I’m addicted to internet personality tests.
For instance, my inner Disney princess: Belle.
I’m an ENFP on the Meyers Briggs, a 7 wing 6 on the Enneagram, and a Gryffindor, DUH.
Those can be fun, but most of them don’t have much practical use.
Such an Enneagram 1 thing to say...
However, psychologists and financial practitioners around the globe have started to identify
a myriad of distinct MONEY personalities.
Now, this isn’t an exact science, but rather a lens that you can look through to better
understand your own money habits.
The names vary slightly, but there are 6 main types that seem to be emerging.
Uncovering your personal money sign might just be the lodestar that can guide you to
a more healthy relationship with your money.
Do you love playing the stock market?
Do you spend your free time researching cryptocurrency and emerging tech?
Are you a Motley Fool premium subscriber?
If you feel called out then you might be a RISK TAKER.
The great thing about this type is their high financial literacy and openness to talking
about money.
However there are some hangups.
Greg Davies who headed a financial behavior department at Barclays observes that hopping
from one opportunity to the next “fires up the pleasure centers in the brain.
The longer you stay in an addictive environment, the more prone you are to bad decisions, which
causes anxiety, which leads to overtrading and therefore more anxiety.”
So if this is you, try your best to slim down your financial media intake and consider having
a cooler financial head around you to bounce ideas off of before you start learning how
to day-trade or invest in your mother’s best friend’s “surefire” business idea.
Next up, the HOARDER.
To Hoarders, money represents security against the unknowns of the world.
Building up savings comes easy to them.
But there’s another side to that coin.
Pun intended.
That golden number of ultimate security seems always just out of reach.
And the minute you bring a non-hoarder partner into the mix, things can get ugly.
Activities like vacationing and going to a nice restaurant can seem threatening to their
stability.
If this is you, you can ease the intensity of those fears by having a having a cash-based
budget.
That way you can always see where your true savings lies and can feel more at ease
treating yourself and taking a calculated risk now and then.
Hello, I’m Julia and I’m a SOCIAL SPENDER.
Hi, Julia.
I love to shop simply for its own sake, but usually not ever in large one time amounts...
just small things all over the place.
I also love to buy things for friends and family and give my money away to causes I’m
passionate about.
To me, buying and spending is the ultimate freedom of expression
which can obviously backfire pretty spectacularly.
And if I’m honest, I tend to carry around some shame that my type is inherently wrong
and bound for financial ruin.
Thankfully for me, I also found peace in...you guessed it...a budget.
Even though I was terrified that budgeting would curb my fun, it ended up cutting the
shame strings that were attached to that spending!
Now, with a flexible plan, I can scratch my shopping itch without sabotaging my future self
Next we have those slayers of spreadsheets, beancounters extraordinaire, the ENGINEERS;
a type I know well.
To us, money is a game.
A game meant to be won through savvy and constant vigilance which can sometimes border on obsession.
We tend to be interested in investing but are more anxious than our risk-taker cousins,
likely to scuttle the ship at the first sign of trouble.
Claudia Hammond, a psychology lecturer notes “people who find it hard to deal with the
unpredictability of life can get super organized about money.”
If you're like me, you might consider hiring a financial professional
that can help you see the forest for the trees and make sure you’re not over-complicating things.
And if you’re partnered with a different money type, a relationship counselor might
not be the worst idea.
We all have that friend that has to loudly claim the check whenever they go out.
They also probably have the latest smartphone, a luxury car, and designer clothes.
That’s the MOGUL.
Money for them is a tool meant for a very specific purpose; to achieve higher social status.
Forget keeping up with the Joneses.
They ARE the Joneses.
Interestingly enough, the social groups that have the highest prevalence of this behaviour
tend to have a history of systemic poverty.
The hottest luxury markets in the world are in countries with below average household
income.These visible displays of wealth are meant to psychologically combat the perception
of poverty.
Social media only exacerbates this situation, pressuring people to compete not just with
their neighbors, but the whole world.
So moguls seeking to be a healthier version of themselves might consider limiting their
social media interactions.
Don’t let your flex gram of today leave you scrounging for change in your later years.
If I asked you how much you spend in a month, could you tell me?
What about how much you make or what’s in your accounts right now?
If you’re breaking out in hives just thinking about it, then you may be our last type:
The OSTRICH.
Honestly, congrats for being here and watching a financial video!
Because for you, talking about money brings up all sorts of bad feelings like fear, anxiety
and disgust.
This could be for many reasons.
You might have a lot of shame about your current situation or have experienced financial trauma
in your past.
You may be able to avoid confronting your money fears for a time, but we all know that
creates bigger problems down the road.
Money avoidance has even been associated with increased risk of overspending and compulsive
buying.
You’ll have to get your head out of the sand, but you probably won’t be able to
do it alone.
Find someone who can hold your hand and help you work through things like your spending
habits or your debt picture.
I promise, 90% of the time the situation isn’t nearly as bad as ostriches imagine it to be.
Darkness often acts like a steroid to your fears.
So, take a deep breath and text your most supportive friend.
You got this!
While you may resonate more strongly with one or two of these types, it’s important
to remember we’re all ultimately a mix.
We contain multitudes.
Your personal money style is formed by your family history, worldview, and experiences,
and it’s neither good nor bad.
The goal of identifying your sign is not to change it, but hopefully empower you to become
become a healthier version of your type.
And in our personal and professional experience, taking the time to get to know yourself better
is one of the best investments you can make!
And that’s our two cents!
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Okay, we gotta ask: What's YOUR money sign? Let us know in the comments!