Financial Management Behaviors and Financial Satisfaction among Korean Midlife Couples

Youngwon Nam (), Kyungmin Kim () and Sun Young Ahn ()
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Youngwon Nam: Seoul National University
Kyungmin Kim: Seoul National University
Sun Young Ahn: University of Puget Sound

Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 2025, vol. 46, issue 3, No 14, 854-866

Abstract: Abstract Despite the complexity of financial decisions and the importance of well-being in later life, relatively little is known about the interdependence of financial management behaviors of each spouse in a couple context—which should be a more relevant unit of financial decisions. This study investigated how one’s own and spouse’s financial management behaviors were associated with the financial satisfaction of midlife couples. A sample of 1,111 couples (aged 51–59) from the 2014 Korean Baby Boomer Panel Study provided dyadic data about their financial behaviors and satisfaction. We estimated modified Actor-Partner Interdependence Models (APIM) to predict financial satisfaction. We found that wives showed significantly higher levels of financial management behaviors across all three aspects (i.e., recognizing financial status, planning and monitoring financial goals, and building and maintaining household wealth). Korean midlife couples showed similar levels of planning and monitoring financial goals and building and maintaining household wealth, whereas they showed less shared awareness of household financial status. Results from the APIM revealed that beyond one’s own financial management behaviors, the financial behaviors of their spouse were also significantly associated with financial satisfaction for both husbands and wives. Further, intra-couple differences in financial management behaviors were associated with a lower level of financial satisfaction only for wives. Cross-spousal effects of financial management behaviors on financial satisfaction highlight the importance of a shared and cooperative process of financial decision making for the financial well-being of couples in middle and later life.

Keywords: Midlife; Financial management behavior; Dyadic data; Actor-partner interdependence models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:jfamec:v:46:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s10834-025-10044-w

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DOI: 10.1007/s10834-025-10044-w

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