<![CDATA[This study examines the partial and simultaneous effects of financial literacy, income, and lifestyle on university students' consumptive behaviour amid the rapid growth of buy now pay later (BNPL) services in Indonesia. It used an explanatory quantitative cross-sectional survey of 115 undergraduate students in Labuhanbatu Regency, North Sumatra, with a 22-item, five-point Likert questionnaire. Data were analysed with multiple linear regression after validity, reliability, and classical assumption tests. Lifestyle had a positive, significant effect (β = 0.325; p = 0.002) and was the strongest determinant. Income had a positive but non-significant effect (β = 0.187; p = 0.058), while financial literacy had no significant effect (β = 0.085; p = 0.389). Jointly, the three variables were significant (F = 12.195; p < 0.001) and explained 22.8% of the variance in consumptive behaviour. These findings indicate that students' consumptive behaviour is driven more by lifestyle than by financial knowledge. Financial education by universities, OJK, and local governments should therefore shift towards behavioural interventions such as budgeting, real-cost paylater simulations, and self-control training. This study tests all three determinants together among students in a non-metropolitan agricultural region outside Java, after OJK's July 2026 age and income restrictions on BNPL users took effect. It also shows that the positive correlation between financial literacy and consumptive behaviour disappears once lifestyle is controlled.]]>
