Abstract
This study aimed to determine the personal financial management practices and lived experiences of teachers in the Third Congressional District of Quezon. Data were gathered using a research-made questionnaire to determine the financial management practices of the 375 teacher-respondents, identified through purposive sampling, and the interview was conducted to determine their lived personal financial experiences. SPSS statistical measurements such as frequency, percentage, and mean were utilized to measure and interpret the study’s findings. The findings revealed that public elementary school teachers more often practiced budgeting, borrowing, and investing while they often practiced saving. The results imply that knowledge in managing their finances was low in saving, that for many, regularly saving is not a habit, and that its underlying cause does not have enough excess money after expenses. These indicate that teachers are unaware of the importance of saving money, for their short-term or long-term goals. Their inability to manage their money forced many of them into a situation where they could hardly save money for future use. In terms of investing, their lack of awareness and understanding of these financial instruments is limiting their potential to acquire passive income, build up wealth, and secure a comfortable retirement life in the future. The results of the study revealed that there is no significant difference in the personal financial management of teachers when grouped according to sex, teaching position, and income. On the other hand, there is a significant difference between the personal financial management practices of teachers when grouped according to age, civil status, length of service, and assets. The findings of this research suggest that the public school teacher’s respondents need to enhance their personal financial management practices in budgeting, saving, investing, and borrowing. Furthermore, the results of the interview revealed that the majority of them have unstable finances that lead to experiencing financial crises most of the time because of emergencies and unforeseen financial situations. The majority say that budgeting is the most effective way to remedy the shortage in finances, and they cannot save a fixed amount of money because of a shortage of income. Financial planning is also essential for most of them, although there are instances the majority of them file for loans because of unexpected expenditures which are out of their control. They believe that the best way to cope with loans is to establish a business to gain extra income and avoid filing for loans. In line with the findings and conclusions obtained from the study, it is recommended that financial literacy programs through trainings and seminars for teachers may be provided to help widen their knowledge in their financial management and for them to manage their finances according to their priorities.
