The study aims to identify changes in personal financial behavior in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from 796 participants of the Extension Project 'Financial Education in Times of COVID-19', between April/2020 and February/2021, were analyzed. It is characterized as qualitative, quantitative, and descriptive research with a survey. The results indicate that 66% of respondents are women, 47% are married, 54% are between 25 and 44 years old, and 32% are financiers. Regarding financial behavior during the pandemic, 52% of the participants make a shopping list to go to the supermarket and search for cheaper brands, and 56% noticed an increase in expenses. Respondents changed their behavior and expanded their control over finances, starting to reflect more when buying. The research contributes, highlighting the importance of education and the use of money in facing financial crises. It enriches the literature regarding education and financial behavior in times of pandemic.
TopIntroduction
In January 2020, there was already talk about covid-19 in some countries around the world, mainly in China. Shortly thereafter, the first suspected cases of the disease began in Brazil, which did not only affect the health of Brazilians, but also affected their finances. Some of the reflexes on the Brazilian economy were the increase in unemployment, fall in family income and GDP, mainly impacted by restrictions imposed on trade (Barros, 2020). With this economic scenario, many people needed to adapt or change their financial behavior (Apud, 2020), which is linked to psychological and social issues and, therefore, does not always follow a rational logic. Individuals have their decisions influenced by several factors, such as: income, lifestyle, education, needs and desires (Marion, 2019). Therefore, with the scarcity of income, the population realized the need to change habits for a greater and better financial organization (Apud, 2020).
According to Toledo (2020), for individuals to make correct changes in their financial behavior, it is essential that they know the concepts of financial education and personal finance. For Forte (2020), this does not consist in just knowing mathematical formulas and control instruments, as it is based on concepts from psychology and behavioral economics “[...] and that is why accessing financial education is to provoke changes in behavior, through the reading of reality, life planning, prevention and individual and collective achievement” (Forte, 2020, p. 33).
Marques and Correia (2016) state that personal finance refers to the management of financial resources, individual or family, in search of a more financially calm future. Therefore, being financially well educated, knowing your personal finances and having a plan is important in facing unstable economic scenarios, especially when there is a loss of income by a provider in the family nucleus.
Given this context, the following problem question arises: what changes have occurred in personal financial behavior in the midst of the decovid-19 pandemic? To answer it, the study aims to identify changes in personal financial behavior in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic. This research seeks to identify these changes with the participants of the Extension Project 'Financial Education in Times of covid-19', which is part of the Extension Program 'Financial Education for all and for life'. The following steps are developed: description of the characteristics of the profile of research participants; identification of financial behavior during the pandemic; analysis of personal financial control practices identified by the participants; and description of changes in financial behavior exhibited by participants.
This study is justified as it presents at least three contributions. First, it highlights a relevant theme since the financial organization has always been important both individually and within the family. Second, with the covid-19 pandemic, this importance is even more evident, as the disease has not only affected the countries' health systems, but also their economies, increasing unemployment and causing many families to change their financial habits (TUON, 2020b). And third, it highlights the importance of the concepts of financial education, enriching the literature, which is still very scarce in relation to this topic.