Financial Education Workshops Research Articles

Psychological factors and retirement planning behavior among Chinese university faculty members: The mediating effects of retirement planning intention

ABSTRACT Informed retirement planning impacts the wellbeing of individuals and broader society. However, the current related literature contains a limited understanding of the challenges faced by Chinese university faculty members concerning retirement planning. This study developed a model that combines social cognitive theory (SCT) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to investigate the effect of attitude toward retirement planning, social group support, perceived financial knowledge, and future time perspective on retirement planning intention, as well as the mediating influence of retirement planning intention. Data collection was conducted from 514 faculty members of public universities in China through an online questionnaire survey. The findings indicated that perceived financial knowledge demonstrated the strongest positive influence on retirement planning intention, followed by future time perspective and social group support, with retirement planning intention as a mediator. This research offers implications for policymakers, retirement benefits consultants, and financial institution practitioners. It suggests that implementing financial education workshops and personalized planning services could promote retirement planning behavior.

Impact of Financial Education on Financial Wellness During COVID-19

The study intentions to examine the result of getting financial education through the workshop on the financial wellness of people during the COVID-19. Primary data are collected from the participants of a Financial Education workshop in India. The study contained 996 respondents for research using the Personal Financial Well-Being Scale (PFWS) questionnaire from the respondents before and after participating in the workshop. Using Hayes’ macro process model and SPSS, the study tested mediation (financial behavior) and moderation (financial education). All the independent variables were encouraging effect on financial wellness by taking the financial behavior and participation of the respondent as the mediator and moderator variables. The independent variables of subjective aspects such as financial stress, situation, and condition have a more significant effect on financial wellness. This study indicates that policymakers and financial regulatory institutions should improve FE to improve financial behavior and wellness during a crisis for individual and economic well-being.

Do financial education workshops enhance parent–adolescent communication about money?

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of financial education workshops (FEWs) on parent–adolescent communication about money by controlling for a parent's gender.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilized a pre- and post-survey-based experimental research design for impact evaluation. Assuming that parents often claim that they frequently communicate with their children about money, the researcher asked children to rate their perception of their mothers' financial communication with them. Their mothers completed the pre-survey before agreeing to participate in FEWs. A follow-up survey was conducted for both study groups six months after completing the FEW series. The data consisted of 300 responses on 19 pairs of money communication items from both study groups. Neither the mothers nor the children were aware that data were collected from both the groups.FindingsThe results of the paired t-tests support the notion that financial education enhances monetary communication between mothers and adolescents.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is helpful to policymakers and financial educators not only to understand the need for “family-based financial education workshops” but also to design and implement such programs to open up the line of “money communication” between parents and children.Social implicationsThis important outcome provides a likely assumption that the enhancement in communication that had been previously constrained by factors such as a “parent's inability or unwillingness to discuss financial matters” is improved by empowering the parent on the subject of personal finance. Second, financial educators and policymakers need to understand that parents play a crucial role in the socialization process of their children. Parents' instructions and communications with their children not only impact the children's financial choices but also make them feel more competent about managing their finances. So, importance of financial socialization strategies should be included in the FEWs designed for the adults.Originality/valueExisting research studies evaluated the FEW outcomes by reporting a positive change in various financial behaviors of the participants by considering only one unit of the household. This study extends the impact evaluation of FEWs to measure the behavioral outcomes at the household level by considering two units of the household, the mother parent and adolescent child by studying their communication about money.

Promoting Organizational Change: A Urology Department-wide Wellness Program to Reduce Burnout

We developed a comprehensive wellness initiative to address burnout with specific interventions targeted at faculty, residents, nurses, administrators, coordinators, and other departmental personnel. A department-wide wellness initiative was implemented in October 2020. General interventions included monthly holiday-themed lunches, weekly pizza lunches, employee recognition events, and initiation of a virtual networking board. Urology residents received financial education workshops, weekly lunches, peer support sessions, and exercise equipment. Faculty were offered personal wellness days to use at their discretion at no penalty to their calculated productivity. Administrative and clinical staff were given weekly lunches and professional development sessions. Pre- and post-intervention surveys included a validated single-item burnout instrument and the Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index. Outcomes were compared using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests and multivariable ordinal logistic regression. Among 96 department members, 66 (70%) and 53 (55%) participants completed the pre- and post-intervention surveys, respectively. Burnout scores were significantly improved after the wellness initiative (mean 2.06 vs 2.42, mean difference -0.36, P = .012). An improvement was also observed in the sense of community (mean 4.04 vs 3.36, mean difference 0.68, P < .001). Adjusting for role group and gender, completion of the curriculum was associated with decreased burnout (OR 0.44, P = .025), increased professional fulfillment (OR 2.05, P = .038), and increased sense of community (OR 3.97, P < .001). The highest-rated components were monthly gatherings (64%), sponsored lunches (58%), and employee of the month (53%). A department-wide wellness initiative with group-specific interventions can help reduce burnout and may improve professional fulfillment and workplace community.

