From functioning to flourishing: Applying positive psychology to financial planning

This paper introduces positive psychology, illustrates how it overlaps with financial planning, and provides specific scientifically based tools and resources that financial planners can use to integrate positive psychology into their practice. • Financial planning has naturally evolved from helping clients function financially to helping clients improve their well-being and quality of life, as evidenced in life planning, financial coaching, and financial counseling. Positive psychology has had a similar evolution over the past decade to explore how people can optimize their well-being to thrive, prosper, and flourish in life. • Financial planning and positive psychology align through the notion of positive financial planning. • Two client case studies illustrate that positive psychology can be integrated within financial planning in three basic ways: (1) as a perspective and orientation to financial planning; (2) as a source of scientifically based information to bring to financial