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Evidence

Why daily practice works.

Theorise is built on a handful of well-studied findings about how people learn. Here they are, with what each one does not claim.

The training analogy

Reps, not reading.

Like any training, what works is short sessions, repeated, with rest — and doing the thing, not just reading about it. It’s about practising money decisions until they’re yours.

Short

A few minutes, focused

Spaced

Come back tomorrow, not all at once

Retrieval

Answer first, then see why

The claims

What the research says — and what it doesn’t.

  1. Spreading practice over days helps you remember for longer than cramming the same practice into one go.

    What it doesn’t mean · It compares spreading practice out with cramming the same amount. It is not a promise of a perfect schedule, or that you will never forget.

  2. Pulling an answer out of your own head, not just re-reading it, makes it stick better.

    What it doesn’t mean · It helps with the things you practise recalling. It is not a general boost to memory, and these studies did not measure Theorise.

  3. Mixing related kinds of problems helps you learn which approach each one needs.

    What it doesn’t mean · It is about related problems. Mixing anything at all is not shown to help, and mixed practice can feel slower while you do it.

  4. Knowledge and skills fade when they are not used; regular practice keeps them fresh.

    What it doesn’t mean · Forgetting is gradual and differs from skill to skill. Dramatic figures about forgetting most of something in a day come from nonsense syllables, not from meaningful skills.

  5. A few focused minutes, done regularly, is a practical way to fit spaced practice into a day.

    What it doesn’t mean · Short sessions are not proven better than courses — they are a practical way to practise often. The evidence for short formats on their own is still mixed.

  6. Across 76 randomised trials, financial education improved money knowledge and, by a smaller amount, money behaviour, on average.

    What it doesn’t mean · It is an average across many programmes — not a promise that any one course or app will change what you do with your money.

  7. Money knowledge from a one-off course can fade, and research recommends refreshing it regularly and close to real decisions.

    What it doesn’t mean · It does not mean one-off courses are useless; how fast money knowledge fades is still being studied.

  8. Well-designed learning games can teach at least as well as non-game lessons. A 2024 four-country trial found a financial-education game raised students' financial literacy.

    What it doesn’t mean · Games are not proven better than other teaching, that trial was with students rather than adults, and no study has measured Theorise itself.

Every claim is from the claims registry; the page is regenerated from it. If a source is retracted or weakened, the card changes. Tell us if we’ve got one wrong. Theorise is education, not financial advice.

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