Together–A couples’ program integrating relationship and financial education: A randomized controlled trial

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of the TOGETHER program through a randomized controlled trial. A sample of community couples, predominantly African-American and low-income, was randomly assigned to either a no-intervention control group ( N = 147) or the intervention group ( N = 145) that participated in the program consisting of a 20-hour integrated relationship and financial education workshop and referrals to community services for family needs. Both groups completed self-report instruments upon enrollment (T1), 8 weeks later (workshop end = T2), and 6 months later (T3) regarding general and financial individual coping and well-being, general and financial relationship functioning, and financial self-efficacy and management. Dyadic multilevel models controlling for demographic variables and baseline measurement of outcome variables were used to test T1 – T2, T2 – T3, and T1 – T3 mean differences. Improvements in the intervention group were statistically significantly different from the control group at 6-month follow-up in the following areas: Stress levels, use of positive individual and dyadic strategies to manage financial and non-financial stress, conflict management, relationship satisfaction and commitment, and budgeting. Considering the reciprocal influence of individual/relational emotional and financial aspects, TOGETHER may be a particularly useful relationship education program for financially distressed couples. However, given the absence of significant differences between the intervention and control groups in financial stress, financial shared goals and values, cash and credit management, and savings/investment, future studies should continue evaluating whether the financial literacy component of the program may have a positive impact in such outcomes. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Expansion of a Financial Education and Family Asset Protection Program for Latinos in Rural Minnesota

The University of Minnesota Extension, in partnership with the Consulate of Mexico in Saint Paul, Minnesota, expanded the Ventanilla de Asesoría Financiera -Financial Education and Family Asset Protection Program to serve families in rural areas. The financial education services were expanded to 25 rural counties in Minnesota during 2017 and 2018. Participants were primarily low-income Latino families of Mexican ancestry. The program consisted of financial literacy education workshops and one-to-one meetings to build and protect participant assets. Participants reported an increase in their confidence in five financial core topics. Conditions for the success of this program were (a) the existing trusted and respectful relationships between the educators and participants and supportive community partners; (b) a family-based educational approach; (c) a team of bilingual, bicultural educators; and (d) culturally adapted and relevant Spanish language educational resources

Investment Literacy, Risk Tolerance and Mutual Fund Investments: An Exploratory Study of Working Adults in Kuala Lumpur

Financial literacy empowers consumers to make more informedfinancial decisions,including investing in mutual funds. In thisstudy,thesociodemographic profile of working adultswith low investment literacyvis-à-vis high investment literacyare examined first. Next, the impact of investment literacyand risk toleranceon the likelihood of investing in mutual fundsare explored. Among a sample of 260 working adults comprising mainly of Masters of Business Administration(MBA) studentsfrom a leading public higher institution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the study showsthat those withBusiness/Economics education backgroundshave the highest investment literacyand are more likely to invest in mutual funds compared to individuals from the Arts and other miscellaneous backgrounds. Although Muslims are the least literatein investment matters, they are more likely to hold mutual fundinvestments relative to those who profess Christianity and Hinduism. Individuals with relatively high income and occupational levels have relatively higher investment literacy. Risk tolerance does not influence the likelihood of investing in mutual fund investments.Policymakers should focus on females, those with Arts education background, Muslims, and those from the lower income/employment ranks to increase their investment literacythrough financial education workshops. Mutual fund companies may consider embarking an aggressive knowledge sharing videos related to mutual funds via non-mainstream mediasuch as social mediato increase the penetration of mutual fund investments, among the untapped markets.

