What is Income

There is great concern about the population having adequate financial education (FE). This could help prevent financial fraud and contribute to creating a more stable system. In Spain, there has been an FE Plan in place since 2008, promoted by the Bank of Spain and the National Securities Market Commission. The basic action areas for the 2022-2025 period constitute the fourth phase of the national plan. In this stage, special emphasis is placed on training university students. This research is focused on this segment of the population, who will form the qualified professionals of the future. The authors analyse the perceptions of first-year students taking different degrees at the University of Extremadura during the 2021-22 academic year about aspects such as income, expenses, budgets, financial security, investment, and financial digitisation. The results are relevant for the university community and the regional authorities responsible for education. This research serves as a basis for future research focused on comparing the degree of FE between European regions.