Strengthening Household Financial Management through Community-Based Financial Literacy Training for Women's Community Groups in Paiton District

Abstract

Limited financial literacy remains a significant challenge in improving household welfare, particularly among women who play a central role in managing family finances. Furthermore, the rapid growth of digital financial services has increased public exposure to illegal financial practices, including illegal online lending. These conditions highlight the need for financial literacy programs that not only improve financial knowledge but also encourage positive financial behavior. This community engagement program aimed to enhance the financial literacy of housewives and PKK members in Paiton District through a community-based financial literacy training program. The activity was conducted on November 19, 2025, at Paiton Village Hall and involved 32 participants. The program employed a Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) approach through interactive lectures, group discussions, household budgeting simulations, pre-test and post-test evaluations, and post-training mentoring. The training materials covered basic financial literacy concepts, household budgeting, family financial planning, emergency fund management, formal financial products, and prevention of illegal online lending risks. Evaluation results indicated a substantial improvement in participants’ financial literacy, with the average score increasing from 58.4 in the pre-test to 83.7 in the post-test, representing a 43.3% increase. Improvement was observed across all assessment indicators, particularly in family financial planning and household budgeting. In addition to enhancing participants’ knowledge, the program produced a financial literacy module and a WhatsApp-based mentoring group to support continuous learning. The findings demonstrate that community-based financial literacy training effectively strengthens women’s financial capability and contributes to improving household economic resilience through more structured and sustainable financial management practices.