Exploring the Link Between Financial Health Indicators: Insights from Perception, Lived Experiences and Financial Resilience: A Study on Employees of a Sugar Mill Company

The purpose of this study was to assess financial health indicators based on workers’ perceptions, experiences, and actions taken to cope with difficult situations. The goal was to identify and validate the model that best fits the theoretical criteria of absolute, structur-al, and parsimonious fit. A quantitative approach was used, with a non-experimental, cross-sectional design. The sample included 311 employees from a sugar company in San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, who voluntarily participated through a non-probabilistic self-selection sampling method. The instrument, based on previous models from BBVA (2020), CFSI, and García-Santillán et al. (2024), was administered via an electronic form. To validate the model’s reliability and validity, internal consistency coefficients were cal-culated using Cronbach’s alpha (α) and McDonald’s omega (ω), as well as composite re-liability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE). Multivariate normality of the data was also assessed. Among the most noteworthy findings is that financial resilience in-volves not only the ability to recover from crises, but also proactive preparedness through budgeting, long-term saving, and responsible debt management. Participants highlighted the importance of credit history, access to insurance, and the perception of financial au-tonomy as factors that contribute to both economic stability and emotional well-being. These results enhance the theoretical understanding of financial resilience and offer val-uable practical implications for the design of public policies and financial education pro-grams focused on prevention and financial mental health.