There are plenty of videos, blogs and articles to help us put together a well-balanced budget,
pay off debt and learn how to invest our money more wisely.
I've done quite a few videos on those topics myself, but often times especially when it
comes to relationships there's more to what's going on than just what's happening with the
money and that's what today's book is all about.
Today, I'm going to be talking about the five money personalities by the money couple, Scott
and Bethany Palmer.
I'm going to be talking about what each of the 5 money personalities are as well as the
strengths and weaknesses they each possess.
Hey everyone Daniel here and welcome to Next Level Life a channel where you can learn about
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So sometimes we do have legitimate money troubles either because we're not bringing enough in
or because too much is going out but other times our money situation may be okay or at
least on the right track but we still have money fights, lots of them and they can get
heated.
And with Valentine's day on the horizon I wanted to take a look at a book that looks
to address that situation, one where the money may be doing alright but the arguments still
seem to be ever present.
Let's get started.
The five money personalities are saver, spender, security seeker, risk taker, and flyer.
I'll start with the saver.
A saver, as the name implies, is very good at coming up with different ways to save money
and keep on budget, but I would argue that the defining characteristic of someone whose
primary money personality is that of the saver is that they get a genuine rush from saving
money that cannot be equaled by any other financial activity.
To a saver... and everyone else to a certain degree but more so to a saver it's a source
of pride to get something you wanted for less, but I'll come back to that in a minute what
are the savers strengths?
In addition to finding creative ways to save money a saver strengths include the fact that
they rarely spend money impulsively, are generally very good at finding deals, and are almost
very organized responsible and trustworthy when it comes to money.
People whose primary money personality is the saver are usually not going to tap out
the kids college fund to pay for a new boat, for instance.
As a matter of fact most savers will do everything within their power to avoid debt in almost
any form and particularly high interest debts like credit cards because they really, really
hate paying interest.
To them it's not only a waste of money but it can be a source of stress to have accruing
debt even if the time hasn't come to pay interest on it yet.
The mere prospect of potentially having to pay that interest can cause them a lot of
stress and make them hold even tighter to the money they still have which as you can
imagine could lead to some heated discussions from time to time.
Savers are usually pretty good at filling the roll of the rock of their relationship
given steady attitude when it comes to money and budgeting in particular.
However that isn't to say that savers are without flaws.
While they are very creative in finding ways to save money and very steady when it comes
to sticking to their budgets and helping their partners and/or friends to do the same, they
do tend to lack a certain spontaneity.
And their resistance to spending money that they don't feel needs to be spent, or that
they just weren't ready to spend as the case may sometimes be, can be a bit of a joy stealer
to those who aren't primarily savers themselves.
This general resistance to spending money is why the cheap and selfish labels tend to
get thrown in the savers direction.
So while savers can be great partners when it comes to money and they usually handle
it wisely the challenge is to get them to see money as a means to an end and not just
as the end itself.
The opposite side of the coin to the saver is the spender.
Spenders get a rush from purchasing things.
Interestingly though according to the book it doesn't much matter to the typical spender
how much the purchase costs.
According to the authors they found that most spenders get basically just as much of a rush
from buying a pack of gum in that impulse buy section at the checkout line in a grocery
store as they do when they're buying a big ticket item like a new car or house.
So it's more the fun of finding and buying something then it is the actual thing that
matters.
They are also just as likely to buy something for someone else as they are to buy something
for themselves.
This means that spenders can be great gift-givers as well as be very generous when giving to
their local charity or church or helping out a cause that they support.
They're very good at living in the moment and so are able to figure out ways to create
great memories today for themselves and for others.
However the potential drawbacks to this way of living if the spender doesn't have a secondary
money personality that balances these tendencies out, or a partner that helps to do the same
is that they can become somewhat impractical, non-communicative, filled with regrets, and
a budget breaking.
I say impractical because spenders are often impulse buyers and generally don't walk into
stores with lists of what they're going to buy.
Unlike savers they don't usually do a ton of research to find a good deal or even wait
for a sale and sometimes have a hard time differentiating between wants and needs.
I say non-communicative because impulsivity is by its very nature, quick.
These impulse purchases whether large or small are generally not fully thought through, much
less talked about, with the spender's partner and this lack of communication can make the
spender appear secretive or sneaky to the partner even if that was never the intention
of the spender to come across this way.
So it's important for spenders to be aware of this tendency in themselves to avoid potential
conflicts with their partners down the road.
I say that spenders can be filled with regret because they sometimes tend to get carried
away especially around holiday season and therefore suffer buyer’s remorse.
Again because a lot of these impulse buys are not fully thought out they can be very
budget breaking and, if big enough, potentially life-altering.
But those are usually just in very extreme cases.
A spender can be a great partner because they'll never let finances get in the way of living
life to the fullest and creating great memories in the moment but the challenge for them is
to respect the money expectations of their partner especially if that partner is a saver.
The third money personality is the risk taker which in some ways is similar to the spender
but they're not exactly the same.
Both personalities share a sort of impulsive nature but while the spender is primarily
defined by the rush they get from spending a risk-taker is defined by the love of finding
the next adventure.
For the risk taker no idea is to out there and no risk is too big to jump into.
They get a thrill from jumping into a financial challenge not just because the challenge has
a potential huge payout (which often times it does, say if you're investing in a startup
company, for example) but just from taking the risk in the first place.
They tend to be more excited by the possibilities presented by an idea than by just the idea
itself.
The strengths of the risk taker are pretty obvious: Risk-takers are very good at listening
to their gut even more so than conventional wisdom or financial experts and that can lead
to them finding some opportunities for very high returns that most people would not touch.
Now if the gut is wrong it can also lead to them losing a lot of money on something that
no one else would have touched but that's all part of the game.
