Abstract:
Financial literacy and personal financial management play a crucial role in today’s
developing environment. The study aims to assess how financial literacy influences
personal financial management practices among technology undergraduates.
Technology students often face challenges in managing their finances effectively due
to the lack of financial education in their curriculum and the increasing personal
financial responsibilities they encounter. A quantitative research approach was
employed, using a structured online questionnaire distributed to a purposive sample
of 285 technology undergraduates. Financial literacy was measured across four key
dimensions: investment decisions, debt management, spending habits and budgeting.
Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analyses
in SPSS, ensuring the reliability and validity of the results. The findings revealed a
significant and positive relationship between financial literacy and personal financial
management (R² = 0.68, p < 0.05). Students with higher levels of financial literacy
demonstrated stronger budgeting skills, effective debt control, disciplined spending
habits and informed investment decisions. This study contributes to the limited
empirical evidence on financial literacy among non-commerce undergraduates in Sri
Lanka and underscores the importance of integrating financial education into
technology curricula. The findings offer valuable insights for educators,
policymakers and financial institutions to promote financially responsible behaviors
and enhance students’ long-term financial well-being.
