Assessing Spirituality in Financial Life Planning

Abstract

Spiritually sensitive financial life planning (FLP) is a process that seeks the development of the whole person, is grounded in discovery and awareness, and leads to the understanding of ones meaning and purpose. Based on those tenets, a plan is co-created that aligns with the client’s vision of their ideal self and life, and provides a framework to support the ebbs and flows of life, changes in resources, and the evolving nature of being human. The problem however, is the absence of research and dialogue pertaining to the role of spirituality in the FLP. As a result, spirituality is not recognized as a part of FLP and has resulted in a literature gap, sparse professional dialogue, and failing to train practitioners able to facilitate and guide clients to connecting their money and values with their lives. Given that, the purpose of this grounded theory ethnographic study was to assess the role of spirituality in FLP among a select group of seasoned and respected financial life planners and trainers within the FLP industry. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with leading industry practitioners and educators to explore their perceptions of the role spirituality plays in FLP. The resulting data revealed an emerging theory encompassing spiritual intelligence, servant leadership, and well-being theory. The aim and predominant resulting implications of the study included sparking professional dialog, and applying the grounded theory towards the creation of an Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm based curriculum for the spiritually sensitive professional development of financial life planners. By doing so, practitioners can be better prepared to facilitate and guide people to live happier, more inspired, purpose-driven lives.