Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Research Articles

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2024): OPJU Business Review

Saving Behaviour and Financial Literacy: An Empirical Study of University Students

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63825/opjubr.2024.3.1.851
Submitted
11 August 2025
Published
12 September 2025

Abstract

For a common man saving is the key to build wealth. The habit of saving has to be inculcated in the students right from the school and college days. This will not only be beneficial for them but for the community and country as well. In this context, this empirical study was carried out to understand the saving behaviour and financial literacy of the students in higher education. Using a well-developed questionnaire on a convenient sample of university students this study used inferential and descriptive tools to achieve its objectives. The results indicated that students have poor saving behaviour and low levels of financial literacy. Financial literacy was found to be significantly associated with saving behaviour. The findings stress the role of policy makers and governments in raising awareness about saving and financial literacy among students in higher education for a better future of the country.

References

  1. Alekam, J. M. E., Salleh, M. S. B. M., and Mokhtar, S. S. B. M. (2018). The Effect of Family, Peer, Behavior, Saving and Spending Behavior on Financial Literacy among Young Generations. International Journal of Organizational Leadership, 7(3). DOI: https://doi.org/10.33844/ijol.2018.60258
  2. Florek, I. (2020). The importance of students’ financial literacy in context of entrepreneurship–Spain and Poland. Przedsiębiorstwo and Finanse, (1), 27-38.
  3. Grove, S. K., Burns, N., and Gray, J. R. (2012). The practice of nursing research-E-book: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence. Elsevier Health Sciences.
  4. Harrod, R. F. (2016). An Essay in Dynamic Theory. The Economic Journal, 49(193), 49–33. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2225181
  5. Kehiaian, S. E. (2012). Factors and behaviors that influence financial literacy in US households. Nova Southeastern University
  6. Kekana, M. K (2014). The saving behaviour of university students in South Africa. Unpublished Master dissertation.
  7. Loibl, C., Kraybill, D. S., and DeMay, S. W. (2011). Accounting for the role of habit in regular saving. Journal of Economic Psychology, 32(4), 581-592. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2011.04.004
  8. Loix, E., Pepermans, R., Mentens, C., Goedee, M., and Jegers, M. (2005). Orientation Toward Finances: Development of a Measurement Scale. Journal of Behavioral Finance, 6(4), 192–201 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15427579jpfm0604_3
  9. Lusardi, A., and Mitchell, O. S. (2011). Financial literacy and planning: Implications for retirement wellbeing (No. w17078). National Bureau of Economic Research. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3386/w17078
  10. Mandell, L., and Klein, L. S. (2009). The Impact of Financial Literacy Education on Subsequent Financial Behavior. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 20(206), 15–24.
  11. Nyhus, E.K. 2002. Psychological determinants of household saving behaviour. Unpublished doctoral thesis. Norway: Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration. [Online] Available from: http://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/167017/1/Nyhus_2002.pdf
  12. OECD (2011). National accounts at a glance 2011. OECD publishing
  13. OECD (2018). Measuring financial literacy: core questionnaire in measuring financial literacy: questionnaire and guidance notes for conducting an internationally comparable survey of financial literacy. Paris: OECD. [Online] Available from: http://www.oecd.org/finance/financial-education/49319977.pdf [
  14. Oquaye, M., Owusu, G.M.Y. and Bokpin, G.A. 2020). The antecedents and consequence of financial well-being: a survey of parliamentarians in Ghana. Review of Behavioral Finance, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-ofprint. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/RBF-12-2019-0169
  15. Owusu, G. M. Y., Ansong, R., Koomson, T. A. A., and Addo-Yobo, A. A. (2020). Savings and investment behaviour of young adults: the role of financial literacy and parental financial behaviour. African Journal of Management Research, 27(1), 75-92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/ajmr.v27i1.5
  16. Salikin, N., Wahab, N. A., Zakaria, N., Masruki, R., and Nordin, S. N. (2012). Students’ saving attitude: does parents’ background matter. International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, 3(6), 479. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7763/IJTEF.2012.V3.249
  17. Samudra, Aparna, and Dr Mukul Burghate (2012). A study on investment behavior of middle class households in Nagpur International journal of social sciences and interdisciplinary research 1, no. 5.
  18. Shefrin, H. M., and Thaler, R. H. (1988). The behavioral life‐cycle hypothesis. Economic inquiry, 26(4), 609-643. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-7295.1988.tb01520.x
  19. Solow, R. M. (1956). A contribution to thetheory of economic growth. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 70(1), 65-94. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1884513
  20. Tharanika, K., and Andrew, A. (2017). Factors influencing on saving behaviour among university students. International Journal of Research, 4(14), 861-871.
  21. Ülkümen, G., and Cheema, A. (2011). Framing goals to influence personal savings: The role of specificity and construal level. Journal of marketing research, 48(6), 958-969. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.09.0516
  22. Van Rooij, M. (2008). Financial literacy, retirement provisions, and household portfolio behaviour: four empirical contributions

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Similar Articles

1-10 of 43

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Most read articles by the same author(s)