The Role of Financial Education in Changing Young People’s Behavior in the Relationship between Consumption, Savings and Investment in the Age of Digitalization

Financial education plays a key role in shaping young people’s behavior, helping to raise awareness, especially in terms of consumption. It helps young people to distinguish between wants and needs, to become more rational in managing purchases, to manage their available budget efficiently and to avoid impulse spending. Financial education also gives young people the tools they need to save and invest by setting clear medium- and long-term goals, using appropriate financial instruments for risk assessment and diversifying investment portfolios, such as shares, bonds, mutual funds, or real estate. The present study is based on a quantitative methodology, carried out through a questionnaire survey, with the objective of analyzing the behavior of young economists regarding the relationship between consumption, savings and investment, before and after they participated in a financial education course. The research was carried out in two stages: in the first stage, the majority of young people adopted a consumer behavior and a small percentage were saving; in the second stage, after acquiring financial literacy, young people experienced a significant change in behavior, and the percentage of those who started to save and then invest it in different goals increased significantly (from 20-30% before the course to 40-60% after the course). In the context of digitization, the acquisition of sound financial knowledge is crucial to cope with financial challenges and risks, enabling young people to make informed decisions and benefit from the opportunities that digitization offers in managing money, savings and investments.