Finanças pessoais: estudo com os egressos do curso de especialização em Gestão Contábil e Financeira da UTFPR Câmpus Pato Branco

Abstract

Today's society is consumerist and capitalist, so since childhood products are already offered to children through commercials and advertisements. The financial situation is the problem of many families, in a way that they find themselves in debt and with no prospect of improvement in the family budget. Brazil has low rates of financial education among the population, so most people cannot manage their income and their expenses; that’s why they end up borrowing money, getting loans and paying in installments due to the lack of knowledge about financial education. Contrary to what was expected, the country's economy is still moving slowly, which has been reflecting on the consumer's financial situation. This is indicated by the Financial Welfare Indicator, measured by the National Confederation of Shopkeepers (CNDL) and the Credit Protection Service (SPC Brazil), with the support of the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM). Data from the month of August show that almost seven out of ten (68%) respondents recognize that they have no ability to handle unforeseen events and only 9% say they can afford to go beyond budget. This scenario portrays another concerning reality: 60% of Brazilians get to the end of the month without any money left. Almost one third (29%) can sometimes set some money aside and only 10% always or often save some money. On the other hand, 22% fear that money will not last. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, control over finances and indebtedness level of the graduate students of the specialization course in Accounting and Financial Management at UTFPR Campus Pato Branco. For this, the methodology used is descriptive, based on a structured questionnaire, addressing throughout the study theoretical foundation regarding financial education, financial planning and conscious consumption. Given the analysis of the research data used as a basis for the elaboration of the theoretical framework and the completed questionnaire, it can be considered that the participants have a healthy financial situation and full awareness that it is necessary to plan financially. And, considering the results, it is noted that 40% of the sample population do not have debts, except for personal loans or real state mortgages, so, if such cases are considered, they find themselves to be in a situation of indebtedness. Overall, the perception of income and money is satisfactory to meet participants' consumption needs.