledge levels, even when controlling for demographic and socioeconomic differences between the participant and non-participant groups. However, results did not support an association between perfect attendance in the program and changes in financial knowledge. Evidence from this study provides meaningful insight into the association between adult financial education and financial knowledge and offers guidance for the future development of effective comprehensive workplace financial education programs.

Both self-efficacy and self-regulation have been connected to financial behaviors and financial outcomes of households; however, their associations have been studied independently. This study examined the association between general self-regulation (i.e., mindfulness practice, self-care behaviors, and conflict management) and financial management behavior, mediated by financial self-efficacy. Data was gathered from 693 individuals in couple relationships residing in the Southeastern United States of America who participated in a Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education training program. Analyses of data showed that general self-regulation and financial self-efficacy were positively associated with financial management behaviors and that general self-regulation was indirectly associated with financial management behaviors through financial self-efficacy. Implications of this study suggest that by coupling financial education, counseling, and coaching interventions with broad-based self-regulation programming, such as mindfulness or relationship training, clients will realize more significant improvements in financial management behaviors.

When it comes to money, clients often know what they should do, but they do not always do it. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to introduce a new scale to measure financial cognition and (b) to explore the link between thinking (i.e., covert behavior) and financial behavior (i.e., overt behavior). Social Cognitive Theory and Cognitive Behavioral Theory framed the study. Data were collected in two stages from 236 employees in a Midwestern region. Stage one results suggest a newly developed measure, the Financial Cognition Scale, shows acceptable reliability, and construct validity. Stage two found positive associations between the covert behaviors of financial cognition, financial knowledge, and financial self-efficacy and the overt behavior of financial behavior, and a negative association between financial anxiety and financial behavior. Implications for practitioners and researchers are presented.

Financial self-efficacy is associated with positive financial behaviors. This study investigated factors associated with financial self-efficacy among student loan borrowers based on original data collected through an online national survey of student loan borrowers between age 25 and 75. Results revealed that perceived student loan literacy prior to accruing higher education debt was significantly associated with current financial self-efficacy, while general financial literacy during repayment did not appear to be correlated with financial self-efficacy. This study draws on social cognitive theory to suggest that student loan literacy prior to accruing debt may act as a mastery experience, improving financial self-efficacy when the repayment period arrives. Given the increasing prevalence of student loans across all generations, this study underscores the need for early education and mentoring from financial professionals about student loan borrowing.

Financial counseling has been found to be effective in improving consumers' credit outcomes and could be expanded through the workplace to reach lower-income workers who struggle with various financial challenges. We examine engagement and credit outcomes associated with a workplace financial counseling program offered to 2,849 frontline workers in New York City. Age and credit scores helped explain variation in types of engagement in services. Credit outcomes were modest on average, but greater among workers who received three or more counseling sessions, had low and no baseline credit scores, and reduced the number of delinquent and collections accounts on their credit reports. Workplace financial counseling is a promising strategy to proactively promote credit outcomes among frontline workers, though counselors should be flexible in offering services and help workers access affordable credit products available to those with subprime credit scores and increase financial slack to lessen dependence on credit.

Whereas problematic finances can undermine relationship satisfaction, a sense of shared financial values may bolster relationship satisfaction; thus, it is important to understand how to promote couples' shared financial values. In this study, we examined the association of individuals' perceptions regarding their own and their partners' positive financial behaviors on shared financial values. Using survey data from a young adult cohort of college graduates, participants of the Arizona Pathways to Life Success for University Students (APLUS) study, we found that participants' perceptions of their own positive financial behaviors, and their perceptions of the positive financial behaviors of their partners, were each associated with increased shared financial values. Results suggest that practitioners could help individuals recognize that improving their own financial behaviors and also appreciating their partner's positive financial behaviors contribute to couples' shared financial values.

This study examined whether retirement income sources matter for the subjective financial well-being of retirees and the subjective retirement savings adequacy of non-retirees. Using nationally representative data from the 2017 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, the study found that while income from a defined benefit (DB) plan, defined contribution (DC) plan, and an individual retirement account (IRA) were positively related to the subjective financial well-being of retirees, income from employment and family were negatively related to their subjective financial well-being. Also, retirement preparation with a DB, DC, and IRA was positively related to subjective retirement savings adequacy for non-retirees. The moderating role of age in the relationship between the form of retirement savings for non-retirees and their subjective retirement savings adequacy was significant. Because of the growing importance of individual responsibility for retirement planning, the present study adds to the financial planning knowledge of financial practitioners, educators, and researchers.

This research examined how parental communication and family resources provided during adolescence relate to domain-specific financial management behaviors for a sample of 1,245 young adults age 18–34. Using data collected by an online survey administration organization, bivariate analysis results indicated that higher levels of parental communication about proper consumer skills and tangible and intangible family resources were associated with better financial behaviors. Financial behaviors were also found to vary significantly across different levels of family income. Multivariate regression analyses revealed two noteworthy interactions in which intangible resources and financial behaviors varied by level of family income. Better financial behaviors in adulthood were associated with more intangible resources for middle- and upper-income families during adolescence. The reverse was indicated for young adults from lower income families. Control variables of education level, employment status, and gender also showed significance with financial behaviors.

