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In 1990, the Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning (JFCP) was established. The journal publishes academic research on consumer financial decision-making, financial education, counseling, and planning. This article reviews the journal's contents published during the period 1990–2022. It analyzes JFCP's publication trends, citation statistics, significant themes, authors' collaborations, keywords, and contributions to the literature of consumer finance. Most studies employed Life Cycle Hypothesis and Expected Utility Theory. JFCP publishes mostly US-based quantitative empirical studies. JFCP's eight knowledge themes are credit card behavior; financial literacy and financial behavior; financial risk tolerance; financial education, and financial behavior; financial distress and financial self-efficacy; financial well-being; workplace financial education and financial help-seeking behavior, and JFCP's retrospection. Among JFCP's articles, the most used keywords selected by authors are "survey of consumer finances" and "financial literacy." This study also describes the author, country, and concept networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the use of data visualization to improve financial literacy in adults. Using financial knowledge questions as test items this study used an experimental approach. Poisson regression was conducted on responses from 1,797 participants to an online survey via SurveyMonkey. Approximately one-third of respondents were assigned to a text-only group explaining a financial concept, one-third to a group that received a visualization plus text explanation of the concept, and one-third to a control group with no intervention. The findings suggest visualization of data assist in assimilation of financial knowledge compared to no intervention and to text interventions. The study has implications for financial education programs attempting to implement interventions in order to improve financial knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examined the relationship of household financial behaviors and accesses. Using the 2015 National Financial Capability Study, the current study conducted latent class analysis of financial behaviors to identify latent classes (N = 27,564). The distribution of access was investigated among latent classes, which were regressed on the financial behaviors of financial planning and financial spending factors and other covariates using multinomial logistic regression. After controlling for other variables, the odds of being in Thinly Banked, Limited Access, and Working Families classes instead of being in Investors class decreased by 90%, 88%, and 66% for every point higher in financial planning behavior, respectively. Results suggest that desirable financial behaviors such as planning are important for consumers with the least financial access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used survey data from a cross-sectional New Zealand sample of adults to examine whether financial socialization and financial literacy are associated with their financial behavior. The results show different financial socialization experiences of adult males compared to adult females are associated with higher financial literacy and higher financial confidence. Adults with education in finance and economics had higher financial literacy and financial confidence in managing their personal finances. Furthermore, those with high self-assessed confidence in managing personal finance but low financial literacy, have a higher propensity to engage in undesirable financial behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the roles of internal and external search characteristics and attitudinal factors in investors' decisions to utilize robo-advisor-based platforms. Using the 2015 state-by-state National Financial Capability Study and Investor Survey, this study finds that the need to free up time, higher risk tolerance, higher subjective financial knowledge, and higher amounts of investable assets were positively associated with individual investors' adoption of robo-advisors. Additionally, the results from the interaction model indicates that individuals under 65 with a higher risk tolerance and greater perceived investment knowledge were more likely to use robo-advisors. Implications of the key findings for scholars, practitioners, and industry leaders are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the current status and trends in the past three decades (1990–2019) of the Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning (JFCP). Since its first issue published in 1990, JFCP has become a major research outlet in consumer finance. The journal publishes cutting-edge, peer-reviewed, original research papers on consumer financial counseling, planning, and education that have broad impacts on both academic research and business practices in the field of consumer finance. It is included in many major indexes such as Scopus, Emerging Source Citation Index, EconLit, among others. It has published influential papers on consumer financial well-being, financial capability, financial education, financial counseling, financial planning, retirement planning, risk tolerance, and financial behavior change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We obtained 180 pre- and post-test surveys to investigate how an established financial literacy program may have increased financial knowledge of residents in a work release program in Augusta, Georgia. Paired t tests analyzed changes in subjective and objective financial knowledge, understanding of banking and credit, and financial attitudes. OLS regressions of pre- and post-test financial knowledge were guided by human capital theory to learn which program participant characteristics were associated with greater increase in knowledge and infer why. Education, age, and use of financial tools were significant predictors in the pretest. Controlling for pretest knowledge, there were significant, positive differences from pre- to post-test, regardless of race. Implications for further research and specific suggestions for financial education content for the incarcerated are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field experiments, which are a powerful research technique, are common in some fields, but they have not been widely used in studying the effect of financial and counseling planning interventions. Financial services can benefit from the expanded use of field experiments to explore potential causal mechanisms for the effects of financial planning and counseling interventions. This article describes the value of field experiments as well as the potential problems with the approach, in this context. Researchers and practitioners in financial planning and counseling should explore opportunities to conduct field experiments, especially in situations where studies can be carefully designed and implemented in a standardized way with a sufficient number of people and where valid measures are available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between financial literacy and financial behaviors among various age groups. Financial literacy was measured in three ways: objective financial knowledge, subjective financial knowledge or confidence, and subjective financial management ability. The age groups were 18–24, 25–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55–64, and 65 and older. Long-term financial behavior referred to retirement saving and investing behavior, whereas short-term financial behavior referred to spending and emergency saving behavior. In the full sample, both objective and subjective financial literacy variables were positively associated with long- and short-term financial behaviors. In the age subsamples, subjective financial knowledge or confidence was more strongly related to long- and short-term financial behavior than either objective financial knowledge or subjective financial management ability in the younger age groups. In the older age groups, objective financial knowledge was more strongly related to long-term financial behavior than either of the other two measures of financial literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to assess and