The importance of financial literacy is often preached and is even being advocated to be added to our school curriculum.
Many people recognize the importance of gaining a strong understanding of how money works and having the resources to make informed decisions.
However, one critical ingredient which is often overlooked when it comes to establishing financial health is our money personality type — our approach and emotional responses to money.
Like nearly everything else in life, your personality heavily influences how you react to money. We each have our own beliefs and emotions about it, and they are mostly shaped by our individual life experiences and environment (e.g., passed down from our parents or influenced by our current situations).
The best way to change your approach to money is by first determining your money personality.
Identifying which types you fall under, and understanding the pitfalls of each, can significantly improve your relationship with money and make you a better money manager.
Knowing your money personality may help you:
- reduce your spending on impulsive items
- improve your budgeting skills
- make good investment decisions
- ensure a comfortable retirement nest egg
In this post, we’ll examine the numerous sorts of money personalities to help you identify which one best describes you and learn how to better manage your finances.
Generational Money Mindset: How Family History Shapes Your Financial Future→
What is a Money Personality?
Money personality refers to character traits, values, attributes or behavioral patterns regarding money.
Your money personality is simply how you perceive and use money. It’s an offshoot of your real personality because your life values determine how you see and utilize money.
Based on these values, traits and attributes, behavioral economists have been able to categorize people into groups of money personalities. Let’s have a look at the money personality types below.
1. Savers
Savers put away money endlessly, sometimes with no actual end goal in mind. They are frugal and believe that having money is the best way to feel secure in life.
Savers are not concerned about following the latest trends, and they derive more satisfaction from reading the interest on a bank statement than from acquiring something new. Savers are conservative by nature and don’t take big risks with their investments.
They turn off the lights when leaving the room, close the refrigerator door quickly to keep it in the cold, shop only when necessary, and rarely make purchases with credit cards. They generally have no debts and may be viewed as cheapskates.
Pitfalls
Due to their conservative approach to money, Savers miss out on opportunities to increase their net worth because they are afraid of losing money. They also miss out on the pleasures that life has to offer, even if they can afford it.
For example, they might choose to skip out on hobbies or activities that could bring them happiness and purpose if it requires them to spend money.
Money Tip
It’s all about finding a balance between saving money and enjoying life.
Money is a vehicle to get you to where you want. It is a tool to be used to achieve your aspirations and improve yourself. What good is money if it just sits in your account? Think about where you see yourself in the future and how you can use your savings to get there.
2. Spenders
Spenders tend to spend money on things they want, but don’t need.
Cars, gadgets, clothes, etc. People with a “spending” personality type usually want to make a statement with material things. As such, they aren’t bargain hunters looking for good deals. Rather they spend impulsively or deal with emotional distress.
Pitfalls
Spenders are comfortable with debt, and often take big risks when investing. In extreme cases, they spend more than they earn and can eventually go bankrupt.
Money Tip
Make a financial plan to assist you in gaining a new perspective on money management. It would also enable you to build the character and values needed to gain better mastery over impulsive spending and set you on the path toward financial independence.
Remind yourself that investing in a new automobile (when you already have one) means forgoing funds that could be used to fund important goals like retirement savings, investments, or debt repayment.
3. Shoppers
Spending money gives shoppers emotional joy. Even if they are buying things they don’t need, they can’t help but spend money.
Usually, they are conscious of their addiction and even worried about the debt it causes. They search for deals and are pleased when they do. Sometimes they use shopping as a way to deal with emotional distress or anxiety.
Shoppers are varied in terms of investing. Some invest regularly through 401(k) plans and may even invest a portion of any sudden windfalls, while others see investing as something they will get to eventually.
Pitfalls
Shoppers, like Spenders, buy things they don’t need. As a result, they may end up with a lot of possessions they may not use at all. A huge downside is that their credit balances can run up, thereby creating a huge load of debt for them.
Money Tip
Think carefully before you buy, especially if you’ll need a credit card to purchase because unchecked credit card interest can wreak havoc on your budget. Put all of your energy into saving the money you already have.
Study the guiding principles of effective savings strategies, then try to apply some of them to your own. If you find that you spend to make up for other aspects of your life that you feel are missing, consider what they may be an attempt to improve them.
Alternatively, you can try starting a No-Buy Challenge to help keep your impulses in check.
4. Debtors
Debtors may be Shoppers or Spenders, but the major difference is that they don’t keep tabs on their finances. They don’t go shopping to cheer themselves up and aren’t trying to make a statement with their expenditures.
They simply don’t spend much time thinking about their money and as such have very poor money management skills.
Pitfalls
Debtors typically spend more money than they make, have high debt levels, and do not give investment any care. Similarly to this, they frequently overlook utilizing the corporate match in their 401(k) plans.
Money tip
Organize your finances and create a strategy before you start investing.
Getting assistance is generally a smart idea, because you might not be able to do it on your own. Making the option of who will manage your finances is crucial, so pick your financial advisor wisely.
You can also start a debt reduction strategy like debt snowballing or debt avalanche. The trick is consistency in reducing your debt even with small amounts helps in the long term.
5. Investors
Investors are consciously aware of money and how to utilize it. They are also keenly aware of the time value of money and try to put their money to work.
Regardless of their current financial standing, Investors tend to seek a day when passive investments will provide sufficient income to cover all of their bills. Their actions are driven by careful decision-making, and their investments reflect the need to take a certain amount of risk in pursuit of their goals.
Pitfalls
Investing is good, but when done obsessively, it could be robbing you of other joys in life. There is a tendency for compulsive Investors to focus on only growing their assets over other things in life. Balance is the keyword here.
Money tip
Maintain your current course of action and keep learning. But remember to also take out some money to enjoy other things in life.
Bottom Line
It’s conceivable for people to have overlapping personality features when it comes to managing their finances, because money personality traits are never universal.
You might not be able to alter your money personality, but you can be aware of it and deal with the financial difficulties it causes.
It takes self-awareness to manage your finances. If you are aware of where you are, you can change your behavior to better meet your financial and life objectives.