Financial coaching is an emerging strategy to help people enhance financial capability and well-being. However, few studies of coaching practices have been completed. A survey of 273 coaches in the United States provides insight into current coaching practice. The average coach in the survey served 19 clients per month and saw each client about four times. The range of coaches varied widely; many coaches operated at a relatively small scale, often embedded in social service programs. Coaches generally reported coaching had positive impacts on clients, especially coaches with more training and those who served more clients. Overall, this study shows the financial coaching field includes an array of approaches but may benefit from capacity building and adoption of standards of practice.

This study investigated the role of financial education on a basic level of estate planning of U.S. households. Results from the 2018 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) dataset showed that financial education is positively associated with one's basic estate planning, proxied by having a will. Multiple exposures to financial education over time had stronger positive associations with having a will. One notable finding was that those receiving financial education offered by an employer only or jointly by an employer and other sources (high school and/or college) were more likely to have a will. In addition, among those who received financial education, the number of hours and the overall quality were positively associated with the likelihood of having a will. Additional analyses from Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and similar regressions across generations reveal that results were robust. The results provide meaningful insights for financial educators and practitioners.

Since 1990, financial counseling, literacy, and capability services have emerged in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States (CANZUS nations) as practice-based approaches to support the economic participation and financial resilience of Indigenous peoples. This systematic scoping review of the published and grey literature explored how these programs have evolved and whether such approaches are effective. The review found an emerging movement toward Indigenous-specific practice, reflecting the growth of Indigenous voices in financial counseling practice and highlighting the critical case for embedding Indigenous knowledge and practices into program design and delivery. However, there was little evidence in this emerging field regarding the quality or impact of program delivery. A theoretical framework is needed to guide further research.

The decision to attend college is a question of human capital investment, yet resources to help practitioners frame human capital investment decisions remain elusive and few include the “gold standard” of finance: net present value (NPV). Can one discuss human capital investment with an average adolescent using a traditional NPV approach? Motivated by this question, we presented 10 barriers to maximizing education–career NPV (e.g., clarity of costs, immature adolescent brains, individual discount rates). We outline an iterative, research-based approach to education–career investment, including framing the conversation, calculating paired NPVs, and structuring the decision. This multistep framework leverages practitioner expertise to help adolescents consider important lifelong financial wellness implications of human capital investment.

The increasing role of schools in promoting financial literacy underscores the need to investigate the effectiveness of school-based financial education programs. This study examined FutureSmart—a free, co-curricular, online financial education course—using a quasi-experimental design with a diverse sample of middle school students nationwide. The study assessed the impact of the course on students' financial knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, and explored the association of program implementation factors with changes in student outcomes. Financial knowledge gains were significant, substantial, and consistent across student subgroups and implementation factors for FutureSmart participants. Gains in financial attitudes and behaviors—specifically, financial confidence, engagement with parents about financial issues, current engagement with financial products, and intended future engagement with financial products—were not significant. The fundamental implication of this research is that FutureSmart effectively conveys financial knowledge to middle school students, contributing to a foundation for their future financial well-being.

This study aims to determine the status of existing research on financial planning for retirement. We used bibliometric analysis and content analysis to examine a sample of 1,116 studies conducted over a span of more than five decades. Bibliographic coupling network was developed to determine the intellectual themes in the field. Our findings suggest that the structural, economic, and cultural disparities worldwide lead to distinct pressures for savings on individuals. Further studies should be conducted considering emerging economies and the aforementioned disparities to gain deeper insights. While a few studies have examined the influence of social biases, behavioral biases, personality traits, and psychological constructs on financial literacy and the impact of this interaction on financial planning for retirement. We conclude by suggesting potential future research directions.

Using a nationwide online survey capturing detailed information on the backgrounds and practices of 654 financial planners, this study examines the associations between the use of technologies by financial planners and self-reported time spent within various stages of the six-step financial planning process. Surprisingly, in many cases, use of technology is associated with an increase rather than a decrease in time spent within various stages of the financial planning process. These results suggest that although technologies may provide efficiencies in completing certain tasks, these efficiencies do not necessarily result in net reductions in time spent within the financial planning process.

Self-leadership examines how individuals can motivate themselves through behavior focused strategies, constructive thought patterns, and natural reward strategies. This study examined the potential influence of self-leadership on financial self-efficacy, credit card debt, and student loan debt among college students. Data were collected from a survey of 197 graduate and undergraduate students at a major Midwestern university. The findings suggest students higher in self-leadership tend to have lower student loan debt. Additionally, financial self-efficacy and credit card debt mediate the relationship between self-leadership and student loan debt. The results have implications for the role self-leadership plays in credit card debt, financial self-efficacy, and student loan debt.

Is there an association between a household financial decision maker's risk tolerance and the performance of the stock market? Some researchers argue that financial market events have little association with the financial risk tolerance (FRT) of household financial decision makers, while others argue that FRT among individuals can vary in relation to significant market fluctuations. The applicability of either argument may depend on the length of the period before and after a major market event. The purpose of this study was to evaluate aggregate changes in FRT around a major stock market event for different anchor time periods and to test the recency bias hypothesis. The analyses were designed to explore the FRT of Americans during a volatile multimonth period of stock market performance in 2018–2019. Several univariate, bivariate, and multivariate tests were used to compare FRT assessment scores pre- and post-October 3rd, 2018 (i.e., the market high in 2018). A decrease in FRT from the market high was noted across the sample; however, the decrease was exhibited most acutely by younger, nonmarried respondents with few investable assets. A noteworthy finding from this study is that financial counselors and financial planners likely serve a “buffering” role when household financial decision makers experience stock market shocks.

