Does self-control predict financial behavior and financial well-being?

To improve our understanding of how people make financial decisions, it is important to investigate what psychological characteristics influence individuals’ positive financial behavior and financial well-being. In this study, we explore the effect of individual differences in self-control and other non-cognitive factors on financial behavior and financial well-being. A survey containing measures of financial behavior, subjective financial well-being, self-control, optimism, deliberative thinking and demographic variables was sent to a representative sample (n=2063)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; word-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Microsoft Sans Serif', 'Segoe UI Symbol', STIXGeneral, 'Cambria Math', 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; position: relative;"> of the Swedish population. Our findings extend the application of the behavioral lifecycle hypothesis beyond savings behavior, to include general financial behavior. People with good self-control are more likely to save money from every pay-check, have better general financial behavior, feel less anxious about financial matters, and feel more secure in their current and future financial situation.Export Date: 7 September 2017; Article