In the marketplace, money serves as a utilitarian tool for economic exchange, but when it enters the home, it takes on different social and cultural meanings based on its source, earner, and allocation. In today’s digital world, online platforms enable the commodification of previously non-economic household items and activities, introducing new forms of money with distinct meanings. This study draws on Zelizer's "special monies" model to explore this process among Turkish housewives (THWs) using digital secondhand marketplaces (DSMs). Through thirteen in-depth interviews, the research examines how these women transform their culturally designated domain—the home—into a source of income and perceived empowerment, a phenomenon described as the "commodification of homes." The study introduces the concept of "upgrade money" for this income, which is used to enhance the social standing of their home, children, and themselves without directly challenging socio-cultural norms. Although often considered an undervalued domestic currency, upgrade money empowers THWs by shifting their roles from "cashless money managers" to "upgrade money owners." This paper provides qualitative evidence of culturally recognized paths to perceived empowerment for women in constrained contexts.
Homeownership is often referred to as, "the American Dream." However, rising cost of homeownership may restrict some households ability to purchase a home. Given the cultural significance of owning a home in America, this study seeks to understand the relationship between homeownership and financial satisfaction using data from the 2022 wave of the Survery of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED). If homeownership positively influences financial satisfaction, it is possible that homeownership may lead to improvements in financial and overall wellbeing. This study provides a nuanced examination of the factors influencing financial satisfaction, focusing on home ownership, mortgage status, financial literacy, financial stress, financial behaviors, and socio-demographic characteristics. By leveraging established frameworks like the Life Cycle Hyptohesis (LCH), Bhevioral Life Cycle Hypothesis (BLCH), and the Joo and Grable Financial Satisfaction Framework, the study situates itself within the broader literature on financial well-being and adds depth to the undersrtanding of financial satisfaction determinants in the United States.
Using the weighted cross-sectional data from 2019 to 2022 Understanding American Study (UAS) different waives, this study investigates the association between U.S. household’s homeowner’s decisions and financial well-being by analyzing the moderating role of financial literacy. With the help of Ordinary least squares (OLS), we found that households who own homes freely without mortgages and have homeowner insurance are significantly and positively associated with households’ financial well-being. Further, we analyzed the moderating role of households’ financial literacy. We found a strong positive association between medium to high financial literacy after interacting with households who own homes with homeowners’ insurance on the household’s financial well-being. This suggests that financial literacy moderates households’ financial well-being when predicting various impacts on homeowners’ insurance decisions. We also found some heteroscedasticity problems, but with the help of bootstrapping and Robust Variance Covariance Estimates, we solved the heteroscedasticity problem and found consistent results with our original OLS model. This study also has implications for academicians, financial planners, and policymakers. Policymakers can use this study to incentivize homeowners’ insurance among mortgage-free households and improve mortgage and loan programs by adding financial literacy as a module. This paper should help academician base their discussion on the financial well-being of households, and financial planners can use this paper to examine clients’ demographics and socioeconomic differences and how these differences affect their financial well-being.
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program – created in 1986 as part of the Tax Reform Act – is the largest federal program to finance the development of affordable rental housing. This project aims to examine the short-, moderate-, and long-term impact of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) developments on the educational outcomes of public school students. Specifically, it will investigate how proximity to affordable housing developments influences students’ outcomes, including both academic performance and behavioral outcomes. Focusing on the effects in the short-term (1 year) and long-term (5-10 years), the project seeks to explore the interplay between housing affordability, neighborhoods, and educational achievement in K-12 public schools. This project will examine how these impacts differ across race, gender, and socioeconomic status to better understand the extent to which the effect of affordable housing differs by these student characteristics.
Currently, there are ten million U.S. adults diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The increasing prevalence of ADHD among students in higher education coincides with rising concerns about the impact of student loan debt. The primary objective of this phenomenological study was to explore, through scarcity theory lens, the cognitive and affective challenges faced by individuals experiencing ADHD in managing their student loans._x000D_ We analyzed user posts from from an online community of two million members r/ADHD (Reddit), where individuals experiencing ADHD shared their experiences related to student loan debt. Thematic analysis was employed to identify key themes surrounding scarcity. _x000D_ Our findings demonstrated various forms of cognitive and affective scarcities faced by individuals experiencing ADHD, including financial pressures, difficulties in effective budgeting, and a lack of adequate support systems. Users reported feelings of stress and anxiety due to the complexities of managing their student loans. Despite challenges, many users demonstrated resilience and adaptability, developing coping strategies that included seeking alternative financial planning resources and support. _x000D_ This study highlights an urgent need for targeted interventions that integrate financial knowledge, debt literacy, and mental health support to help improve the well-being of individuals facing this coexisting issue of student-debt burden and ADHD.
