Hungarians hardly want to help their family members with their financial decisions

How important is financial literacy to Hungarians and why? This is the question that researchers from Óbuda University and Corvinus University of Budapest –  Dr. habil. Ágnes Csiszárik-Kocsir, Dr. János Varga and Dr. Péter Bagó – sought to answer in a study published in the September issue of the Hungarian professional journal Management Science, based on the results of a non-representative 2022 survey of 3,515 people. The topic is particularly relevant given that many jobs were lost as a result of the pandemic, making savings decisions and financial awareness even more important.

The results show that there is a clear link between individual and financial awareness: those who considered themselves prudent perceived themselves also more financially aware. The main reason why respondents consider financial knowledge and literacy important is that it enables them to make better use of their financial opportunities and to make more informed financial decisions. The least important reasons why a respondent wants to be financially literate is to help their families make financial decisions, to increase his or her wealth and to achieve higher returns on his or her savings. They also consider less important factors to be confidence through financial knowledge, the ability to resist bank campaigns, a better understanding of financial products and the ability to choose effectively between financial products.

The survey also highlights the importance of financial education for young people. “Primary and secondary education could do a lot to improve the financial literacy of the younger generations and raise it to a higher level than it is today. Another possible development point for financial literacy would be socialisation in the family, as confirmed by the authors’ previous research. The younger generation could learn a lot from older family members and adults. However, this would require them to see good examples and models of behaviour which they could adopt and which would enable them to make better financial decisions themselves in the future. The family can do a lot to ensure that financial awareness is much more deeply rooted in the minds of younger family members,” said authors of the study.