Using Subjective and Objective Measures of Financial Situation to Improve Program Outcomes for Older Adults

Researchers in the field of aging rely on various measures of financial security to assess the needs of older adults and the outcomes of interventions. Recently, subjective measures have gained attention among researchers and organizations that serve older adults. This symposium brings together researchers from academia, government, and the non-profit sector to discuss the relationship between subjective financial well-being and objective financial situation. The first project describes the relationship between the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Financial Well-being Score and the Elder Index. The CFPB Financial Well-Being Score provides a standardized and validated measure of a person’s sense of financial security and freedom in the present and future. The Elder Index provides a measure of older adults’ income against the average income needed for adults age 65 or older to live independently in their communities. The second project discusses the findings of a study into the changes in outcomes among older adults assisted through the National Council on Aging’s Benefits Enrollments Centers. The third project describes the overall findings and changes in financial well-being among SCSEP participants who attended a series of financial education workshops offered through the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging’s subsidiary Empowering and Strengthening Ohio’s People. Together, the studies show that both measures are, on average, strongly correlated and predictive of a range of factual experiences such as material hardship and financial stress. The studies, however, show that subjective measures may help identify and target underlying behavioral and attitudinal factors that influence people’s satisfaction with their economic situation.

Empowering Through Education: Understanding Financial Well-Being Among Low-Income Older Adults

Recognizing the need for and importance of financial capability education among low-income older adults, the non-profit agency, Empowering and Strengthening Ohio’s People (ESOP), implemented an 11-part financial education workshop series with a sample of older adults enrolled in the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). Over the course of 10-months, participants attended workshops that covered an array of topics (e.g., budgeting and goal setting, avoiding financial exploitation) and completed a variety of measures aimed at understanding their financial situation and well-being (e.g., CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale, Financial Shocks, Material Hardship, Financial Skill). Results indicated that financial well-being scores significantly increased from the beginning of the workshop series (M=54.49, SD=7.23) to the end (M=58.10, SD=8.10); t(48) = 3.66, p=.001. Discussion will offer insights into the subjective financial experiences of low-income older adults who were actively trying to seek and gain permanent employment to improve their financial situation.

Effect of Perception Differences in Money Communication Between Parent-Adolescents on Financial Autonomy: An Experimental Study Using Financial Education Workshops

This study evaluates the effect of parent-child money communication on financial autonomy of the adolescents by considering the gender of the parent as a controlled variable by utilizing pre- and post- survey based experimental research design. The sample consisted of 300 female parents and their children under adolescence stage of life. Assuming that claim is often made by parents regarding their frequent money communication with their children, their children were asked to rate their perception towards parent’s money communication with them. Later, their female parent (mother) were invited for financial education workshops series and asked to complete pre-survey before they attended the first financial education workshop. The follow-up survey was done for female parents and their adolescent children six months after completion of the financial education workshop series. In both the surveys, 300 responses were collected from female parents and adolescents on nineteen pairs of money communication, wherein parents were not told that their children were also asked to rate the matching pair of each item of parent money communication scale and vice versa. The financial autonomy was measured by using pre- and post- surveys, wherein only adolescents participated in the surveys. The results of paired t-test provides noticeable conclusion that financial education given to the parent positively enhances money communication among parent-adolescent by reducing the disparity in the responses collected from the parents and adolescents on each matched pairs separately and collectively and this reduced disparity leads to enhance the financial autonomy of the adolescents. The findings may help policy makers and financial educators to design and implement such workshops which may open lines of “money communication” between parents and children.&#x0D; Key words: financial education workshops, parent-adolescent money communication, financial autonomy.&#x0D;

The Money Smart for Older Adults Program: A Qualitative Study of the Participants’ Financial Well-Being

ABSTRACT The Money Smart for Older Adults is a program that is tailored to older adults to raise awareness for the risk of financial exploitation and teach them how to plan and make informed financial decisions. The purpose of this study was to examine financial circumstances of older adults in the program and to explore how the program could better support their financial well-being. Individual, in-depth interviews were conducted with 29 older adults who attended the program provided by a local agency in northern Texas. Three themes emerged when exploring financial circumstances of the participants: (1) victims of financial fraud scams, (2) struggles with money management, and (3) inability to make ends meet. The program has been serving older adults, particularly ethnically diverse older adults and low-income older adults who may not have access to financial education workshops or seminars provided by private financial institutions. The Money Smart for Older Adults Program was perceived as helpful among the participants because it raised awareness of the importance of their financial well-being and it also supported their financial decision making.

Estimating Treatment Effects with Big Data When Take-up is Low: An Application to Financial Education

Abstract Low take-up of interventions is a common problem faced by evaluations of development programs. A leading case is financial education programs, which are increasingly offered by governments, nonprofits, and financial institutions, but which often have very low voluntary participation rates. This poses a severe challenge for randomized experiments attempting to measure their impact. This study uses a large experiment on more than 100,000 credit card clients in Mexico. The study shows how the richness of financial data allows combining matching and difference-in-difference methods with the experiment to yield credible measures of impact, even with take-up rates below 1 percent. The findings show that a financial education workshop and personalized coaching result in a higher likelihood of paying credit cards on time, and of making more than the minimum payment, but do not reduce spending, resulting in higher profitability for the bank.

