Purpose- The study aims to construct a model of indebtedness using behavioral and demographic factors.

Design/methodology/approach- Exploratory method is used through Partial Least Square (SmartPLS) technique from 320 respondents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A self-administered questionnaires are addressed by demographic and behavioral factors.

Findings- Results reveal that four of the six hypotheses are confirmed. Among them, risk perception has a highly significant relationship with materialism and emotion, while, indebtedness attributed to emotion and materialism. The findings also indicate that there are significant differences for indebtedness and behavioral factors as a function of gender, marital status, age, income, and dependent on credit card and loan.

Originality/value- The results may be useful in assisting the various economic players to design better models for credit offerings and addressing the credit problem in the long run.