interpret the use of theory within the Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning from its inception in 1990 through 2012. During that time, only 39% of research articles explicitly identified a theoretical base to guide the study's research question. Almost half (48%) of the articles incorporating a theoretical base used some form of the economic life cycle hypothesis. Most of the frameworks used were cognitively and/or individually oriented. This focus represents an attribution error since most financial socialization occurs within the family context. The Family Financial Socialization (FFS) conceptual model with testable hypotheses was proposed as one conceptual model to use in beginning to address this attribution error. FFS contributes both contextual and socialization dimensions to the explanation of financial behavior and financial outcomes such as financial well-being. The FFS model proposes that the creation of desirable financial behavior and motivation for future financial behavior change emanate from family interaction and relationships and from purposive financial socialization both in childhood and across the life cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grounded in social construction theory, the current study investigates the learning context when studying financial planning in high school by analyzing the nesting of student, teacher and classroom characteristics. Key findings were that three student characteristics (initial financial knowledge, gender, senior grade level), one teacher variable (use of all curriculum assessments), and two classroom variables (proportion of junior students and students who spent more money per week) were significant predictors of students' financial knowledge gain. Significant predictors of students' behavior gain were one student characteristic (senior grade level), two student access to money variables (employment status, spending per week), and three classroom variables (mean initial financial behavior, proportion of students working part-time, proportion of rural students). Findings indicated that subject matter content alone was not sufficient to create behavior change; learning context must be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A needs assessment was conducted for the adaptation of an existing online Cooperative Extension investment course for use by farm households. The theoretical model was Social Marketing Theory. Data about financial attitudes, practices, and learning preferences of farm households were collected through a telephone survey of 300 farm households and two focus groups. Quantitative and qualitative data confirmed that farmers prefer investing in land and farm-related assets instead of securities. Further, an increasing number of farm family members engaged in paid employment, which provided access to employee benefits. Many farmers did not plan to retire in later life but indicated a desire to scale back their work hours and/or reduce the size of their farm business. Women in the sample were more engaged with the Internet than men and less likely to dislike using computers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender differences in personal saving behaviors among single person households were investigated using the 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF). Determinants of short-term and regular saving behavior were found to differ by gender. Women (n = 702) were less likely to save in the short term if they were in poor health, while poor health did not significantly affect the short term saving of men. Having low risk tolerance negatively affected the likelihood of women saving in the short term and saving regularly, while each year of education made men (n = 469) more likely to save in the short-term and to save regularly. Understanding the saving behaviors of men and women can help improve the efforts of financial professionals and educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An on-line survey of K-12 teachers was conducted to determine teachers' background and capacity to teach personal finance. Results indicate that while teachers recognize the importance of teaching personal finance, few have had formal preparation for teaching this subject matter; also, the teaching of personal finance is highly concentrated by grade level and discipline. Teachers feel limited in preparedness in both subject matter and pedagogy, particularly in the more technical topic areas of risk management and insurance and saving and investing. Perceived preparation and prior personal finance background varies greatly among disciplines. Teachers also have concerns about their own personal financial well-being, especially future retirement income adequacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the differential impact on 79 high school students of a personal financial management course completed 1 to 4 years earlier. This study used a matched sample design based on a school system's records to identify students who had and had not taken a course in personal financial management. The findings indicated that those who took the course were no more financially literate than those who had not. In addition, those who took the course did not evaluate themselves to be more savings-oriented and did not appear to have better financial behavior than those who had not taken the course. The study raises serious questions about the longer-term effectiveness of high school financial literacy courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current financial crisis, children and youth are uniquely impacted by household finance complexities. Moments of financial trouble are teachable opportunities for children and youth to learn about personal finance and to improve their own money management skills. However, comprehensive strategies for educating them about personal finance have not yet emerged. This review of the literature explores the state of youth financial education and policy, including definitions and measures of effectiveness. Delineating a range of approaches to the delivery and assessment of youth financial education, this paper reports on impact data and best practices and highlights some controversies. It concludes with a discussion of the gaps in knowledge and suggestions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of survey data collected from 6,520 students at a large Midwestern University affirmed that financial knowledge is a significant factor in the credit card decisions of college students but not entirely in expected ways. Results of a double hurdle analysis indicated that students with relatively higher levels of financial knowledge were not significantly different from students with relatively lower levels in terms of the probability of having a credit card balance. Contrary to expectations, those with higher levels of financial knowledge had significantly higher credit card balances. Overall, the present findings highlight the complex nature of the relationship between personal financial knowledge and credit card behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary recommends that financial counseling and planning research, education, and practice be framed as an interdisciplinary profession called personal finance. Authors summarize the history of the profession and key theories providing the conceptual foundation. In order for the emerging profession of personal finance to achieve significant visibility and gain maturity, professionals must reach consensus on defining collective scholarship. Readers are encouraged to engage in the dialogue and comment on the call to action by contacting the lead author. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ‘Money Talks: Should I be Listening?’ curriculum was created to appeal to teenagers and to help increase their financial literacy. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of this curriculum on financial knowledge and behavior of participants using the series. The findings indicate that using the curriculum improved the financial literacy of high school students. Behavior changed in a positive direction, knowledge improved and students appeared to have responded in ways to make their money go farther. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]