Financial Education in School of Business Students: Case Study from Veracruz, Mexico

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the knowledge level and behavior that business school students from Veracruz, Mexico have in relation to interest rates, inflation, savings, credit and budgeting. For the empirical study, a non-experimental quantitative cross-sectioned and descriptive design was followed. The test used was that of Moreno-Garcia et al. (2017), which was answered by 309 undergraduate students from Veracruz, Mexico. Data measurement was performed using descriptive statistics, cross tables and the non-parametric test of proportions (Z). The main findings point to the fact that more students understand well the impact of inflation than the relationship between interest rates and bonds; that students do not consider that saving provides financial security; and that there is no gender difference in terms of saving behavior. Most of the business school students do not have a credit card, prefer debit cards and have acceptable practices in budget planning. In summary, the results of this study show a good level of financial knowledge in relation to interest rates, inflation, investment, credit, and show adequate behavior of savings and credit card, as well as the use of the budgets. However, it was expected that each item would have a greater number of correct answers, considering that the population under study has received training in mathematics, economics, and finance. It is noteworthy that, in relation to gender, there are more men who correctly answer the questions about inflation and it is women who have better practices in the use of their credit cards.