Theepa Cappelli

Purpose. When starting university, most students manage their own money independently for the first time, and encounter financial challenges that can negatively affect academic performance, mental health, and well-being. Behaviour change interventions that support students to manage their money are needed. The few studies done on students' financial difficulties have mainly focused on financial literacy, budgeting and saving, but not spending. This study aimed to understand how students navigate everyday expenditure by focusing on students’ spending experiences, and the attitudes, beliefs, values, and contexts that may potential influence spending decisions. Design/Methodology/Approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 UK first-year undergraduate students. Data were analysed using Thematic Analyses. Findings. Four themes were constructed. Results suggested that, while students form discrete ‘spending identities’ that generate personal spending norms, social environments often prompted deviation from personal norms. Convenience and accessibility fostered spending. Results also highlighted the importance of students’ mental representations of money, and revealed a tension between maintaining financial autonomy while also often being dependent on financial support from family. Originality. This is the first study to explore how undergraduate students think, feel and act around spending. Practical implications. Students' day-to-day spending is shaped by more than financial knowledge and budgeting. Findings suggest that focusing on modifying perceptions of social norms, and encouraging planning strategies to help students navigate settings that encourage spending, may be optimal for promoting effective student money-management.

BackgroundUniversity students typically face acute financial pressure, which can adversely impact mental health, wellbeing, and academic outcomes. This scoping review of qualitative and quantitative studies aimed to identify distinct money-management behaviours, and psychological determinants, to inform future interventions.MethodsTwo electronic databases were searched for observational studies focusing on money-management behaviours and their correlates (in quantitative studies) or reflections on experiences of such behaviours (qualitative studies). Of 789 unique papers identified, 12 papers, reporting 10 distinct studies (six quantitative, two qualitative, two mixed-methods), were entered into review. We inductively categorised all behaviours and psychological correlates, and narratively synthesised findings.ResultsWe documented 15 distinct money-management behaviours, which fitted five higher-order categories: budgeting, saving (i.e., building funds), spending, borrowing, and settling debts. Twenty-two distinct potential correlates were observed, which fitted six categories: personality characteristics, financial beliefs and knowledge, attitudes, affective responses, self-efficacy and control, and social influences. Financial beliefs and knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy and control, and social support from parents and peers were generally associated with ‘better’ money management practices.ConclusionHeterogeneity in behaviours and correlates studied precluded definitive conclusions. Future studies should more comprehensively adopt theories and concepts from behavioural science, to distinguish between different money-management behaviours, identify which behaviours have most impact on students, and establish which specific determinants are most related to which money-management behaviours.nd