This study examines the degree to which the customer risk profiling measure (CRPM), commonly used by financial institutions to determine loss tolerance of investors, is psychometrically valid in assessing risk tolerance and predicting anxiety after experiencing a significant investment loss. Data were collected online from 91 respondents with various investment experience. Results suggest that CRPM is significantly correlated with the Grable and Lytton's Financial Risk Tolerance Scale (G/L-RTS), a validated financial risk tolerance measure. CRPM is also able to predict anxiety after experiencing a significant investment loss. Furthermore, CRPM also demonstrates incremental predictive validity above and beyond G/L-RTS in predicting anxiety after investment loss.

This article investigates the credit card debt puzzle. Simultaneously holding credit card debt and liquid assets is puzzling given the sizeable difference between interest rates of debt and assets. However, this behavior is common—about 31% of households in the 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances. The cost of co-holding may be justified if consumers anticipate future restrictions in credit or if they need to maintain liquidity. Other existing explanations for co-holding include impulsive spending and low financial literacy. This research reveals a new explanation for the credit card debt puzzle: consumers' overconfidence of their financial knowledge. Using a Coarsened Exact Matching method, we found that overconfident consumers were 20%–40% more likely to co-hold credit card debt and liquid assets.

We examined the relationship between holding a student loan and financial satisfaction and financial education's moderating role using the 2015 National Financial Capability Study dataset. Households with a student loan had lower levels of financial satisfaction than those without one. We found a moderating role of receiving both formal and informal financial education on the relationship between a student loan and financial satisfaction, regardless of for whom the loans were taken. Our findings confirm the importance of financial education and suggest that receiving a thorough combination of formal and informal education will improve student loan holders' financial satisfaction.

The study examines whether an external locus of control (LOC) moderates the association between financial constraints and emotional exhaustion related to one's financial situation. The participants for this study were 821 U.S. adults aged 20 and older who completed an online survey in September 2019. Results revealed that the association between financial constraints and emotional exhaustion was moderated by an external LOC. Although individuals with a high external LOC were found to perceive more emotional exhaustion, the positive association between financial constraints and emotional exhaustion was stronger for those with a low external LOC than those with a high external LOC. Findings identify the LOC as an important phenomenon of inquiry on emotional exhaustion related to one's financial situation. Findings suggest that an external LOC may serve as a potential point of intervention. Our findings could be used by practitioners to identify populations at greater risk for the experience of emotional exhaustion related to one's financial situation.

An evaluation was implemented over a 3-year period to assess a statewide financial capability program for low-income, diverse clientele in Michigan. Pre- and post- program evaluation data was used to determine knowledge gain and intended behavior change. Follow-up evaluation data confirmed behavior changes across 10 financial practices. Using the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change, research findings revealed participants were better able to maintain change in key financial practices including making wise money decisions, creating a spending plan, and managing debt as a result of the educational program. Recommendations are provided to support future programs with similar clientele.

The mismatch between financial objective and subjective knowledge that occurs in youth and adolescents has been understudied in the literature. Based on objective and subjective financial literacy scores, this study categorizes financial literacy into four types: financial literacy overconfidence, underconfidence, competence, and naïvete in a sample of adolescents. Data were collected from 330 students aged around 15 years old in six middle schools in Hong Kong. The results indicate that adolescents who are overconfident about their financial literacy are more likely to engage in risky financial behavior and report higher levels of financial autonomy. A randomized experimental trial was conducted to assess whether financial education could change the mismatch between financial objective and subjective knowledge. The results show a significant increase in underconfidence after the financial education intervention, but no significant change in the other three categories. The findings highlight the same type of financial literacy overconfidence in both adolescents and adults and has implications for financial counselors and educators who would improve the financial engagement of adolescents.

This study establishes an integrated conceptual framework to examine the influences of financial socialization on young adults' financial and subjective well-being. Using the National Financial Well-Being Survey and structural equation modeling methods with a national sample of young adults aged 18–35, this study highlights two key potential influences of financial socialization: (a) early financial socialization experience is directly and positively associated with young adults' financial knowledge and financial motivations (goal-oriented financial planning and self-control ability) and (b) there are indirect and positive associations between financial socialization and young adults' perceived financial skill, financial behavior, and financial and subjective well-being. Moreover, perceived financial skill significantly mediates the relationship between financial motivations and financial management behavior and could indirectly influence financial and subjective well-being. Finally, this study also finds positive associations among financial management behavior, financial well-being, and subjective well-being of young adults.

The purpose of this study is to examine the debt burdens, perceived capabilities, and mental health of young adults. Panel data constructed from the 2009 to 2013 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and its Transition to Adulthood (TA) supplement are used in this study. The multinomial logistic regression analysis findings showed that the amount of revolving debt was negatively associated with young adults' mental health. On the other hand, perceived abilities in acting responsibly, in solving problems, and in managing money were positively associated with the mental health of young adults. The fixed effects regression analysis results indicate that the amounts of credit card and student loan debt from the previous period were negatively associated with an increase in the mental health continuum scores of young adults over time. A discussion of the implications of this study's key findings for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners is included.