The risk takers also aren't afraid to make quick decisions and especially in things like
business and that can be very valuable.
The risk-taker knows themselves pretty well and since they've learned to trust their gut,
they don't hesitate to make a deal when something feels right and not make it when something
doesn't feel right.
However what risk-takers need to be aware of is that due to the very nature of how they
see money and the world as a whole they can be blinded by possibility especially when
they get a hold of an idea that they really like.
Since they're pretty big picture they don't always think about the nitty-gritty details
of how an idea will or won't work.
In their relationships risk takers can also come off as impatient and insensitive.
Risk-takers hate the feeling of being hemmed in by other people so rather than work for
compromise they sometimes charge ahead and deal with the relational fallout later.
And especially in a marriage if the risk-taker’s spouse isn't on board with the decision and
the risk-taker goes and makes the decision anyway there is always a fallout of some sort.
The risk taker can come off as impatient because they move really fast compared to most people.
Again since they trust their gut and they know what they want and what they don't want
decisions are made like that.
And when their partners aren't on board as quickly as the risk taker would like they
can become aggravated.
So risk-takers can be great partners because they're always thinking about the future and
looking at all the possibilities that are out there but the challenge for them is to
make sure that they take the time to keep their partner involved in the decisions, communicate
consistently, and be willing to compromise and say no to a deal every once in awhile
if their partner isn't on board.
That can be difficult for the risk-taker, especially if they really like the idea, but
what they need to keep in mind, and more than anyone else know this to be true, is that
there's always another potential deal out there.
So it’s probably not worth destroying a relationship over one deal, because another
one will come and as a risk-taker you’re pretty good at spotting them.
The fourth money personality is the security seeker.
The security seeker above all else needs to know that their future is settled and safe.
They are excellent planners with consistent and clear expectations when it comes to money.
They value order and predictability in their finances.
The security seekers strengths include their ability to investigate any financial decision
thoroughly, their trustworthiness when it comes to financial security, their willingness
to sacrifice today so that they can have a more secure tomorrow, and their knack to be
prepared for just about anything because again they're excellent planners.
However the security seeker does not do well with risk in fact they often seem to others
to say no to every idea that comes along and can be somewhat controlling, using any power
they possess to veto any deal they deem to be too risky.
As a result sometimes security seekers can come off as overly negative and stifle the
creativity of their partners and themselves.
Unlike the risk-taker who's always looking at all the possibilities out there, the security
seeker can sometimes, due to their need for security, stop looking at many of the possibilities
that are out there and stick with the ones that are more certain and that can be very
limiting again not just to their partners but also to themselves.
Security seekers also sometimes have a tendency to get stuck in a sort of research rut.
They can get so bogged down in the details of an idea that they suffer a sort of paralysis
by analysis.
On the bright side because of this they rarely experience buyer's remorse but on the downside
they miss a lot of opportunities because they're looking for something so foolproof, something
that probably doesn't exist, and as a result they never act.
Security seekers can be financially successful and make a great partner because of their
careful planning and steady approach to money but the challenge for them is to make sure
they don't resist making decisions merely out of fear and to know how much Financial
security is enough financial security.
The fifth and final money personality is the flyer.
According to the book the flyer is probably the most unusual money personality because
flyers don't really think about the money component of a decision, possibly at all.
They're not anxious about money, they're not consumed by money, they have virtually no
emotional response to money.
The bright side is that a flyer is basically content with their financial life as long
as they're making their own choices.
Flyers are usually big on relationships valuing those relationships and connections with other
people over money.
They're also less motivated by money than the average person and make choices based
on what they want and not necessarily what will make them the most money.
However flyers need to be aware that because of their lack of concern about money they
tend to be reactionary when it comes to money.
Also as a result of this lack of concern about money they usually haven't taken much or even
any time to develop the skills necessary to solve their money problems which they do often
tend to face because since they don't really think about it much if at all they tend to
be fairly disorganized and... not irresponsible but I don't know unresponsible when it comes
to money.
I should probably clarify that because anyone who isn't a flyer might think that the flyer
is irresponsible but really they're not because irresponsibility suggests a deliberate lack
of maturity but flyers are not trying to be lazy or inattentive when it comes to money
they just genuinely don't think about it.
This can make them great partners because they're pretty easy going about money issues
and they aren't going to be too controlling or uptight about the finances but the challenge
for them is to just stay involved and invested in the family's financial picture, or their
own financial picture if they're single because if they don't, things like overdue bills and
mounting debts can become a very real issue.
So those are the 5 money personalities according to the book of the same name written Scott
and Bethany Palmer.
If any of the ideas from this book intrigued you I recommend checking it out further I’ll
leave a link in the description.
There’s a lot more in there than I was able to cover today.
Just off the top of my head there were things like where the personalities come from, how
what the author’s call the opposite dynamic influences our personalities and can help
balance out our lives, tips on how to walk a mile in your partner’s shoes which is
very important when it comes to figuring out how to solve financial disagreements in a
relationship, the causes of what the author’s call financial infidelity as well as a few
ways to recover from it, and a couple of tips to resolve specific financial arguments.
I would’ve loved to cover a bunch of those ideas today, but this video is already kind
of long so I just decided to stick with an overview of the 5 personalities.
Maybe I could do a follow up video on this book if you guys would want to hear about
any of those other topics I’ve mentioned.
If so, let me know if the comments below which of those topics you’d like to hear more
about and if there’s enough interest in it I can add it to my list of future videos.
But that'll do it for me today once again if you enjoyed this video be sure to subscribe
and hit that Bell next to my name so that you'll be notified of all my future uploads.
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out there and start our own Financial revolution.