Financial education, personal financial planning, and structural indebtedness:

a critical approach

Abstract

Financial education has assumed a central role in Brazilian public policies and is frequently presented as a strategy to address household indebtedness. However, its dissemination has largely relied on approaches centered on individual responsibility, with limited sensitivity to the structural conditions shaping individuals’ financial experiences. In this context, this article analyzes financial education as a strategy for personal financial planning, problematizing the use of the personal balance sheet in light of public policies, structural indebtedness, and the moral and educational dimensions involved. This is a theoretical, qualitative study based on a critical narrative review of the literature. The analysis indicates that, although the personal balance sheet may contribute to the organization of financial information, its uncritical use tends to reinforce discourses of self-control and moralization of economic behavior, shifting responsibility for socially produced phenomena onto individuals. The study concludes that financial education requires critical and contextualized approaches that integrate financial planning, social justice, and economic sustainability.