The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) has included a 4-level risk tolerance measure since 1983. In 2016, the SCF also included an 11-level risk tolerance measure. We compare the two measures, and develop suggestions for using the new measure. While the new measure is seemingly simpler than the old measure, we demonstrate that it does not have a monotonic relationship with owning stock assets, with a pattern similar to the relationship of the old measure to stock ownership. We also identify complex patterns of factors related to different levels of the new measure, for instance education has a negative relationship at one level but positive at another level. Those using the new measure should consider the complex patterns we demonstrate.

Paying for college expenses can be stressful for anyone, regardless of citizenship status. Asian American students and their parents may be negotiating with each other who will shoulder these expenses, while international Asian students often enter this country with their parents' financial support already established. This is the first study to specifically examine a large sample of Asian college students (n = 671) and explore how parents influence Asian students' financial attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors through a family financial socialization theoretical lens. Results show that financial socialization is positively associated with financial behaviors for all Asian college students. Findings are informative for college counselors, financial advisors, educators, and clinicians who work with Asian students and their parents.

This study develops a conceptual framework to investigate the relationship between households' information search behavior and financial management outcomes. Consumers' information search behavior is examined from both internal and external perspectives. The internal information sources include human capital and psychological and attitudinal factors, whereas the external information sources comprise financial professionals from different financial service areas. Financial management behaviors examined in this study consist of consumers' savings and credit-using behavior. This study uses the 2012 National Financial Capability Study and structural equation modeling methodology. The results suggest that (a) both internal and external information sources used by consumers are significantly associated with savings and credit-using behavior, and (b) seeking external financial advice from professionals mediates the relationship between consumers' internal sources and financial management outcomes. The findings of this study provide practical implications for financial professionals when counseling and communicating with clients and challenge policymakers to develop pathways that can enhance the quality and accessibility of internal and external information sources for clients, including customized financial education programs and affordable professional financial services.

Based on a nationally representative sample of adult Poles (N = 1,004), we examined structural relationships between financial knowledge, skills, confidence, attitudes, and behavior in debt-domain. We found that financial confidence—at least regarding debt-related issues—is tied to debt attitudes and behavior beyond the extent to which the attitudes and behaviors are linked to objective debt knowledge. Moreover, the relationship between objective knowledge and confidence turned out to be insignificant in our study. These findings suggest that confidence should be used as a separate marker of financial capability. Having established that skills correlate with behavior and attitudes differently than objective knowledge, we argue also to include them separately in financial capability measurements.

There has been much effort in recent years to address some of the damage of the recent global financial crisis with financial literacy education. Little research has been done, however, on the factors that might affect the decision to seek individual versus couples-based financial education. We used a survey instrument administered via the online labor market, Mechanical Turk, to examine factors associated with this outcome: whether members of a couple would choose individual or couples financial coaching. All participants were screened for current membership in a committed relationship for at least 6 months. Most participants reported a preference for couples versus individual financial counseling. Key factors that predicted a likelihood to opt for couples' counseling include gender, age, and satisfaction with one's relationship. Results from this study suggest that how and why consumers seek financial education may be affected by social, cultural, emotional, and relational factors as well as financial concerns. Such factors should be considered by practitioners in this field if program marketing, design, and delivery are to be relevant to participants and effective.

Most private sector employees have access to defined contribution retirement plans while public sector employees often may choose defined benefit or defined contribution plans. This research utilized a survey of faculty to analyze retirement plan satisfaction. Advice from a financial planner was positively associated with satisfaction with portability. Retirement plan knowledge was negatively associated with satisfaction with the decision period. Selection of a defined benefit plan was positively related to four aspects of satisfaction and negatively related to regret. Financial planners assisting individuals who face such choices should acknowledge the decision's challenges and evaluate the client's level of retirement planning knowledge. Focusing on long-term goals and the client's investment and mobility risk tolerance may be helpful, especially after market corrections.

Financial risk tolerance is an important personal characteristic that is widely used by financial professionals to guide the development and presentation of client-centered recommendations. As more baby boomers enter retirement, research on how these individuals perceive their willingness to take financial risks has gained importance, particularly as the focus of investment portfolios changes from capital accumulation to capital preservation in retirement. This study examined the role of sensation seeking and locus of control on financial risk tolerance for a pre-retiree baby boomer sample using the 2014 wave of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. Findings from three ordinary least square (OLS) regression models showed that baby boomers who were not sensation seekers, and those who displayed an external locus of control orientation were more likely to exhibit a low tolerance for financial risk. Furthermore, those who engaged in sensation-seeking behavior were more likely to have an internal locus of control orientation and a high tolerance for risk.

There are numerous factors associated with successful reentry, but one that has not yet been addressed is financial behavior after release. This study used a primary data set collected in the fall of 2017. The theory of planned behavior was applied to investigate post-release financial behavioral intentions of men and women approaching return to society via a work release program in Georgia. Support for the theory of planned behavior was identified; attitude, subjective norms, and perceptions of behavioral control are significant predictors of financial intentions for this sample. Length of incarceration was the most important aspect of incarceration history. Innovative use of a control variable indicated that socially desirable response patterns about key variables were not confounding. This research is valuable to practitioners and policy makers in that it provides insight into planned financial behaviors that could affect the success of the individual's reentry back into society, and it fortifies prior evidence that the theory of planned behavior is a useful analytical framework.

