Fifteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

Sustainability concepts have been integrated into finance by using environmental science to explore topics such as corporate social responsibility, socially responsible investing, sustainable finance, and sustainable banking. However, this connection has not yet been made at the household level to explore financial decision making surrounding money management, budget, saving, spending, risk tolerance, and time horizons. Neither has the link been made to mental health well-being related to stress from finances. Positive attitudes about sustainability may be a way to improve normative financial behaviors leading to positive overall financial and mental health. Sustainability and household finance both involve allocating limited resources over time to strike a balance between use today and use tomorrow. Sustainability addresses responsible consumption, waste reduction, well-being, socially responsible investment and finance, equality, and sense of community. These topics are relevant for individuals and families managing limited resources, but research on sustainability has tended to overlook its connection to personal financial management. The sustainability movement is growing on campuses nationwide; therefore, examining the relationship of sustainability and personal financial management among college students is a natural place to build on this emerging literature. This knowledge is important given the challenges facing young people in the establishment and maintenance of personal financial well-being. APLUS Waves 1-4 (panel data) collected at University of Arizona is used to explore the link between sustainability and personal finance among undergraduate students. Regression and structured equation modeling are used to estimate correlations between sustainability and personal finance.