Financial Education for Bankrupt Families

 

Thorne, D. & Porter, K. (2007) Financial education for bankrupt families: Attitudes and needs. Journal of Consumer Education 24, 15-27.

Brief Description: The study examines bankrupt families’ attitudes toward financial education courses and the expenses with which they are most likely to struggle after bankruptcy. Results reveal that a majority of respondents believed that a money or debt management course would have helped them avoid bankruptcy. However, respondents with college degrees, who were white, or who were older (especially 65 …

Financial Risk-taking Behavior

 

Grable, J. E., Britt, S. L. & Webb, F. J. (2008). Environmental and biopsychosocial profiling as a means for describing financial risk taking behavior. Financial Counseling and Planning, 19 (2), 3-18.

Brief Description: The study applied an intervention model of risky adolescent behavior to risky financial behaviors of adult money managers. The researchers explored the role of one’s level of affluence (referred to as the environmental profile) and his/her self-esteem and age (called the biopsychosocial profile) in financial risk-taking behavior. …

Consumer Preferences for Car Loan Features

 

Wonder, N., Wilhelm, W., & Fewings, D. (2008). The financial rationality of consumer loan choices: revealed preferences concerning interest rates, down payments, contract length, and rebates. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 42(2), 243-270.

Brief Description: This work studied consumer preferences for car loan features. The results revealed preferences that conflicted with traditional financial rationality. For example, participants avoided choosing long term (six- or seven-year) loans even when the interest rate was zero. In addition, the consumers, particularly those with …

Completing Debt Management Plans

 

Xiao, J. J. & Wu, J.( 2008). Completing debt management plans in credit counseling: An application of the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 19 (2), 29-45.

Brief Description: Debt management plans offered by credit counseling agencies have the potential to benefit the consumers, the creditors, and the agencies involved. Although debtors are screened by the agencies for their likelihood of being successful, not all of the participants in debt management are able to complete the …

How Financial Assets and Consumer Debt Influence Marital Conflict

 

Dew, J. (2007) Two sides of the same coin? The differing roles of assets and consumer debt in marriage. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 28(1), 89-104.

Brief Description: This study assessed how financial assets (e.g., savings, investments, etc.) and consumer debt (e.g., credit card debt) influence the frequency of marital conflict. Assets indirectly decrease marital conflict by decreasing feelings of financial pressure. Although consumer debt adds to feelings of financial pressure, it also directly relates to increased frequency …

Consumers’ Accuracy in Estimating their Credit Ratings

Perry, V. G. (2008), Is Ignorance Bliss? Consumer Accuracy in Judgments about Credit Ratings, The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 42(2), Summer, 189-205.

Brief Description: This study examines the accuracy of consumers’ self-assessments of their credit ratings. Findings suggest that approximately 32 percent of consumers overestimate their credit ratings while only 4 percent underestimate them. Those who overestimate their credit ratings are less knowledgeable about financial matters, are more likely to have acquired their financial knowledge from difficult past experiences, …

Credit Card Ownership by High School Seniors

Scott, R. H., Jr. (2010). Credit Card Ownership Among American High School Seniors: 1997-2008. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 31, 151-160.

Brief Description: High school is when many students get their first credit cards. Jump$tart for Financial Literacy has tested the personal financial knowledge of high school students from across the U.S. since 1997. Using data from the Jump$tart surveys, this study compared the characteristics of various groups of high school students with and without credit cards. Students with …

Forbearance Plans for Credit Card Accounts

Agarwal, S., Chomsisengphet, S. & Mielnicki, L. (2008). Do forbearance plans help mitigate credit card losses? Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 29(2), 191-209.

Brief Description: Credit cards are the means of payment for millions of routine transactions, with the volume of credit card debt increasing dramatically in the last few years. This has led secondary market agencies, investors, and insurers of credit cards to employ forbearance options such as lengthening repayment terms, lowering interest rates, and permitting card …

Assessing Financial Wellness

Nielsen, R. B. (2010). Assessing financial wellness via computer-assisted telephone interviews. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning 21(2), pp. 16-29.

http://6aa7f5c4a9901a3e1a1682793cd11f5a6b732d29.gripelements.com/pdf/vol_21_issue_2_robertnielsen.pdf

Brief Description:   Researchers tested a modified version of The Personal Finance Wellness ScaleTM for use in computer assisted telephone interviews (CATI).  Married adults were surveyed, and results indicated it is robust with respect to a single measure of financial wellness as well as dividing the concept into subjective and objective components. Because of the low level of …

Convenience Use of Credit Cards

Link Title: Convenience Use of Credit Cards

Rutherford, L. G. & DeVaney, S.A. (2009). Utilizing the theory of planned behavior to understand convenience use of credit cards. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning Education, 20(2), 48-63.

Brief Description: This research investigated factors influencing the convenience use of credit cards (i.e., regularly paying the balance in full instead of paying only a portion of the balance). It was framed by the Theory of Planned Behavior, which states that behavior can …