What's Your Money Personality and How Did It Get That Way?

The way we respond to money is often a factor of our previous experiences and our upbringing. There are a number of different types of money personalities and each has their own individual way of relating to financial concepts and money that were formed over the course of our life. In this article, we look at your money personality and how it came to be that way.

What Is Your Money Personality?

There are eight main money personalities, including the innocent, victim, warrior, martyr, fool , creator, tyrant and magician. How do you relate to these money personalities?

Do you hide your head in the sand when it comes to money matters? (the innocent)
Do you blame your financial situation on external factors? (the victim)
Do you set out to conquer the money world? (the warrior)
Do you put others' needs over your own, and neglect your own needs? (the martyr)
Do you take financial shortcuts in order to make a windfall of money? (the fool)
Do you have a love/hate relationship with money? (the creator/artist)
Do you use money to control? (the tyrant)
Do you use an ever-changing set of dynamics when it comes to money and other situations? (the magician)

Are You a Hoarder or Excessive Spender?

Apart from your money personality, you have two other characteristics that determine the ways you deal with money, namely, are you a hoarder or an excessive spender? The hoarder generally keeps everything because they are afraid of the consequences if they have to get rid of something. The excessive spender often lands in debt from spending more than they really have because they believe there is always going to be plenty.

How Did You Develop Your Money Personality?

Think about your early experiences with money and how your parents dealt with money. If you lived in real poverty as a child, then you may develop a habit of hoarding because you do not want to land in that situation again. If you lived in an affluent family who never discussed money problems, then you may become an excessive spender. By thinking through your early experiences of money, you will often be able to determine where your current reactions to money came from and how your money personality developed.

Each of us has our own unique way of relating to money and financial situations. We have our own money personality and may also be a hoarder or a spender. These money personalities were formed through our early experiences with money and through watching the way our parents related to money. By taking stock of how our money personalities and relationships were formed, we can often work on improving our areas of weakness in this regard and learn to adapt new positive reactions.