Personal Financial Planning Theories: A Scoping Review

Sarah Asebedo

Financial Planning Research Journal2025https://doi.org/10.2478/fprj-2025-0006article
ABDC C
Weight
0.37

What the paper says

Abstract This review identified the scope and status of theory developed within the professional practice of personal financial planning to specifically explain personal financial planning phenomena and to review the characteristics of the literature representing personal financial planning-specific theory. A theoretical foundation is required for personal financial planning to convey its boundaries, characteristics, and functions and to clarify the indicator disciplines and approaches that explain and inform it. This review ascertains the status of this theoretical foundation. This scoping review identified 24 theories unique to the professional practice of personal financial planning, ranging across empirical generalizations, causal models, middle-range theories, formal propositional theories, and conceptual frameworks. The results suggest that personal financial planning theories are more developed with broader coverage than initially thought, although they are far from complete.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2478/fprj-2025-0006

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@article{sarah2025,
  title        = {{Personal Financial Planning Theories: A Scoping Review}},
  author       = {Sarah Asebedo},
  journal      = {Financial Planning Research Journal},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2478/fprj-2025-0006},
}

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Evidence weight

0.37

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.16 × 0.4 = 0.06
M · momentum0.53 × 0.15 = 0.08
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.