Does Your Money Personality Cost You?

One of the most popular subjects we talk and write about has to be money.  How to make it is definitely a topic that would come up at most social gatherings. 

I guess this is appropriate seeing money is the currency we all use to live with.  Most of us want more of it in our bank accounts so we can live financially stress-free lives.  Let's face it - none of us actually enjoy scrabbling to find the moo la each month to pay the mortgage, and most of us dread those expensive times of the year such as birthdays and Christmases.

Whilst we all do a lot of talking about how to make money, we hardly ever canvassed the topic of money personalities. We know that we have different ways of handling money and we even know that this can cause arguments between friends and loved ones, but not many of us understand how our own money personality can sabotage our getting ahead.

Recently I've looked into this subject and I can now see how having a particular money personality can really hinder a person from getting out of debt, staying out of the red, saving, making money and generally moving up the wealth ladder. 

Once I'd done this research I called a couple of my girlfriends and we all agreed this information is fairly valuable because it arms us against hurting ourselves financially. I've found this subject so interesting I though I'd share with you what I've found out.  Check out below what your money personality is and how you can turn things around despite your money profile.

Personality Types

Money Savers

People who have a money saving personality actually like to put money away for a rainy day.  They take care of the small details to ensure they save the pennies so they amass the pounds.  Our grandparents were good money savers as they frequently had encountered a depression and hard times during their lives and so they focused on storing money away.

Money savers will often have very little debt and are indifferent about keeping up with the latest trends in clothing, motor vehicles, etc.  They get more pleasure seeing their gold coins mount up than they do driving the latest BMW.

By nature, money savers can be worriers.  They can get anxious about their bank balances.  They are also conservative people.  This can lead them to miss out on investment opportunities which of course can be detrimental to them as it hinders them in growing their wealth.

Money Avoiders

I have a very good friend who fits into this category.  She hates thinking about and dealing with money.  Her cheque account is often overdrawn and her bills often remain unpaid until the final demand arrives.  This is not because she doesn't care.  She simply finds dealing with money too complicated.

On the flip side, a money avoider will be in total control of other areas of their lives.  They will even beat all of us to the post on a subject they feel passionate about.

When it comes down to money though, these personalities tend to feel out of their depth.  As a result, they pay very little detail to what is coming in and what is going out.  This leads to overspending and debt accumulation.  On a severe scale, it can lead to very bad credit ratings and even loss of assets through creditor petitions such as repossessions and mortgagee sales.

Money Spenders

This title says it all.  Money spenders are those citizens who like to spend like there's no tomorrow.  Budgeting is not a word that features in their vocabulary.  They are chic people who like to buy all the latest gadgets.  They don't keep up with the Jones, they set the benchmark the Jones need to step up to.

They are often outgoing, generous, big picture people.  This of course has its downsides.  They have no fear when it comes to getting into debt and because they don't have a handle on all the little details, their debt levels can spiral out of control.  Additionally because they have a reasonably large appetite for debt, they will frequently take risks and step where angels would fear to tread.

Money Amassers

Of all the money personalities, these people are most in touch with themselves and how they view money. They are diligent, enquiring and tenacious in personality.  They know where there money goes.  They like to save and invest.  They enjoy learning about money and how they should put their money to work. 

A downside to money amassers is that they can spend a lot of time analysing a situation.  This is due to their risk profile. Commonly they are intolerant of risk and thus fail to reap the rewards that investment can bring along.

Of course the above is general information.  There are many different ways to classify money personalities and there are various money personalities to be found.  I've merely identified the four types of money personalities that I commonly see individuals possess.

Understanding the effect your money personality has

If you can understand your own money personality, you will be able to see how your personal characteristics impact on your financial well being. 

For example, money avoiders don't like to look at their financial situation which means their financial position gets worse each and every year.  Money spenders don't fare much better, as they spend all they get and then some.  They hate to budget and so never get ahead.  Money savers can be fearful of spending money and so accumulate their money in the bank rather than putting their gold  to work to create wealth.  Lastly, Money amassers suffer from paralysis caused by so much analysis which in turn limits their wealth growth.

Tool to help you help yourself

A way of dealing with your money personality is to get some help.  Sitting down with an impartial, trained person can often shed a whole new light on your financial affairs.  They can help you modify your behave, set budgets and goals, put in debt repayment plans, look at wealth creating opportunities for you and generally help you achieve your desired financial goals.

Gilligan Rowe & Associates currently help clients with their money personalities and money goals via Wealth Suite.  This product gives you a detailed snapshot of where you are now, which in turn gives you valuable information enabling you to set realistic money objectives.  It could be as simply as getting out of debt or putting money away for your kids education or it might be a tad more ambitious such as purchasing one or two rental properties or adding to your current property portfolio.  One of the keys to creating wealth is making sure you know where your money is going and is your money working for you, Wealth Suite will show and track this for you.

We are at the beginning of a brand new year and I think this is an ideal opportunity to review where we are financially and where we'd like to travel to.  If you think you could benefit from some impartial advice on how you could handle your money personality and affairs, request a meeting.

To request a meeting click here and fill in the form.