Abstract

This study uses exploratory data analysis to investigate the determinants of financial well-being in Germany. Based on quota-sampled online survey data from n = 2,000 respondents (aged 16–65), descriptive analyses, bivariate correlations, exploratory factor analysis, and multiple regression analyses are conducted to examine which sociodemographic characteristics and context factors predict financial well-being. The results show that context factors are the strongest predictors of financial well-being, substantially exceeding the predictive power of sociodemographic characteristics. Notably, all sociodemographic variables (except for income) lose their independent predictive power when context factors are controlled for. Dimension-specific analyses reveal that economic concerns primarily impair subjective well-being, whereas low financial self-efficacy has a stronger impact on objective well-being. Furthermore, suppressor effects are identified for the variables age and financial role models, highlighting the complexity of the underlying determinant structure. The findings suggest that psychological and contextual factors outperform sociodemographic characteristics in predicting financial well-being. Moreover, interventions aimed at strengthening financial self-efficacy and reducing economic concerns may represent effective approaches to improving financial well-being.

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