SPENDING AND INVESTMENT TREND AMONG YOUTH AND THEIR CONSCIOUSNESS OF TAX SAVING SCHEMES
Abstract
Many research studies have shown that spending and saving patterns of youth in India have transposed drastically over the last few decades. This can be a result of westernization and acceptance of a modern civilization that Indians were not much aware of decades ago. It is evident that Indian youth is now fascinated towards spending a considerable sum of their income towards entertainment and shopping. A perfect example of this can be comprehended by taking total number of shopping malls that have emerged in India in the last few decades. Spending and Investment trend of youth is being studied globally and internationally and results vary as per sample unit and sample size. This study focusses on finding out the Spending and Investment trend of graduated and employed youth from 3 districts in South Kerala and their consciousness of tax saving schemes. Primary data was collected using a questionnaire and was further analyzed to test significant differences in their spending and investment schemes using statistical tools such as correlation and chi square test. It was found that there were considerably significant differences in spending patterns of males and females. i.e., there are gender differences in spending behavior. It was also noted that most of the employed and salaried youth were not much aware of the tax saving schemes that are open to them. Most of their spending goes on shopping branded items, mobile phones, electronic gadgets etc. and the youth should enhance their investment habits in mutual funds, fixed deposits, gold, and real estate so as to have a financially secured future.