Budget Behaviour: Variance Over the Life Cycle of Low Income Families

Several circumstances contribute to the economic demands of low‐income families. One of these is a family's stage of development. A family is most economically vulnerable during the expanding stage of development. The main objective of this study was to see if low‐income families used budgeting to cope with the economic demands of the expanding stage. A sample of 199 randomly selected low‐income families from Phoenix, Arizona, were surveyed to explore their use of budgeting, the style of budgeting used, their satisfaction with income and their attitudes toward money management practices. The results raised several questions about the emphasis that family economics and management professionals place upon budgeting.