The association between Financial Literacy and Materialism Attitude

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Huong Hoang

Huong Hoang is a class-of-2027 Freeman Asian Scholar from Vietnam. She aspires to major in Economics and University with Applied Data Science Certificate. She is deeply interested in the field of Sustainability, Social Impact and Social Entrepreneurship. She is also deeply involved with Volunteering in Education, Dance Making & Performance, and the International/Vietnamese Student Associations on campus. 

Abstract: This study is interested in the phenomena of hyper-consumerism through the aspect of materialistic attitude of individuals, and factors influencing materialism. This study investigates the relationship between materialism and various financial literacy indicators: financial skills, family financial education, and self-assessed knowledge, using data from the National Financial Well-Being survey 2017. Regression analysis reveals a statistically significant but practically unimportant association between financial skills and materialism, suggesting limited effectiveness of financial skill improvement programs in reducing materialistic attitudes. Aspects of family financial education exhibit a positive relationship with materialism, while self-assessed financial knowledge does not significantly relate to materialism. Limitations include the simplification of materialism and its subjective nature. The implications highlight the importance of addressing materialism explicitly in family and public financial education programs.

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