Money is one of the most common reasons for divorces on the Gold Coast and contributes to many of the disagreements couples have. But what is a money personality and how can learning about this improve the way we communicate about money in our relationships?
There is a committed branch of psychology dedicated to personality studies. Thousands of personality questionnaires designed to determine every aspects of your personality whether for the purpose of job suitability, psychopathology, the Big 5 Factors (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability and Intellect), or the many other curiosities of your personalities that influence your behaviour. Your money personality can be understood as the way that you feel and think about money and can be determined by analysing your behaviours around money.
Although there are several ways to define a money personality, whether by morals and beliefs or behavioural patterns for example, I find the most helpful to be the most practical definition. For this reason, here are five primary money personalities descriptions taken from renowned money relationship experts, Bethany & Scott Palmer. Have a read through and see which you gravitate to the most.
Savers
Get a genuine rush from saving money
Are organised, responsible and trustworthy when it comes to finances
Rarely spend impulsively
Avoid credit card debt
A joy stealer for the sake of money
Focussed on financial goals
May be viewed as cheap
Spenders
Love to buy things for other people
Get a thrill from the purchase
Impractical and impulsive purchases often
Noncommunicative around their spending decisions
Often filled with regret
May often break the budget
Risk Takers
Are a big picture person
Love finding the next adventure
Get excited by possibility
Listens to your gut
Aren’t afraid to make decisions
Blinded by possibility
May be resented by those more cautious with money
Can be impatient at times
Security Seeker
An investigator around their spending decisions
Trustworthy
Willing to sacrifice an item for security
Prepared for anything
Can be overly negative
Can get stuck in a research rut
May stifle creativity and possibilities
Flyer
Basically, content with life and do not think about money at all
Big on relationships
Happy to let someone else take care of your finances
Not motivated by money
Can be reactionary and therefore can end up in money trouble
Lack in skills to solve money troubles as they arise
May be disorganised when it comes to money
Can be un-responsible in terms of money (not irresponsible, just not so concerned by it)
In reading through these descriptions were you saying to yourself, ‘OMG that is totally me!’? Great, then this is your primary money personality. You may have also found that you saw aspects of more than one money personality in yourself. Even better.
Now, before you read further it is thought that we actually have two money personalities so I’d like you to go back and read through the descriptions again and try and see which other is like you too (maybe just some of the time). This is your secondary money personality. If you have struggled with this activity and do not resonate with these descriptions, you can take a 10-minute free quiz online by Scott and Bethany Palmer for a personalised report sent to your inbox.
The fascinating thing is that often our own money personalities clash, both within our two personalities and between ours and our partner’s. For instance, imagine if your primary money personality is a shrewd security seeker yet your secondary personality is a spender. At one moment you’re investigating the detail of your next purchase and in the next your wanting to impulse purchase an electric bike (real life example BTW). Or maybe you have a risk-taking spending partner, yet you are more conservative in your spending. You can imagine the conflict occurring.
In order to find balance and understanding, awareness is, as always, paramount. Being mindful of you and your partners’ money personalities can help you to reduce strong unhealthy biases in your behaviour and encourage empathy and understanding in your relationship when money becomes a conversation topic. So, if you’ve figured out your money personalities, get your partner to identify theirs too so that you can figure out why the clashes are occurring. There are relative strengths and weaknesses to each of the money personalities and appreciating the uniqueness of yours and theirs can help bring you closer together.
If you are interested in discussing this further with a Gold Coast Psychologist, please get in touch to see how we can help.