Financial behavior is crucial for young adults’ consumer protection. And even though the topic has been augmented with a beyond-rationality approach, it is predominantly researched on an ad-hoc basis. Available longitudinal studies are based primarily on panel data or tackle the effectiveness of educative programs. The main aim of this paper is to investigate how the diverse financial behaviors of young adults change over time and how rational thinking dispositions moderate financial behavior. The final sample of 862 young adults (16-28) in Croatia was collected in two waves with a minimum elapsed time of one year. Using a multilevel, mixed-effects model. For four out of six dependent variables (Responsible financial behavior, financial planning, impulsive consumption, and investing experience) the interaction between time and CFC difference was significant meaning that the difference in dependent variables was contingent on the CFC difference. These results indicate that the change in various (responsible) financial behaviors is accompanied by the change in rational thinking dispositions among young adults. The insights provide a valuable foundation for generating novel educational policies and for further experimental research in financial behavior.
