Amor em conta: práticas financeiras dos casais de Chapecó

Abstract

The awareness of the population for a financially healthy life is fundamental since staying in a pattern of living beyond one's means and spending more than one's income is one of the main reasons for Brazilian's indebtedness. This is the reason financial education is important: so that couples can live calmly in the face of their obligations and the desire to spend. Financial planning is a way for families to have the necessary resources to achieve stability and personal goals. This study aims to analyze the way couples who live in Chapecó, Santa Catarina, Brazil, do their financial planning. For this, a survey was carried out with married people and people in a common-law marriage. The data were collected through the application of questionnaires, where a total of 176 responses were obtained, analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation. The results show that the investigated couples handled the household’s financial control together and that they present an adequate financial behavior, as they worry about managing their money in the best way and talk to their partners about finances. The couples admit that sometimes they spend more than one month without making a balance of their expenses and they do not always use spreadsheets for control and financial planning. The predominant financial profile of the participants, which is the same as that of all Brazilians, tended to be realistic and persevering, saving in small amounts but continuously, and taking care of finances day after day. The correlation results confirm that financial behavior is linked to the financial profile of each individual, and those who presented Camaleão profiles had negative behaviors in relation to financial planning.