Money Personality Types: Which one Are You?
We often stress about getting the right investments working for us, or trying to earn more.
But when it comes to living a wealthy life and having money serving rather than enslaving you, one thing most people fail to consider is their money personality type.
What’s Your Money Personality
We each have our own beliefs and emotions about money, and they are mostly shaped by our individual life experiences (e.g., passed down from our parents, influenced by our environment as we grow up and from specific incidents and exposure we have had to money, investing, debt, shame, guilt, enough, not enough and so on.
Our default money personalities build up over time, infused with our money stories, beliefs, triggers and values. This then creates a set of behaviours and patterns we default to when we are not consciously thinking through our actions.
Our money personality (and associated behaviours) will often become more pronounced in times of stress, agitation and excitement.
Think of your money personality as the way your limbic lizard brain operates with money.
In the Money & Love Series, we did a whole lot of digging into who you are, your money stories, your money beliefs and values, triggers and shadows.
These all come together to form a set of behaviours that can be loosely classified as one of the 4 core money personality types.
- The Spender
- The Saver
- The Avoider
- The Expander
The Spender
Spendthrifts love to spend money and believe the act of spending and buying stuff is essential to living a fulfilling life. Spenders often find pleasure in the act of buying more than the having of any specific thing.
Buying things for themselves and others brings real delight and they are not afraid to spend money to achieve their goals. However, they can also be impulsive and struggle with delayed gratification, sometimes leading to struggles with debt and other disempowering financial habits.
When a spender is triggered emotionally they will usually spend to avoid the discomfort of what they are feeling. The act of spending is a great distraction and an attempt to feel better.
The gifts of the spender
Spenders tend to…
- Generous and enjoy sharing their money with others.
- Exuberant, fun and adventurous, always looking for new experiences.
- Variety seekers and often find creative ways to liven up life.
- Embrace life and enjoy the moment.
The shadow of the spender
Spenders tend to…
- Struggle with financial responsibility and may put themselves in a difficult financial position resulting in debt and stress.
- Struggle with delayed gratification and get frustrated, irritated or depressed if they feel their need to spend is being prevented.
- Have difficulty sticking to a spend plan and this can result in a lot of internal conflict and conflict in relationships.
- Sabotage their longer term financial wellbeing by robbing their savings and investments
- Have a high probability of using money they don’t have to feed their spending need resulting in consumer debt and stress
The Saver
Savers believe that saving money is crucial to their financial security and long-term success. They find comfort and security in their ability to keep some of the money they make, knowing they are able to control their consumption impulses.
They enjoy seeing their savings grow and feel secure knowing that they have money set aside for emergencies and the future.
However, their caution and control over themselves can be taken too far leading them to deprive themselves and have difficulty spending money on themselves just for joy. The fear of losing the money they have saved can also create stress and anxiety around money.
Savers can also be afraid of investing and getting their money working for them, fearful of any drop in capital value. Effectively putting the breaks on their financial freedom and wealth creation. This can also lead them to miss out on opportunities and
The Gifts of the Saver
Savers tend to…
- Provide financial security and stability in a relationship
- Be responsible and disciplined and have high financial fidelity committing to the financial agreements they make for themselves and in relationship
- Stay out of consumer debt
- Achieve savings goals
- Be creative in getting what they want without spending lots of money
The Shadow of the Saver
Savers have a tendency to…
- Be fearful of investing and so limit their financial wellbeing
- Deprive themselves in order to meet financial goals and to counteract a partners spending
- Risk going into Parent / Child interactions in relationships believing they are the only one that cares about the partnership's savings and financial wellbeing.
- Be judgmental of other people's spending.
The Avoider
Avoiders avoid managing their money, looking at where it is coming in from or going to and do not like thinking about their longer term financial wellbeing because it stresses them out.
Although they “avoid” interacting with all things money, often using phrases like “money isn’t important”, they actually spend a lot of time anxious about money and their financial future.
