FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT LITERACY AND APPLICATION AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AS A CONTINGENCY AGAINST UNEMPLOYMENT IN KENYA

Abstract

This study sought to establish the financial management literacy and application among University students as a contingency against unemployment in Kenya. The specific objectives included: to find out the savings literacy level; to determine investment literacy levels and the attitude towards financial management among the university students. The survey was conducted among selected university students in the seven universities in Nakuru Town involving a sample of 384 respondents. The data collected was edited and coded and descriptively analyzed. The analyzed information was presented in form of diagrams, graphs, pie charts, tables and percentages. The study findings are summarized as follows: the level of savings literacy and practice among university students was generally moderate compared to observed high levels of expenditure literacy and practice; a significant proportion of respondents lacked reliable information knowledge on critical aspects such as the rate of returns on various investments and rate of fluctuations on various investments/assets. A sizeable section of the respondents felt that their financial situation was out of control and as a consequence they sought financial advice mostly from financial experts/advisor/consultant/manager/specialist, friends, relatives and family members/spouse/siblings. Finally, despite overall level of attitude towards financial management being generally high, the overall financial management literacy among university students was generally moderate. It is therefore imperative to address the observed mismatch by reinforcing saving culture; the need to provide reliable and timely information on various investment options especially rate of returns and rate of fluctuations on various investments/assets and effective awareness and education campaigns among the university students to improve their financial management literacy.