Abstract:

During the last decade there has been rapid development in the field of financial services and simultaneously changes in the behaviour of households have been observed in EU countries. Traditional conservative approaches to managing finances are replaced by a tendency to rapid consumption and indebtedness. However, this trend brings the risk and the need for improving the orientation of people in the financial world. Due to the fact governments emphasise the importance of financial literacy as a tool for orientation in financial markets. The aim of this article is to analyse the behaviour of households in relation to their financial assets in European countries. In addition, this paper is based on a case study. This study describes the use of personal finance tools in the Czech Republic and analyses the existing products in this area. The method Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used for the evaluation of the types of personal finance software according to chosen criterion. The AHP method helps to compare and evaluate personal finance applications according to the selected criteria. The results indicate whether households realise the importance of targeted management of their finances, and which tools are used for this purpose.