This exploratory study examines academic and labor market risks associated with investments in higher education by synthesizing the literature regarding risky higher education choices and extending the research using the 2014 National Student Financial Wellness Study, a national sample of college students. Three phenomena are analyzed to support the notion that individuals may be making suboptimal human capital investment decisions: (a) cost–benefit errors; (b) unclear educational goals; and (c) increasing time-to-degree. The study examines which students are more likely to report that the cost of college did not influence their choice, that tuition is not a good investment, or that they expect to take additional time to complete their degree. Opportunities for practitioners to help clients navigate higher education investment decisions and opportunities for future research are discussed.

The deleterious nature of U.S. economic recessions over the last several decades highlight a need to investigate the role of family economic strain on families. The current study explored the impact of family economic strain on marital quality and marital stability through dyadic associations of marital support and work–family conflict of 370 married couples over a 12-year period (1989–2001) through an actor–partner interdependence model, encompassing two major U.S. recessions. Guided by family stress and coping theory, findings are consistent with past research indicating the negative impact of family economic strain on marital quality and marital stability; however, this impact may be mitigated through the mediation of positive perceptions of marital support and work–family conflict. Implications suggest financial counselors should consider the lasting influence of economic strain on families, and how the psychosocial resources of martial support and managing work–family conflict may promote relationship quality and stability.

Despite the importance of retirement savings, many individuals retire with lack of adequate retirement savings. While calculating retirement savings needs was found to enhance retirement savings, little is known about what underlies this enhancement. Applying the theory of planned behavior (TPB), we developed a model in which psychological factors influence the calculation of retirement savings needs, which in turn influences the ownership of individual retirement accounts. Path analysis was used to test our model with data from the 2015 National Financial Capability Study. The results showed that favorable attitudes, strong social norms, and perceived behavioral control are associated with calculating retirement savings needs. Also, calculating retirement savings needs as well as perceived behavioral control and having an employer-based retirement plan, in turn, contributed to the prediction of individual retirement account ownership. Our results suggest it is important to understand he psychological factors behind calculating retirement savings needs and to make it easy for individuals to calculate those needs.

Why do people give away their money? Charitable giving has traditionally been modeled using socioeconomic (i.e., age, income, education) and psychographic variables (i.e., self-esteem, guilt, pity). However, given that charitable giving is, inherently, a financial activity, would financial variables with a psychographic element (i.e., financial attitudinal variables) have the ability to improve the prediction of giving behavior? Using the 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), we found that higher risk tolerance, higher subjective financial knowledge, longer financial time horizon, and access to emergency funds from friends/relatives all were positively associated with charitable giving. The results of this study help broaden the potential information set for financial counselors, marketers, nonprofit organizations, or policymakers when understanding a client's intention to charitably give and identifying potential donors beyond traditional socioeconomic and psychographic variables.

We used survey data from a cross-sectional New Zealand sample of adults to examine whether financial socialization and financial literacy are associated with their financial behavior. The results show different financial socialization experiences of adult males compared to adult females are associated with higher financial literacy and higher financial confidence. Adults with education in finance and economics had higher financial literacy and financial confidence in managing their personal finances. Furthermore, those with high self-assessed confidence in managing personal finance but low financial literacy, have a higher propensity to engage in undesirable financial behaviors.

This article examined the relationship of household financial behaviors and accesses. Using the 2015 National Financial Capability Study, the current study conducted latent class analysis of financial behaviors to identify latent classes (N = 27,564). The distribution of access was investigated among latent classes, which were regressed on the financial behaviors of financial planning and financial spending factors and other covariates using multinomial logistic regression. After controlling for other variables, the odds of being in Thinly Banked, Limited Access, and Working Families classes instead of being in Investors class decreased by 90%, 88%, and 66% for every point higher in financial planning behavior, respectively. Results suggest that desirable financial behaviors such as planning are important for consumers with the least financial access.

This article describes a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention tools designed to help people save more or spend less money by enhancing their capabilities, motivations, and opportunities. The participants included 177 students from an English University who were randomly allocated to either the Control, Savings-Tool, or Savings+Habit-Tools group. Participants provided with the intervention tool(s) for 4 weeks were more likely to experience improvements in both their financial satisfaction and subjective perceptions than those in the Control group not asked to use either tool. The tools did not significantly affect financial behaviors or objective financial wellness. The discussion examines limitations of the study and discusses avenues for future research such as including a longer follow-up period.

Both financial anxiety and first-generation student status have been linked to negative academic outcomes, mental health issues, and poor social adjustment among college students; however, each factor has been studied in isolation. This article examines the predictors of financial anxiety, including generational status, using the Roy Adaptation Model and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis on data from a large, Midwestern public university. First-generation student status was positively associated with financial anxiety in multivariate modeling. Proxies for students' self-concepts, including financial comparisons to peers and perceived mastery, had the largest contribution to the model. Financial counseling programs geared toward first-generation college students may impact their self-concepts and reduce financial anxiety.

As defined contribution (DC) plans become more popular than defined benefit (DB) plans, American workers are increasingly responsible for their retirement savings. Because retirement plan participants' portfolio allocation is constrained by the available funds in the plan, the construction of a plan's investment menu has become extremely important. No research has evaluated fund selection in retirement plans or compared plans involving an advisor with self-directed plans. To fill this research gap, this study employs cross-sectional, nationwide data that include 5,570 retirement plans with 100 or more participants in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Results show that in most cases, using advisors is not related to plan performance. Plan sponsors should require advisors to periodically evaluate the performance of plans under their management using objective measures.