Because they avoid seeing what is going on in their money world and giving their money attention and management, they often find themselves in financial trouble, defaulting on payments, going into debt, and over spending. Avoiders can have a delightfully relaxed approach to their own wellbeing and often have a deep faith that some other force “god / a partner / the universe / life” will look after them. And often someone does step in and save them. They are often also very creative and resourceful when it comes to finding ways to make ends meet, and get what they want.
But overall, their disconnection from money and being responsible for their own financial well being often leads to significant challenges and a failure to achieve their goals.
The Gifts of the Avoider
Avoiders have a tendency to…
- Bring a more holistic perspective to abundance and wellbeing
- Be creative and resourceful in finding ways to get what they want
- Able to appreciate the things that money cannot buy
The Shadow of the Avoider
Avoiders have a tendency to…
- Neglect important financial responsibilities and put those that depend on them at risk
- Overspend and get into financial difficulties
- Have trouble communicating about money and get fearful and or aggressive when they feel pushed to see what is going on.
- Want to be “rescued financially” and want someone else to handle the money stuff
- Have trouble making plans for the future, leading to uncertainty and stress in the relationship
- Struggle with managing money, saving and investing leading to problems and conflict
The Expander
Expanders believe that investing their money is the best way to grow their wealth and achieve their financial goals. They love tracking their Net Worth and feel a sense of pride in being able to get money working for them.
They enjoy planning their wealth journey and put in the time to research and analyse investments to make informed decisions and achieve their goals. Expanders, like saver, are also great at delayed gratification being able to future pace the impact of their actions and see the benefit of the choices they make now.
However, expanders can also become too focused on their future financial freedom and neglect their lives in the present, often leading to tension and conflict in their relationships.
The Gifts of the Expander
Expanders have a tendency to…
- Achieve their financial goals and provide financial security for the future
- Be confident investors and able to to take calculated risks to benefit them in the long run
- Delay gratification to achieve their longer term goals
- Be strategic and analytical when making financial decisions
The Shadow of the Expander
Expanders have a tendency to…
- Becoming too focused on their future financial wellbeing that they can forget to live now, neglecting other areas of life, including their relationship
- Move their financial freedom goal posts, never beijing they ever have enough
- Struggle with balancing risk and reward when making financial decisions
- Get hooked by the “Big Return” promises of get rich quick schemes wanting the expansion without understanding the investment.
The Language of Money Personalities
Each money personality type has a unique way of talking about spending, saving, and investing. Understanding the money personality language patterns can give us insight into a person's attitudes towards money and how they manage their finances.
Let's explore some examples of phrases each money personality type might use when discussing their financial habits:
The Spender :
"I just had to have it, even though I couldn't afford it."
"What’s the point of saving, you might not be here tomorrow"
“You can’t take your money with you when you die”
"Life is to be live now"
"I deserve to treat myself "
The Saver:
"I don’t want to have to depend on anyone financially”
“Having a safety net makes me feel safe”
“I'm putting this money away because you never know when I might really need it."
"I want to make sure I have enough saved for retirement."
"I don't want to be a burden on my kids"
"I only buy things I need, not things I want."
The Avoider:
"I don't like thinking about money, it stresses me out."
“Managing money is boring”
"Money doesn't matter as long as I'm happy / have my health."
“Money isn’t spiritual”
"I trust it will all work out in the end"
"I don't have any savings, but I always find a way to make it work."
The Expander:
"Money needs to work for me”
“I know what my financial freedom number is and I have a plan to achieve it”
“Life is precious and you need investments working for you to be able to live fully”
“Im investing for my families future financial wellbeing”
"I'm willing to do what it takes to achieve my financial goals."
"I want to use my money to create more opportunities for myself and those I love."
"I love knowing how my investments are performing"
By listening to the language of each money personality type, we can understand their money mindset and how they approach spending, saving, and investing.
Did you recognise yourself in any of these?
By understanding your default money personality type, you can work on improving your own money habits to create a truly wealthy life.
In relationships, we can use these generalised personality types to create frameworks, systems and agreements that magnify our unique gifts and bolster up the areas where our shadows may sabotage our financial wellbeing and goals.
“Take the Money and Love masterclass to expand your intimacy and your wealth”
