The idea of ‘money personalities’ has become a popular way of understanding our relationship to our finances.
In this context, financial experts take a psychological approach to our spending and saving habits by sorting people into different money ‘types’.
Someone’s money ‘type’ may account for why someone on a $60,000 salary has more savings than someone on a $100,000 salary.
Similarly, your money personality might be the reason you may be more prone to spending your extra cash on a new dress, while someone else may invest it the first chance they get.
The different money personalities can vary depending on who you speak to but they generally fall into following categories: spenders, savers, worshippers and avoidants.
Below, we take you through the different money personality types to figure out exactly which one you might be.
The Spender
Depending on different money personality philosophies, the ‘spender’ may be referred to as the ‘shopper’, the ‘peacock’ or ‘socialite.’
People with this money type may get a high from the experience of purchasing something. They’re likely to feel the pressure to ‘keep up with the joneses’ and use their money to raise their social status by owning ‘new’ or ‘cool’ items.
This money type can also be more prone to catching meals, treating their friends to rounds of drinks and extravagant presents.
Unfortunately, these habits can quickly lead to empty wallets and huge credit card debts.
The Saver
The ‘saver’ personality type may also be known as a ‘scrooge’, ‘hoarder’, ‘squirrel’ or ‘minimalist’.
These people tend to be very sensible with their money and rarely make frivolous purchases.
While this can be a good thing, people who play it too safe with their money may be reluctant to invest their money—even if it may pay off in the future.
The Worshipper
The money ‘worshipper’ may also be referred to as a ‘money maker’ or ‘investor’ or ‘risk taker’.
This person is obsessed with multiplying their money. Whether it’s through high salary jobs or investments, their life is focused on attaining wealth and ultimately financial freedom.
While the worshipper has the drive to succeed, they risk losing themselves to the chasing wealth and can fall prone to business ideas and investments that promise big rewards before delivering it.
The Avoidant
The avoidant personality type likes to turn the other way when it comes to their financial situation. They’re unlikely to have a budget and don’t plan for their future financial situation through saving or investing.
While you might get away with being an avoidant money personality type in your teens and early twenties, this type gets harder as your responsibilities grow.
How Do I Change My Money Personality Type?
While there are pros and cons with each money type, it’s best not to lean too extremely on any of them.
Ideally, you should have a nice balance between your saving, spending and investing habits.
The first step for every money type is to take accountability of your financial situation. This might include tracking your spending or doing an audit of your outgoing expenses.
Then, it’s time to start educating yourself. You might do this by reading books and articles on finances, listening to podcasts or making an appointment with a financial advisor.
