It is well documented that financial literacy is at best moderate around the world and that the cost of ignorance in this field may be high on both microeconomic and macroeconomic levels. We surveyed a representative sample of Poles to measure their debt literacy—a little‐studied aspect of financial literacy—and therefore obtain insight into the factors predicting it. Our study evidenced low levels of debt literacy and its overestimation by respondents in their self‐reports. We also confirmed some of the patterns found in former studies, including the gender gap and a positive relationship between the level of educational attainment and debt literacy. Finally, our examination provides compelling outcomes with regard to the segmentation of the sample on the basis of objective and subjective debt literacy scores. They show large heterogeneity of debt literacy and thus confirm the need for far‐reaching customization of debt‐oriented education.

Professional advice can be perceived as a means to tackle shortcomings in the objectively measured financial literacy of consumers. However, most studies suggest that less financially literate individuals are less likely to seek experts' financial advice. At the same time, it has been shown that financial confidenceor subjectively perceived financial literacyis positively correlated with the propensity to request such professional advice. This study examines these puzzling effects in a sample of 1,055 Facebook users in Poland, and within an analytical framework that allows control of the potential endogeneity of financial literacy to professional advice. A series of regressions applied to the results of our survey showed that objective debt literacya little-studied aspect of financial literacywas insignificant in explaining adviceseeking behaviour, although the decisions to ask for advice were positively dependent on subjective debt literacy. Such outcomes prove that subjective financial literacy should be treated as a separate construct which can predict financial behaviour above and beyond predictions based on objective financial literacy. Our findings also suggest a positive role for social networks in inducing desired financial actions. We found that respondents having access to greater resources embedded in their social networks are more inclined to seek professional debt advice.

Based on a nationally representative sample of adult Poles (N = 1,004), we examined structural relationships between financial knowledge, skills, confidence, attitudes, and behavior in debt-domain. We found that financial confidence—at least regarding debt-related issues—is tied to debt attitudes and behavior beyond the extent to which the attitudes and behaviors are linked to objective debt knowledge. Moreover, the relationship between objective knowledge and confidence turned out to be insignificant in our study. These findings suggest that confidence should be used as a separate marker of financial capability. Having established that skills correlate with behavior and attitudes differently than objective knowledge, we argue also to include them separately in financial capability measurements.

The link between financial attitudes and consumer financial market behaviour is well documented. However, little is known about the role of financial knowledge and skills—the main components of the financial literacy construct—in shaping debt attitudes. This link is especially absent from the gender perspective. This study focuses on consumer debt literacy and debt attitudes. A representative sample of adult Poles (N = 1,004) was participated in a computer‐assisted telephone interview. Latent class analysis was employed to reveal their debt attitudes, and subsequently, links between debt literacy and debt attitudes were studied with multinomial regression models. The results show that respondents in Poland can be grouped into five classes exhibiting different attitude profiles. The structure of debt attitudes is complex and differs from a simple unidimensional pro‐debt/ anti‐debt construct. Although this study did not find significant gender differences either in the conceptualization of debt attitudes or in their drivers, the results showed that in all but one class, consumer attitudes are strongly linked to either debt knowledge or debt skills or to both. Debt skills were revealed to be a particularly strong predictor of consumer debt attitudes.

Background: To explain the link between household finances and the quality of the relationship between married or cohabitating partners and their life satisfaction, the Family Stress Model (FSM) was used and placed within the theoretical framework of the Couples and Finances Theory (CFT). Methods: The measures used to examine the relationship between partners were the Financial Management Behaviour Scale, the Marriage Questionnaire (KDM-2) adapted to a version for cohabitating couples, The Shared Goals and Values Scale, Harsh Start-up Scale, and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). In order to find out the relationship between variables, artificial neural networks (ANN) were applied. The research was conducted on a sample of 500 couples living in Poland (384 married and 116 cohabitating couples). Results: The results indicate that overall life satisfaction is most influenced by fundamental, direct, current ways of dealing with the daily financial routine and by saving and investing behaviours. Credit management and insurance behaviours are the most important for the quality of the relationship between partners. Conclusions: The research shows that financial management behaviours have an impact on the quality of relationships as well as on the subjective well-being of people in a relationship, and their relationship dynamics. This finding may be used to highlight the psychological importance of financial management behaviours.