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 …

Behavior Change Among Savings Program Participants

Loibl, C., Grinstein-Weiss, M., Zhan, M. & Red Bird, B. (2010). More than a penny saved: Long-term changes in behavior among savings program participants. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 44, (1): 98-126. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6606.2010.01159.x.

Brief Description: The study explored the long-term effectiveness of low-income individuals’ participation in a federally funded matched savings program. To collect data, a survey was mailed to former program participants in Ohio, and compared with the responses of a general low-income population sample. The results document that …

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. …

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, …

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 …