This article describes the unique benefits of discourse analysis, a qualitative sociolinguistic research methodology, for evaluating financial literacy counseling. The methodology is especially promising for organizations that may lack the resources to implement “gold standard” large scale, randomized, experimental, or quasi-experimental longitudinal designs. We begin with an overview of problems with program evaluation research on financial literacy interventions, particularly for smaller community service agencies. We lay out the advantages of discourse analysis as an alternative method of assessing program quality. We include a pilot study demonstrating the use of the research approach, and we conclude the description of this study with specific guidelines as to “best practices” indicated from the results. We believe discourse analysis has the potential to make data collection and analysis easier and more effective for counselors and agency staff at community service organizations, especially when the work of program evaluation is being done by the service providers themselves and the client needs may be atypical, complex, or very specific.

Military spouses face employment obstacles such as relocations, leading to un- or underemployment. The Department of Defense (DoD) proposed three best practice guidelines for transfer of licenses for military spouses. In this study, we (a) reviewed state legislation on military spouse licensure portability and identified how states addressed DoD best practices, and (b) interviewed staff and reviewed websites at six occupational boards of each state. Most states have implemented at least two guidelines, while occupational boards have implemented only some of the legislated guidelines. Thirty-seven percent of boards in states with legislation supporting expedited applications for military spouses did not offer them, and not all accommodations are publicly displayed. Financial counselors should recommend military spouses call regulatory offices about accommodations.

In 2017, more than one million children became identity theft victims. Many perpetrators of child identity theft are parents, but there are limited data on these perpetrators. The purpose of this study was to understand parental perpetrators of child identity theft through the experiences of victims. Using a phenomenological approach, six adult victims of child identity theft engaged in in-depth interviews. Findings revealed perpetrators were perceived to lack guilt, be manipulative of their victim, and concerned about their public image. Victims often utilized a credit report to understand the scope of the identity theft and begin recovery. Federal agencies and creditors were contacted by victims as part of the recovery process, but were perceived as unhelpful. Implications for financial counseling and education are discussed, including the ethical boundaries of financial counselors and educators when working with victims who experience significant mental and/or physical health challenges as a result of the victimization.

We surveyed high school students in Southern California to investigate whether there is an improvement in financial attitudes from eight class periods of financial literacy intervention in a high school economics course. We examine whether the money management (MM) and financial investing (FI) components of financial instruction influence attitudes differently and whether they each influence attitudes beyond a standard economics course. We find that the MM treatment influences being thrifty and delaying gratification. Both treatments increase risk-taking behavior, with neither treatment being more important than the other. Within the confines of our experiment, exposure to economics per se did not influence any of the financial attitudes, pointing to the need for financial education to inculcate healthy financial attitudes in high school children.

This study examined the use of data visualization to improve financial literacy in adults. Using financial knowledge questions as test items this study used an experimental approach. Poisson regression was conducted on responses from 1,797 participants to an online survey via SurveyMonkey. Approximately one-third of respondents were assigned to a text-only group explaining a financial concept, one-third to a group that received a visualization plus text explanation of the concept, and one-third to a control group with no intervention. The findings suggest visualization of data assist in assimilation of financial knowledge compared to no intervention and to text interventions. The study has implications for financial education programs attempting to implement interventions in order to improve financial knowledge.

In setting a new direction for the field by highlighting the importance of measure development, this article offers an original approach to modeling financial literacy, in which theories of situated learning meet self-efficacy: an approach that we claim fits well with the aims of program evaluation. It presents results from the validation of a new set of measures, intended for use with 16- to 19-year-olds, of financial literacy self-efficacy pertaining to contexts such as the classroom or the everyday activity of personal banking. Self-efficacy implies a domain in which confidence is measured specific to that context—in this case financial literacy. The data were collected in the United Kingdom from high school and college students enrolled in an optional certificate course in personal financial management. The measures were validated on a subset (n = 171) of a larger sample and was an off-shoot project of a larger 3-year evaluation study of the financial literacy certificate course (n = 2,000), which provided additional mixed-methods data used in validation. Correlation analysis supports the contention—incorporated within the framework presented—that self-efficacy is context-specific and so measures of self-efficacy must adequately reflect the contexts in which the associated literacies reside.

Explicit parent–child financial socialization is one way that parents may help children feel less stress in college and increase their academic performance. To test this assumption, we used family financial socialization theory to inform multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and structural equation models (SEM). The results largely support the theory. Participants were 752 college students from a U.S. university. Specific findings indicate that students from more affluent families were more often taught to budget. Parent–child teaching/training was strongly associated with felt parental–financial influence and fewer worrisome academic behaviors because of economic pressure. Students who felt greater parent–financial influence and experienced fewer effects of economic pressure, achieved higher college grade point averages (GPAs). An implication of this study is the importance of strengthening support for financial learning in families.

This study used data from the 2015 National Financial Capability Study to analyze the adoption of mobile payments by U.S. households. While 24% of respondents used mobile payments, the mean rate for those under age 25 was 11 times the rate for those 65 and older. State rates ranged from about 9% in Montana to 34% in Washington, DC. Based on a logistic regression, age and an objective financial knowledge score were negatively while risk tolerance and a subjective financial knowledge score were positively related to mobile payment use. The results have implications for marketing of Fintech applications for personal finance, especially in terms of the extremely low mobile payment use by older consumers.

