Financial literacy education: What it is and how it is needed for Cambodian students

Financial literacy is crucial for navigating the complexity of personal finances and ensuring financial well-being in today’s world. This review article aims to explore the importance of financial literacy education for Cambodian students. Drawing on secondary sources, the article shows that financial literacy education plays an important role in cultivating students’ financial management skills, including financial knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes toward earning, saving, spending, and investing, and the ability to make sound financial decisions between needs and desires. The article also argues that financial literacy education can bring many benefits to both the country and individuals. For the country, the benefits lie in poverty reduction and socioeconomic development, whereas for individuals, the benefits center on improving well-being, planning for retirement, avoiding financial scams, and overcoming income shocks. The success of providing financial literacy education can be achieved through the involvement of various stakeholders, such as parents, schools, the media, and the government. Therefore, it is essential to provide financial education at all levels of education and make it a compulsory subject and a required part of assessment. The article concludes with suggestions for future research about financial literacy education.