THE INFLUENCE OF FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE, FINANCIAL PRACTICES AND SELF-ESTEEM ON MONEY MANAGEMENT SKILLS OF YOUNG ADULTS

Abstract

ABSTRACT The main purpose of this study was to examine the influence of financial knowledge, financial practices, and self-esteem on money management skills among young adults in Malaysia. Multi-stage random sampling technique was applied as the sampling technique in this study. There were 480 respondents who participated in this study. The data were collected through self-administered questionnaire. The finding revealed that money management skills is positively correlated with financial knowledge (r= .363, p= .000), financial practices (r= .301, p= .000), and self-esteem (r= .376, p= .000). This study concluded that financial knowledge, financial practices, and self-esteem were significant predictors for money management skills among young adults, where financial practice was the biggest contributor of money management skills. Findings of this study are useful for professionals and educators in helping young adults to prevent from financial crisis. Furthermore, future research is suggested to increase the sample size so that the results can be generalized to young adults in Malaysia as a whole. In addition, future research is suggested to include more possible predictors as independent variable. This improvement will help to identify the greatest or other possible predictor for money management skills among young adults. Keywords: Financial knowledge, Financial Practices, Self-Esteem, Money Management Skills.