Identify Your Money Personality And Eliminate Your Weaknesses

The way you act with money goes a long way toward defining your lifestyle. Recognizing your financial strengths, weaknesses and tendencies can help you to make smarter choices, identify blind spots and improve your sense of control over money matters.

Intuitive Bridge identifies these four money personality types:

* Money Martyrs. They’re generous to a fault, have trouble accepting assistance and don’t place much of a value on themselves. They can help themselves by being more assertive when negotiating wages and paying themselves before they help others.

* Money Burners. These free spenders think they’re entitled to everything that catches their eye and don’t realize where their money goes. They can counteract their impulses by instituting a strict budget that allows for plenty of discretionary buys.

* Money Ostriches. They stick their heads in the sand, pretending their financial woes don’t exist until their problems have grown so much that they’ve reached disaster levels. Ostriches need to force themselves to survey their financial landscape and take action.

* Money Freaks. Freaks are so focused on the intricacies of their finances that they fail to enjoy the benefits of their responsible behavior. This type of person tends to live a scrimping, miserable existence before leaving a ton of money to their heirs. Freaks need to detach, break some rules and find a way to enjoy doing so.

The post names a fifth type, the generally perfect Money Maven, who is responsible with money but immune to any of the above tendencies. I’m not sure such a type exists. I think most people see themselves as Money Mavens but they’re actually closer to one of the other four types. To find out which money personality is yours, forget about your own opinion and ask someone who knows you well.

How You Do Money is How You Do Everything: The 5 Money Patterns [Intuitive Bridge via Budgets Are Sexy]


Edit Your Comment

  1. Blueskylaw says:

    Don’t you have to have money in the first place in order to have money problems?

    More money, more problems.
    No money, no problems?

  2. yellowdog says:

    Hoo boy – Money Freak here.

    Can’t spend a dime on discretionary things without agonizing over it. And once I buy the item, I have buyer’s remorse for days. Got no debt aside from the mortgage, true, but sometimes I wish I could just cut the heck loose and, I dunno, buy something cool without thinking.

    I think it’s because I’m forever worried about my job going away. It’s happened twice in my working career, and no doubt it’ll happen again.

    • azgirl says:

      My solution to that was to set goals-generous goals- like 3 months salary in the bank, then 6 then 12 etc. I am frugal with all my regular day to day purchases, but can then allow myself luxury items when I have hit or exceeded a goal nicely. I dont make it a habit to splurge, I raise the set points often… but then that guilt doesn’t linger when I get the item.

      I also shop obsessively to get the best price on said item. It really has helped.

    • bluline says:

      Happening to me tomorrow (job loss). Second time. Took me 16 months to find a job last time it happened. I’m 58 now, so it’s going to be darn near impossible. But I’m also like you in that I can’t spend money on fun things without feeling guilty. Maybe that’s why I have zero debt!

  3. dolemite says:

    I think I’m a Money Maven. My wife is a Burning Ostriche.

  4. Zydia says:

    I think money freaks (just the obnoxious kind) should only hang out with their own kind for a year.
    I guess the other types would benefit from the same thing, too, but their tendencies are nowhere near as annoying to me.

  5. MonkeyMonk says:

    Luckily my wife and I are both Money Mavens — although if I had to pick a leaning I would say I lean towards being a Money Freak and she leans towards being a Money Martyr.

  6. I just blue myself says:

    I’m a money martyr but I’m working on it.

  7. j2.718ff says:

    none of these remotely describe me

  8. Sean H says:

    The more you have, the more you want. The more you want, the more you spend. The more you spend, the more you need. The more you need, the more you have to have.

    In Togo, Africa they live on 2 dollars a day, can’t afford much other than the essentials. They grow their food, and have zero luxuries. They, overall, live happily because that is what they know.

    • ceriphim says:

      Statements like this get kicked around a lot, which really annoys me. What’s the logical conclusion of your statement? People would be happier if they lived on $2 a day? Not anywhere in the U.S. that I’m aware of, so they should move to Africa? That’s a non-starter for any number of reasons.

      I couldn’t live on $2 a day, not being able to obtain the necessities to fulfill my job duties means demotion or unemployment. Without a job, I can guarantee you trying to live on $2 would be absolutely miserable. My solution is to live the best life I can, with what I can get. What’s your solution?

  9. DevsAdvocate says:

    I’m a Money Maven… I keep up on my finances, carry out savings plans for future purchases, hunt for the best deals, and splurge a little sometimes.

  10. Bort says:

    I know boatloads of people who would be eternally grateful to be in any of these 4 categories, unemployment, severe underemployment, homelessness and no options for employment are too familiar vs these five patterns

  11. BradenR says:

    Definitely money freaks but at least we are a matched pair, no arguments that way. Perhaps it’s rebellion but the kids are definitely worry another day types. Good thing we have everything locked up in dispersal trusts or they would be broke a week after we are gone.