What’s Your Money Personality, and How To Manage Finances Based on It

This was originally posted on Planner Bee.

What Defines Your Money Personality?

Are you more inclined to stash your money away in a savings account, or spend it after getting your pay cheque? Do you prefer to invest, or would you much rather ‘protect’ your money by keeping it away from the market? Are you an avid believer of planning for the future, or do you live in the moment?

Your money personality is inherently intertwined with your answers to these questions. Money personalities encompass a range of money habits and attitudes towards money. Unravelling and understanding your money personality is essential so you can make informed financial choices and achieve your monetary aspirations.

Discover Your Unique Money Personality

Planner Bee’s very own Money Personality Quiz considers your spending, saving and investing habits and categorises you into one of the distinct six money personalities.

Let’s find out more about each personality type, and some tips to better manage your finances.

Cheap Thrills Lover

While you adore discovering new things, you are also determined to achieve financial stability. Here are some pointers to better achieve your goals:

• Calculated Risks: While exercising prudence is necessary, consider taking calculated risks to nurture your financial growth. Having safety nets and playing it safe might feel great, but growth is key for a secure retirement.
• Future Planning: Strike a balance between the present and future by creating a personalised budget that ensures both stability and fulfilment.
• Smart Investments: Safeguard your hard-earned wealth from inflation’s erosion. Explore investments that will allow you to achieve your present and future goals.

Read more: Investing 101: What You Should Look Out for As A Beginner Investor

Freedom Junkie

Thrill-seeker, spender, and free-spirited – that’s you! While you indulge in retail therapy and embrace adventure that spark joy, keep these tips in mind:

• Diversify Investments: Minimise risk while maintaining a good level of returns through a diversified investment portfolio.
• Automated Savings: Remove the temptation to overspend by setting up automatic transfers to a savings or investment account.
• Future-forward: Strike a balance between your present joy and future stability by crafting a personal budget catered to your aspirations.

Read more: Create a Personal Budget You Can Actually Stick To

Carefree Investor

Walking the investment tightrope with calculated bravery defines you. Rather than get worried and flustered, you embrace market fluctuations and enjoy these new experiences. Apply these to your financial journey:

• Diversify Investments: Minimise risk while maintaining a good level of returns through a diversified investment portfolio.
• Smart Investments: Safeguard your hard-earned wealth from inflation’s erosion. Explore investments that will allow you to achieve your present and future goals.
• Future-forward: Strike a balance between your present joy and future stability by crafting a personal budget catered to your aspirations.

Read more: When Should You Start Planning for Retirement

Cautious Investor

Your calculated approach and diligent research lay the foundation for your financial stability. While you expertly balance risk with wisdom, consider these steps to fortify your wealth:

• Live in the Moment: Planning is vital, but remember to embrace spontaneity and welcome the unforeseen.
• Diversify Investments: Minimise risk while maintaining a good level of returns through a diversified investment portfolio.
• Mindful Budgeting: Strike a balance between present enjoyment and future security through intentional budgeting.

Read more: What’s an Emergency Fund and How Much is Enough?

Life-loving Strategist

Your intuition guides you towards a harmonious blend of routine and spontaneity. Strengthen your financial journey with these strategies:

• Calculated Risks: While exercising prudence is necessary, consider taking calculated risks to nurture your financial growth. Having safety nets and playing it safe might feel great, but growth is key for a secure retirement.
• Automated Savings: Remove the temptation to overspend by setting up automatic transfers to a savings or investment account.
• Trust Your Gut: Make decisions rooted in tangible benefits and adapt flexibly to changing circumstances.

Read more: A 5-Step Plan to Investing for Retirement in Singapore

Cautious Strategist

Your dedication to security is commendable. You endeavour to organise your goals and priorities to ensure your future is stable. Take a look at some tips that could help you out:

• Calculated Risks: While exercising prudence is necessary, consider taking calculated risks to nurture your financial growth. Having safety nets and playing it safe might feel great, but growth is key for a secure retirement.
• Smart Investments: Safeguard your hard-earned wealth from inflation’s erosion. Explore investments that will allow you to achieve your present and future goals.
• Live in the Moment: Planning is vital, but remember to embrace spontaneity and welcome the unforeseen.

Intrigued? Discover your Money Personality__: Money Personality Quiz

Tips for couples with differing money personality types

If you realise while reading, for instance, that you’re a Cautious Strategist but your partner is a Freedom Junkie, you might be a little concerned about how different your financial beliefs are.

Don’t worry. Many of us don’t share the same money personality types as our partners. Here are four tips to ensure that your personality types don’t result in money-related conflicts.

Tip 1: Understand and embrace differences

The first step to solving any problem is identifying and understanding the root cause. Identify what your attitudes and habits towards money are like, and what you need to be cautious of. You will need to employ a mindset shift, where instead of viewing your differences as a challenge, you see them as new opportunities. Embrace each other’s differences to work towards a better financial future.

Tip 2: Set financial goals together

Setting financial goals together is one of the most important steps you should take as a couple. Find time to sit down and discuss what you want to achieve together and how you can get there. Consider discussing the following:

• Budgeting: How are you allocating money for your daily expenditure, living expenses and bills? Who is taking charge of what?
• Handling Debt: What is your game plan to tackle existing debt? Is there space in the budget to take more loans?
• Investment Strategies: How are you planning for the future? Discuss your risk appetites and strategies.

Tip 3: Experiment with different money management strategies

You never know until you try. That is exactly what this tip is about: exploring and experimenting until you find what works for you. After setting your financial goals, naturally the next step is to brainstorm which strategies you’d like to experiment with. Here are a few of them to get the ball rolling:

• Joint or Separate Accounts: Determine whether you’d like to have joint accounts, individual accounts, or both. Talk about how you will allocate the money in each account. For example, a joint account could be useful for expenses like grocery purchases.
• Equal Contribution: Think about how you will manage each other’s contributions. Will you split your expenses equally, or more proportionately where each partner’s income/financial capacity is considered?
• Expense Tracking: How will you keep track of your expenses? Will you be using expense-tracking tools or rely on other methods?

Remember that this is a trial and error period where you are encouraged to try out different strategies with an open mind. Give them a shot, note down what works and what doesn’t and apply that to your life!

Read more: How Successful Couples Save Money Together

Tip 4: Review finances regularly

This is arguably the most important tip of all. There is no point in experimenting or setting goals if you do not assess how well they work. Periodically conducting these financial reviews helps you check the progress towards your financial goals, adjust your budgets as needed and (importantly) celebrate the achievements you made together! You get to iron out any kinks in your financial plan while recognising the milestones you managed to tick off your checklists.

Read more: Managing Money as a Couple

The Bottom Line

Each money personality type comes with its pros and cons. What’s important is being self-aware. Knowing your habits will allow you to manage your finances better so you can work towards your financial goals. Being in a relationship with someone who has a drastically different money personality type does not need to be difficult either, as long as there is communication, transparency and accountability.

Take the quiz: Money Personality Quiz