WHAT DRIVES SAVING BEHAVIOUR AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA TERENGGANU?

Abstract

This study addresses the issue of saving behaviours among undergraduate students of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT). With the role that savings play in providing long-term financial security, universities took the initiative to educate and improve the financial knowledge and skills of young students by offering related subjects in financial management and personal finance. Besides education, the influences of family members, friends and communities also play an important role in shaping saving behaviour. Thus, the objective of this study is to examine the key drivers in creating and shaping saving behaviour, including socialisation agent, financial knowledge and personal behaviour of undergraduate students. The data were collected from a self-administered questionnaire with a total of 286 respondents. The data were analysed by using multiple regression analysis. From this study, socialisation agent and personal behaviour were found as the main key drivers that contributed towards the saving behaviour of undergraduate students from UMT. Even though these two factors played an essential role in shaping the saving behaviour of students, the personal behaviour of the students had the most significant influence in cultivating the saving behaviour of the students.