Personal Saving Behavior among Muslim Employees

People who are able to save more have less financial stress and are able to enjoy good quality of life. Due to rising inflation rate and volatile economy of Malaysia, Malaysians are encouraged to save money. A survey by Bank Negara Malaysia indicates that the level of financial literacy among Malaysian is underwhelming. The statistical shows that 75% of the respondents have trouble raising RM1,000 cash during emergency. Malay is more financially fragile on financial matters. Hence, this study is conducted to assess the factors that influence saving behavior among Muslim employees. Based on a sample of 531 respondents, the findings reveal that family background, attitude, financial literacy and locality have significant relationship to saving behavior. Meanwhile, religiosity, household income, age and level of education are not significantly related to saving behavior. Strategies for enhancing financial soundness for rural districts should be emphasized. The government is strongly encouraged to organize more financial education workshops to such group of people to enhance their level of awareness on financial management. Ultimately, this study is considered one of the studies that have contributed to the literature by developing apprehensions of saving behavior.

SeniorTec: Senior Tutorial Program to Teach Technologies to Students

ABSTRACTThe SeniorTec program was carried out in the framework of the European project Cordon Gris, its objective was to promote intergenerational relationships. The activity was hosted by the old persons who participate in the European project Cordon Gris and was attended by university students from Higher School of Health of Alcoitão and ISCTE-University Institute of Lisbon. Learning sessions were delivered in this action: a Nutrition Workshop and a Financial Education Workshop. After this, an intergenerational contact session took place by using the Cordon Gris app. The SeniorTec program could promote a more positive image of aging and deconstruct negative stereotypes. Valuing older people in technology can act as a powerful vehicle to improve images of aging and to encourage intergenerational contact

Individual Savings Problems - An Analysis of Commercial Banks in Tanzania: Evidence from CRDB Bank Marangu Branch

This study examines the reasons as to why people do not save. A survey design was employed on 130 respondents of CRDB Bank Marangu Branch. Purposive and random sampling techniques, questionnaire and Interview method were used for data collection. Again, data were analysed descriptively. Results of the study found that, CRDB bank has not yet been effective in the creation of financial capability and training programmes that would teach people best practices, such as basic budgeting, and separating money saved for different goals and uses. Individuals were found to have negative attitude toward saving with Bank due to opening and operating cost of the account. The efforts and resources placed by CRDB Bank in promoting savings are high compared to the saving rate as most of the opened accounts become dormant in one year after been opened and most of products available with the branch are not known well by majority, in hand with that, most of People residing in Marangu are low income earners and therefore they save much of their earnings informally and at shorter intermittent level. Lastly, interest rates and individual income were seen to impact levels of saving habit. Moreover, the study suggested that, bank staff need to be assisted in realizing their role in mobilizing individual saving, the bank should also create awareness to public on saving plan, a regular snap check of account opened, existing one to ensure their activeness and provide reason for any inactive account, as well as design new products or facility to promote savings, review cost, procedures and interest rates. Again the bank should motivate individual habit of participating in financial education workshops as well as promoting individual saving habit programmes by the bank to Primary, Secondary, College and University students to help them grow with the mentality of saving. The policy makers should try to sensitize the rural people of Marangu to diversify some of their land uses into non agricultural activities such as to conduct various business activities that would guarantee income generation so as to increase saving rate. The bank should design adverts demonstrating the value of having savings for the purpose of changing rural people’s attitude towards saving. Keywords: Saving attitude, Commercial Banks DOI : 10.7176/EJBM/11-11-07 Publication date : April 30 th 2019

Desirability of Clinic-Based Financial Services in Urban Pediatric Primary Care

To determine the desirability of integrating financial services in pediatric primary care among caregivers and older adolescents. We conducted a cross-sectional study among caregivers and late adolescents 18 years and older attending an urban, pediatric primary care clinic. The 221 participants had a mean age of 32.1 years, with 28% of the sample aged 18-25 years. The majority were African American (90.1%), female (83.3%), and single parents (55.1%). More than one-third of the participants (35.8%) reported no household earned income, and 26.7% had a yearly household total income of <$12,000. More than one-half (61.5%) reported financial stress in general, and 67.9% believed that the clinic should provide financial services, including financial education and job workshops. A greater proportion of those who desired clinic-based services were African American (94.7% vs 75%; P < .001) and had a low or middle subjective social status (95.7% vs 83.7%; P = .01). Clinic-based financial services are desired by caregivers and late adolescents in an urban pediatric primary care practice. Prospective studies are needed to assess the long-term impact of integrated services on childhood poverty and family well-being.

