Resumo:
With the rise of an increasingly complex financial market and the availability of new financial
products and services to the population, it becomes essential to prepare for making informed
decisions regarding this diversity of offerings. However, individuals make financial decisions
at a young age, particularly when they decide to enter the job market or institutions of higher
education. Therefore, financial education is crucial for the population to learn about the
importance of finances in their daily lives and put into practice what they have learned through
financial literacy. A significant portion of studies indicate a low level of financial literacy
among young university students. Thus, this study aims to assess the level of financial literacy
among higher education students at the Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology
of Southern Minas Gerais (IFSULDEMINAS). To achieve this, a quantitative, descriptive
research was conducted using a survey approach, with data collected through a structured
questionnaire. Through data analysis, it was identified that 26.70% of students are financially
literate, in addition to proving through non – parametric tests that only the variables gender and
income (with the level of financial literacy varying from 0 to 6) showed a statistically significant
relationship with the level of financial literacy. For financial literacy, considering literate and
not-literate, only the gender variable showed a significant difference. And through multinomial
logistic regression analysis, the variables gender, financial issues discussed with parents in
childhood, taking subjects related to finance in high school, controlling money periodically,
percentage of installment purchases in arrears and asking for a discount when purchasing in
cash, may be statistically significant in explaining the level of financial literacy. In this way,
this work contributed to identifying which topics should be covered in the training course on
financial literacy in order to prepare students to better manage their personal finances, in
addition to serving as a basis for future research on financial literacy.
