Budgeting and Gender: Employees and Self-Employed

Budgeting, an exemplar of good financial practices, informs financial decisions. This research employs the Theory of Reasoned Action to identify potential antecedents of individuals' decisions to maintain a budget. Analysis of the 2014 Canadian Financial Capability Survey (CFCS) shows that the likelihood of budgeting depends on attitudes toward finance, reliance on professional advice, financial knowledge, and confidence. Women are relatively more likely to budget than men, but self-employed individuals are no more likely to have a budget than paid employees. The latter result is consistent with research findings of high rates of failure among young enterprises. The need for yet greater financial education is implied.