Abstract
South Africa is faced with high levels of indebtedness and low savings culture by individuals. These trends warrant greater attention as governments and regulatory bodies are advocating for improved financial behaviour and financial well-being, primarily through financial education initiatives. However, research reveals that financial education is not sufficient to influence behavioural change and that there are factors that are of a psychological and personal nature that influence personal financial behaviour. Factors such as financial self-efficacy (FSE) and various demographic variables are important predictors to be considered in explaining personal financial behaviour in South Africa. This study sought to investigate the relationship between FSE and certain demographic variables by using secondary data from the 2011 South African Social Attitudes Survey. Firstly, Pearson product-moment correlation is used to examine the relationship between FSE with age and monthly income required to meet respondents' financial needs. Secondly, Chi-Square tests of independence were performed to examine the relationship between demographic variables (age, marital status, gender, ethnicity, income level and educational level) of the participants and FSE. Finally, to determine whether statistically significant differences exist between the FSE and demographic variables, the t-test was performed to test the study's hypotheses. The results of the study reveal that FSE has a weak correlation to age and monthly income required to meet financial needs. The Chi-Square tests reveal that a statistically significant relationship exists among FSE and some of the six demographic variables. Furthermore, the study reveals that FSE was particularly high among males, those earning a high income, highly educated individuals, being 36 years and older, married and White individuals. Firstly, the study makes use of the only nationally representative data from 2011 and relies on self-reported ratings of financial management. Secondly, the study did not empirically test the influence of social relationships on individual financial behaviour. this study contributes to financial behaviour literature in the South African context as it is one of the few studies that explore FSE and demographic variables using a nationally representative sample in an emerging economy.