Financial Literacy and Personal Finance in the Cape Coast Metropolis

ABSTRACT The study aimed generally to determine the scope of financial literacy and personal financing by people in the Cape Coast Metropolis. Under subscription of questionnaires  led  to  436  respondents  from  the  cluster  sampling  method  being used  in  the  analysis.  This  allowed  the  determination  of  the  various  components and factors of financial literacy and personal finance. Factor analysis determined which indicators from various scenarios responded to, described the relationship between  financial  literacy  and  personal  finance  in  the  metropolis;  as  analyzed with  Pearson’s  bivariate  correlations method.  Personal  finance  overall,  showed elements of savings, investments, financial planning for periods averaging three months  at  a  time  and  a  conflict  of  financial  advice  sources  between  financial professionals and friends and relatives  but not individual’s  self-efforts to acquire relevant financial decision making knowledge. Results determined that financial literacy  and  personal  finance  were  generally  low  in  the  metropolis  but  that financial  literacy  and  personal  finance  components  do  translate  into  financial literacy factors and subsequently into personal financing concerns. Relationships were  determinable  under  the  categories  of  financial  responsiveness,  Short-term spending  tendency,  spending  tendencies  generally,  financial  management,  debt responsiveness  and  economy-mindedness  of  price  levels  or  inflation.  This researcher  suggests  building  up  self-learning  efforts  and  individual  self-reliance for  financial  decision  making  as  some  of  the  recommendations  with  which  to improve financial literacy and personal finance in Cape Coast.