Factors and behaviors that influence financial literacy in U.S. households

Financial planning has often been thought of as the most useful financial resource for the average American family. Prior to the Great Recession of 2008, research on factors that influence financial literacy has been scarce in academic journals. Very few resources are available to help guide household finance. The purpose of this dissertation was to determine factors that influenced financial literacy in U.S. households. Using existing financial literacy quiz questions, a personal financial literacy quiz was given to a sample of Debtors and Non-debtors in the Middle District of North Carolina. An average quiz score was developed for each participant, and was used as the dependent variable for the study. Various survey questions were used to develop 149 independent variables broken up into demographic factors, psychological factors, and financial behaviors for the same participant. Regression analyses were used to determine which of the 149 independent variables were significantly related to financial literacy. Factor analysis was also used to determined factors of financial literacy. The study found 125 significant factors of financial literacy in 16 different categories including: demographic factors, psychological factors, financial actions, financial attitudes, planning actions, mortgage decisions, budgeting habits, goal planning, retirement planning, credit management, income planning, insurance planning, mortgage debt ratios, savings planning, investment planning, and financial self-control. Future studies can expand the sample size to include all 50 states, and to help determine which factors of financial literacy should be used in building a personal financial planning model that all professionals and families can use to maximize personal financial success