Delivery methods of financial information and sources of financial education as indicators of perceived financial well-being in South Dakota

The purpose of this research was to identify factors that are related to the perceived financial well-being of adults in South Dakota, specifically delivery methods of financial information and sources of financial education. This quantitative study used the eightquestion Personal Financial Wellness Scale (PFW scale, also known as the InCharge Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being Scale) to measure perceived financial well-being. A random sample of 3,000 individuals was mailed a survey that elicited 814 completed questionnaires. The survey consisted of the PFW Scale, demographics, delivery methods of financial information, and sources of informal and formal financial education. The PFW scale scores were calculated for all individuals, and the mean score was used as the dependent variable in all analysis. Independent variables included: demographic factors, delivery methods of financial information, sources of informal financial education, sources of formal financial education, and having formal or informal financial education. A block regression of the total sample was used with financial well-being as the dependent variable and all other items as independent variables to test for possible linear relationships. Reliability statistics of the sample were acceptable, and assumptions for the model were tested. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Bonferroni post-hoc test was used to identify pair-wise differences between mean perceived financial well-being for individual significant variables and for the variable of having formal or informal financial education. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. The mean perceived financial well-being for adult South Dakotans in the study was 6.24 (SD=2.18) on a ten-point scale. Demographic variables as a group did have a significant association with perceived financial well-being, and five individual demographic