BANKING THE UNBANKED A PERCEIVED RECIPES FOR POVERTY ERADICATION PROGRAM: INDUCTION OF A NEW ISLAMIC MICROFINANCE MODEL IN NIGERIA

This study focuses on efforts to enhance financial inclusion program through the educational orientation development in the Nigerian Islamic finance industry. A Closed User Group (CUG) consisting of Muslims across Nigeria financial educational induction program formed the study sample. The formation of the CUG sought to establish an Islamic compliant financing model that would be effective at the grassroots level in the wake of the failure of microfinance programs to deliver the much needed poverty eradication. To this end, we developed a questionnaire and conducted a financial management induction and education workshop over a period of three days. On the third day, participants were given a questionnaire, from which the results showed that proper education and adjustment to the current available model of microfinance would bring about poverty eradication and that in terms of educational traits building of staff within a typical Islamic financial institution. Future research should look into transformation of personality vices affecting financial institutions as a whole.

Personal finance blogs: Helpful tool for consumers with low financial literacy or preaching to the choir?

AbstractRecent transitions from defined benefit to defined contribution plans assign greater individual responsibility to consumers to prepare for retirement and make consequential financial choices. However, many consumers are ill‐equipped to do so, considering overall low levels of financial literacy. At the same time, there is increasing controversy about the effectiveness of traditional financial education, such as high school financial education, counselling and seminars or workshops. Alternative sources of (just‐in‐time) financial training or advice may be needed to financially empower consumers and help them make important financial decisions. In the light of these developments, this study investigates if consumers perceive personal finance blogs as a helpful alternative in acquiring financial knowledge, and which factors influence perceived helpfulness of and intention to use personal finance blogs. Using Structural Equation Modelling to analyse data from a sample of U.S. consumers, the results of this study uncover that financial literacy and susceptibility to informational influence have a significant positive association with perceived helpfulness. Perceived financial uncertainty, which refers to uncertainty in terms of consumers’ perceived ability to accurately predict their future financial needs, has a significant negative association with perceived helpfulness of and intention to use personal finance blogs. Finally, perceived helpfulness of a personal finance blog is a significant positive predictor of consumers’ intention to use it. Overall, the findings suggest that personal finance blogs are preaching to the choir, since the consumers who are most likely to use personal finance blogs seem to need them the least given their higher levels of financial literacy and lower levels of perceived financial uncertainty. Taken together, the findings shed light on the potential users of personal finance blogs and underline the challenges of a ‘one‐size‐fits‐all’ financial education. This study aids in assessing personal finance blogs as an online resource which is scarcely researched, but which has the potential to provide just‐in‐time financial education to consumers across the world.

Pathway to Financial Success: Autonomy Through Financial Education in India

ABSTRACTThis study evaluates attitudinal outcome of financial education workshops on the financial autonomy of the participants (homemakers) in the state of Gujarat, India. A series of financial education workshops were conducted with 300 female homemakers. A pretest and follow-up (after 3 months) survey design was used to assess changes. The survey identified 3 types of autonomy outcomes (reflexive, emotional, and functional) using 15 variables. Data were analyzed using a paired t test, and significant results were obtained between the pretest and follow-up surveys. Specific findings may help financial education providers to design and implement such programs more effectively and may provide guidelines to assess their effect. Directions for future research are suggested.

Exploratory insights into the financial habits of CALD migrants

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the financial habits and experience of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) migrants via a case study of first and second wave migrants from the Vietnamese community in Australia.Design/methodology/approach– This paper utilises a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis was adopted when coding the interview data which led to the emergence of identified themes related to financial habits and experience.Findings– The findings reveal that first and second wave migrants shared similar views on seeking professional financial advice, but not on the use of community-based financial schemes. When asked about the potential benefits of attending financial education workshops to inform themselves of financial services, most were unwilling to attend.Research limitations/implications– Although the research targets first and second wave Vietnamese CALD migrants, no claims can be made regarding the representation of CALD migrants as a whole. The research has implications with respect to the perceived necessity of CALD migrants to utilise mainstream financial services. This paper provides recommendations for future research in this area.Originality/value– The paper provides one of the few studies of an Australian CALD migrant cohort with respect to financial habits. The paper also provides an understanding of the cultural barriers and challenges facing this specific cohort of the Vietnamese community in Australia with respect to potentially accessing financial services.