FINANCIAL LITERACY AND INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL PRACTICES AS A FACTOR IN FINANCIAL WELL-BEING

Abstract

Financial literacy is one of the key factors determining a person's financial well-being. The level of financial literacy, embodied in everyday financial practices of people, can become a guarantee of their successful behavior in the financial market or, on the contrary, due to erroneous actions, lead to loss of money, which can also affect the economic development of the country as a whole. This article is devoted to the study of financial practices in the accounting of income and expenditures of money, as well as planning the budget of citizens. The aim of the work is to analyze financial literacy as the basis of differences in the financial behavior of citizens. The empirical basis of the study was the data obtained as a result of 20 semi-formalized interviews. The use of qualitative methods of data collection and analysis made it possible to present the peculiarities of various practices of current and long-term financial planning, income and expenditure management in close connection with the respondents' knowledge in the field of economics and finance, material resources, development goals, as well as the existing economic (financial) culture. Results. The collected materials made it possible to determine the set of financial practices inherent to the city residents, to highlight the motives and ways to use them. Sets of financial knowledge, skills and attitudes which were used in these practi-ces were identified, as well as channels and ways of formation of knowledge and competences in the issues of personal and family finance management were determined. Conclusion. People try to behave rationally when planning and accounting for their money, seeking to ensure the necessary economic security for themselves and their family. However, financial knowledge is not always used comprehensively and purposefully. There are three relatively conventional groups of people who have different attitudes toward managing their finances. The first group can include those who keep track of their (individual and/or family) income and expenses «in full». The second group chooses a «one-sided» accounting strategy, focusing on one thing (monitoring income or expenses). The third group does not think about the issues of accounting and cash planning.

Keywords

• financial practices
• financial literacy
• income
• expenses
• planning
• money