This study examined a conceptual model on the intention to adopt NFC-based mobile payment that incorporates financial experiences and beliefs. NFC refers to Near Field Communication, a new technology in mobile payments. From an online experimental survey of 463 U.S. young adults, this research found consumers who used cards among their payment methods as opposed to cash-only were less likely to adopt NFC mobile payment. Previous experience in non-NFC mobile payments had a significant positive association with intention to adopt NFC mobile payment. Among the beliefs, consumers with higher trust and higher perceived usefulness about NFC mobile payment had greater intentions to adopt it. Moreover, trust was found to have a mediating effect between non-NFC mobile payment experience and the intention to adopt NFC mobile payment. This study not only provides mobile payment providers with effective marketing strategies to increase consumers' adoption of NFC mobile payment but also provides financial educators with important implications to develop targeted education programs.

This position article proposes that bankruptcy counseling and education should be tailored so that bankrupts and consumer debtors can attain solvency literacy, a new construct developed for this initiative. They need to (a) handle their financial affairs during the insolvency process while (b) concurrently striving for a fresh start, rehabilitation (financial health), and reduced recidivism after discharge. Each of the Canadian and American insolvency education and counseling curricula is described with attendant discussions of financial education (literacy), consumer education (literacy), and credit education (literacy). Intending to keep bankruptcy insolvency education relevant and effective, a specially tailored curriculum is tendered for consideration. The curriculum represents a hybrid of consumer, financial, and credit education. It is relevant to immediate, situation-specific financial needs anticipating that people can strive for more generic consumer and financial literacy after they have attained solvency literacy.

This article describes the current status and trends in the past three decades (1990–2019) of the Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning (JFCP). Since its first issue published in 1990, JFCP has become a major research outlet in consumer finance. The journal publishes cutting-edge, peer-reviewed, original research papers on consumer financial counseling, planning, and education that have broad impacts on both academic research and business practices in the field of consumer finance. It is included in many major indexes such as Scopus, Emerging Source Citation Index, EconLit, among others. It has published influential papers on consumer financial well-being, financial capability, financial education, financial counseling, financial planning, retirement planning, risk tolerance, and financial behavior change.

Using data from the 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances, this study investigates factors that affect electronic banking adoption rates. Financial knowledge, income, education, and credit card ownership are associated with a high probability of electronic banking adoption. However, age is negatively associated with the probability of online banking adoption and the African American consumer is less likely to adopt electronic banking. This result is more prominent for African American women but does not hold for African American business owners. Financial counselors, planners, and educators should be aware and sensitive to these differences in order to provide additional education as needed on how to effectively use electronic banking services in order to achieve a greater degree of financial inclusion.

Using data from Lending Club, we analyzed funded loans between 2012 and 2013, the default status of which were mostly known in 2018. Our results showed that both the borrower characteristics and the conditions of the loan were significantly associated with the loan default rate. Results also showed that the sentiment of a user-written loan description influenced the borrower's loan interest rates. It contributes to expanding the scope of peer-to-peer (P2P) loan research by implementing unstructured data as a new model variable. Financial counselors need to consider the growth potential of the P2P loan market using data analysis: This will reveal niche market opportunities, enabling the development of services necessary for the safe supply of small loans at reasonable interest rates.

This study examined potential impacts of financial resources and values on emerging adults' choice in committed relationships (N = 424, 26–35 years). Guided by Deacon and Firebaugh's (1988) Family Resource Management theory, financial self-sufficiency and forming a committed relationship were conceptualized as two salient goals of emerging adulthood. Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine the effects of financial self-sufficiency, values, and personal background factors on choice of committed relationship status. Findings indicated that emerging adults with fewer financial resources chose to live apart; however, the effects of career values were a stronger predictor of their relationship status. In contrast, neither financial resources nor career values differentiated between cohabiting and married emerging adults.

The purpose of this article was to determine whether overt financial education from parents during childhood (retrospective measure collected in the same survey wave) is associated with a greater frequency of healthy financial management behaviors in emerging adulthood, and whether this relationship is dependent on gender. Using a sample of emerging adults from the Flourishing Families dataset (N = 437), we ran two multivariate linear regressions—one with and one without the interaction variable. Results suggest that financial education from parents during childhood is linked with a greater frequency of healthy financial behaviors in emerging adulthood but was not dependent on gender. Financial educators should involve parents when teaching children about money, and they should educate parents on how to teach their children about money.

This study was intended to find out whether social media could be a solution to improve personal financial literacy and ability. The authors examined the antecedents and consequences of using social media for personal finance with survey data from 359 individuals who used social media tools to view, learn, post, or ask for financial information or advice. They found that usefulness and compatibility were two reasons why people use social media for personal finance, while ease of use and concerns/risks were not. The study also revealed that social media use for personal finance were associated with positive financial outcomes and user satisfaction, which in turn prompted users' intentions to continue using social media for personal finance in the future. These findings suggested that social media could be a legitimate and fruitful source for individuals and financial industry to improve personal financial well-being.

