The Psychology of Financial Consumer Behavior

Chapter 1. Wealth - how much money do we have and how do we think about it?

What does it mean "to be rich"?

Objective (salary) vs. subjective financial situation (perception) - two dimensions of a financial situation.

The relation between an objective (salary) and subjective (perception) financial situation with satisfaction of life.

About the psychological backgrounds of financial satisfaction - what psychological factors influence our perception of financial satisfaction?

The relation between financial satisfaction and different financial behavior (saving, spending, insuring, taking and paying back debts).
Chapter 2. Spending money - pleasure or pain?

Why some people spend money easily and others have a problem with it?

The subjective value of money - what influences our perception that something is cheap or expensive?

Money Spending Style (MSS) - presentation of our own model of financial management styles:

Money Spending Style - the difference between wasting money and the pleasure of spending;

Money Spending Style - the difference between being tight with money and money management.

Money Spending Style Scale - presentation of our own scale to measure MSS.

The relation between our Money Spending Style and different financial behaviors: success in saving, openness to taking debt, skills for paying back debts.
Chapter 3. How to pay: with cash or with card - the mystery of cashless transactions

Symbolic vs. functional values of money.

Why everyone is not equally open to use cashless transactions.

"Love for money" - psychological barrier in using cashless transactions.

Presentation of Love for Money Scale (LfM Scale).

The relation between Love for Money and different financial behaviors (saving, spending, investing, using financial products, insuring).
Chapter 4. Saving and investing

Why people don't spent all the money they have - motivations underlying saving and investing.

Different strategies for saving.

How to have success in saving - fit between strategy and personality traits.

Goals of saving as motivating factors for saving.

Investing - higher level of saving.

Investing vs. openness to risky decision-making.

How to make people save more and invest wisely - the role of financial education.
Chapter 5. Loan - needed or wanted?

Different attitudes toward loan and debt.

Motivations and emotions underlying raising loans, paying it back conscientiously, or having problems with debt.

What makes people successful in debt management?

Segmentation of debtors - presentation of representative nationwide survey results: Forgetful (27%); Indebted to others (24%); Careless (19%); Lost in finances (18%); Intentional Avoiders (12%).

Debt management style in different segments of debtors.
Chapter 6. Thinking about the future - insurance and pension

Time perspective theory - the sense of psychological time and its' relation to financial behavior.

Why everybody is not thinking about the financial future - lack of imagination or lack of psychological skills?

Discrepancy between attitude toward insurance and having insurance.

Pension - assuring the future or unnecessary threat?

Responsibility for retirement - what I get or what I create?
Chapter 7. Taxes - why do I have to pay it?

Understanding taxes - relation between paying and demanding.

Knowledge about taxation system and understanding it.

Tax avoidance behavior - motivations and strategy.
Chapter 8. Financial education

The relation between financial knowledge and good financial functioning.

The role of financial education - providing the knowledge vs. training the skills.

Financial education of children - the role of parents, family and schools.

Long life learning - financial education in all stages of life.

Education activities of financial institutions - CSR campaigns.