An Investigation Into The Financial Literacy Of Final Year Students At The University Of Zambia For Improved Financial Wellbeing

Abstract

This study investigated the levels of financial literacy among undergraduate students at the University of Zambia. It sought to investigate and answer questions based on the research that were to determine the levels of financial knowledge among final year students, to find out factors that influence student’s financial behavior and to assess challenges affecting final year students financial well-being. The data was collected by issuing questionnaires to undergraduates. It looked at the levels of knowledge of financial literacy among final year students. SPSS version 27 was used to analyze the data. The results indicated about the levels of financial literacy among University of Zambia final year students shows that they were familiar with the financial literacy. These levels of financial literacy were somewhat high because there were more students who were knowledgeable about financial literacy than those who did not know about it. The areas included are general personal financial knowledge, knowledge of savings and borrowing and investments, and exposure to financial issues. In terms of personal financial management practices there was no significant difference between genders in terms of holding an account across all types of accounts and in terms of investments. The conclusion therefore is that the majority of students do have knowledge of financial literacy, however, they lack the skills required to put their knowledge into practice in order to improve their financial well-being. The results are not very generalizable to the wider population of university students. In order to achieve such generalization, a study should be conducted using a larger sample and taking on all university students in the country.