The purpose of this master thesis has been to investigate how private economics is taught in social studies teaching for grades 4-6 through teachers' descriptions of personal finance as part of the social studies subject's civic education assignment. The purpose has also been to investigate how and in what way teachers use teaching materials in their teaching of personal finance. The selected research and literature for the degree project deal with the subject social studies and the civic education assignment, the curriculum and syllabus, social science didactic research and teaching of economics in general and personal finance in particular. Furthermore, research and literature on teachers' difficulties with the subject of personal finance and the use of teaching aids in the subject of social studies are also presented. Little research can be found regarding the teaching of personal finance, especially for younger ages such as grades 4–6, which strengthens the relevance of investigating the purpose of this master thesis.  The theoretical perspectives used as a starting point for analyzing the empirical work of the master thesis are Dewey's pragmatic perspective and Vygotsky's socio-cultural perspective. The survey was conducted using qualitative semi-structured interviews as a method. The survey involved six respondents, all of whom are active social studies teachers in grades 4-6. The results show that the respondents see a clear and important purpose of the teaching to enable the students to become responsible adult citizens who can make wise financial decisions. Furthermore, it appears from the results that teaching materials are common in the teaching of personal finance. The respondents mainly link the concept of personal finance with household or an individual's financial planning.  A conclusion that can be drawn from the results of this master thesis and the previous research is that even though personal finance teaching is a relatively new social science didactic research area, its relevance increases when research emphasizes the importance of teaching being a part of schools’ mission to succeed in their civic education. In step with this, personal finance is given more space in the syllabus for social studies, which is an important factor in the work with a school where students are given the right conditions for adult life.

BAKGRUND: Samtidigt som befolkningen blir äldre läggs ett större ansvar på individen att upprätta ett eget pensionssparande. Det blir således viktigare att påbörja sitt pensionssparande vid en yngre ålder. Det bör därför undersökas hur kognitiva motivationsfaktorer förändras över individens livscykel samt hur det interagerar med viljan och möjligheten att pensionsspara. SYFTE: Syftet med denna studie är att ur ett retroaktivt perspektiv låta individer reflektera över vad som påverkat deras beslut gällande det egna pensionssparandet. Detta med fokus på (a) självkontroll, (b) mental accounting samt (c) undvikande av information och beslut. Studien avser att analysera och värdera dessa kognitiva motivationsfaktorer i en livscykelkontext samt hur de interagerar med möjligheten och viljan för att pensionsspara. GENOMFÖRANDE: Studien har genomförts med ett kvalitativt angreppssätt genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med individer i åldrarna 40-65 år. Respondenterna har ställts inför frågor med fokus på studiens tre huvudfaktorer. Genom frågorna har respondenterna fått reflektera över hur dessa faktorer förändrats över tid och hur de varit kopplat till pensionssparandet. SLUTSATS: Individer tenderar att påverkas av specifika händelser i livet och låter dessa påverka deras pensionssparande. Pensionssparandet är lågt i början av det vuxna livet, när individen studerar och bildar familj, för att sedan öka och nå sin högsta nivå då barnen flyttar hemifrån. Dock finns det en personlighetstyp som har en hög grad av självkontroll genom hela livet och upprättar därmed ett pensionssparande vid ung ålder. / BACKGROUND: As people are getting older, the importance of establishing personal retirement savings increases. Therefore, it is more important to begin retirement savings at a younger age. Because of this it needs studying how cognitive motivational factors changes during the life cycle and how they interact with the ability and willingness to save for retirement. AIM: The aim of this thesis is to let individuals reflect on what has affected their decisions regarding retirement savings, in a retroactive perspective. This with a focus on (a) self-control, (b) mental accounting, and (c) information and decision avoidance. The aim of the thesis is to analyze and evaluate these cognitive motivational factors in a life cycle-context, and how they integrate with the ability and willingness to save for the retirement. COMPLETION: The thesis has been conducted using a qualitative approach, through semi-structured interviews with individuals aging from 40-65. The respondents have responded to questions focusing on the thesis’s three main factors. Through these questions, the respondents have reflected on how these factors have changed over time and how they have been connected to retirement savings. CONCLUSION: Individuals tend to be affected by different events in their life and let them affect their retirement savings. Retirement savings are lower in early adult life, when the individual studies and starts a family, and is at its peak when kids move from home. There is also a personality type that has a high level of self-control throughout life and therefore saves for retirement at an early age.