The purpose of this study was to develop the Financial Transparency Scale (FTS) to assess financial transparency, the open and honest disclosure of one's finances, between married partners. A sample of 183 individuals married for less than 5 years, in their first marriage, completed an online survey. Principal components analysis (PCA) was conducted and determined the FTS is comprised of three components: Financial Partnership, Financial Secrecy, and Financial Trust and Disclosure. The FTS was positively correlated with four related scales: the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale, the Shared Goals and Values Scale, the Frequency of Financial Management Scale, and the Communication Patterns Questionnaire – Short Form. An alpha of .94 was reported for the FTS. Financial practitioners can use the FTS as a tool to determine the level of financial transparency within a couple relationship, identify areas of concern, and illustrate the importance of open and honest communication about finances.

This study examines the roles of internal and external search characteristics and attitudinal factors in investors' decisions to utilize robo-advisor-based platforms. Using the 2015 state-by-state National Financial Capability Study and Investor Survey, this study finds that the need to free up time, higher risk tolerance, higher subjective financial knowledge, and higher amounts of investable assets were positively associated with individual investors' adoption of robo-advisors. Additionally, the results from the interaction model indicates that individuals under 65 with a higher risk tolerance and greater perceived investment knowledge were more likely to use robo-advisors. Implications of the key findings for scholars, practitioners, and industry leaders are included.

This article examines potential consumer harm that may arise due to regulating modern financial services communication technology with rules written in the early 20th century. It is argued that disparities in record keeping regulation across communication mediums disincentivizes the use of technology capable of generating records for consumer retention, while incentivizing the use of technology which shields financial advisors from accountability. Experimental evidence is provided in support of this argument. Further, it is argued that regulation disparities across communication mediums may result in more wrongful accusations of advisor misconduct, less reporting of genuine misconduct, less self-policing among industry members, and greater unrectifiable consumer harm. Objections to these arguments are considered, along with practical guidance for consumers, regulators, and policy makers.

The purpose of this article was to determine whether overt financial education from parents during childhood (retrospective measure collected in the same survey wave) is associated with a greater frequency of healthy financial management behaviors in emerging adulthood, and whether this relationship is dependent on gender. Using a sample of emerging adults from the Flourishing Families dataset (N = 437), we ran two multivariate linear regressions—one with and one without the interaction variable. Results suggest that financial education from parents during childhood is linked with a greater frequency of healthy financial behaviors in emerging adulthood but was not dependent on gender. Financial educators should involve parents when teaching children about money, and they should educate parents on how to teach their children about money.

Despite decades of retirement plan enrollment meetings, many employees fail to fully engage in their employer-sponsored retirement plans. Under the framework of the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of Behavior Change, this study examines the effectiveness of a financial psychology intervention designed to increase engagement in employer-sponsored retirement plans across three employee groups: 107 employees of a regional bank, 43 employees of a custom manufacturing company, and 48 employees of a construction company. Following the intervention, significant changes in plan participation, contribution rates, and one-on-one follow-up meetings with financial advisors were observed. Thirty-eight percent of previously unengaged employees became plan participants, 68% requested and held meetings with financial advisors, and contribution rates increased by 39%, resulting in a total $199,445 increase in first-year annualized contributions and employer matching funds across the three groups.

An increasing number of individuals will be unable to retire comfortably amidst an international retirement savings crisis. Research suggests that behavioral factors contribute to inadequate retirement savings. We present a procedure that reframes the retirement savings decision, aimed at alleviating some of the negative effects of the behavioral factors. This procedure shifts the focus from the required wealth at retirement (the future) to the lifestyle an individual can afford to maintain now (the present). A sustainable lifestyle level (SLL) approach is expressed mathematically and illustrated with practical examples. The SLL approach offers a practical tool for retirement planning professionals to present recommendations that are simple and easy to understand for individuals faced with complex retirement planning decisions.

The main objective of this research is to identify the behavioral factors which have an effect on retirement planning behavior. The study applies the theory of planned behavior and time perspective theory as a basis for the analysis of data by the structural equation modeling technique from a sample of 900 adults in Kelang Valley, Malaysia. The results of structural equation modeling show that financial literacy, propensity to plan, and future orientation are directly associated with retirement planning behavior. The saving attitude is also found to partially mediate these relationships. However, family education and materialism are not associated with retirement planning. Implications for researchers and practitioners are presented.

This study utilized qualitative methods to explore perceptions of graduates from Certified Financial Planning Board of Standards, Inc. Registered Programs regarding experiences that impact Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certification completion. Participants (N = 16) were classified into four different groups: Certified, In Progress, With Intentions, and No Intentions. In general, the themes that emerged from within case analyses and across cases related to four areas, including preservice experience, intrinsic motivation, employment, and respect for the CFP marks. The results of this study suggest that financial service firms have a number of opportunities to strengthen the interest in a financial planning career and assist recent graduates in their pursuit of CFP certification with time and financial support of the examination process.

The efficacy of family budgeting programs is often measured purely in terms of financial outcomes. There has been less research on its potential impacts on cognitive outcomes. The present study investigated whether an existing financial counseling intervention could help people improve their deliberative cognitive capacity. A community sample of participants in Auckland, New Zealand who identified that they wanted to better manage their money were randomly assigned to a month-long financial counseling intervention or a wait-list control group. Results showed that participants exposed to the intervention had a greater improvement in self-control than participants in the control group, and that self-control improved more for people with a low income than a high income. Financial counseling interventions may impart broader cognitive benefits that help people escape further financial hardship.