What kind of saver are you?
- 8 Dec 2017
Your relationship with money is linked to your past experiences, and even your childhood. Identifying your money persona can help you to understand your behaviours and beliefs, and your strengths and weaknesses. This can improve your relationship with your finances.
1. A friend of a friend is raising money to launch their new business venture, and they ask you to contribute an amount of your choice. Would you help out?
A - You’ll have a look into it. You might donate a bit, as long as it feels right.
B - You love being able to do things like this, so you’d get your wallet out straight away. And spread the word to everyone else.
C - You probably won’t. There are more sensible things you could invest that money in.
D - No way. You stay well away from those things - it’s all a scam.
2. Your best friend comes to you in desperate need because they’ve overspent, and need to borrow some money to tide them over. Do you help them out?
A - You’d try to help out as much as you could; you’d feel guilty if you didn’t.
B - Why not? That’s what friends are for. You’re glad your friends see you as someone they can depend on.
C - Sure - if a close friend is genuinely in trouble, you’re more than ready to give them what they need (including a nice long “I told you so” speech, free of charge).
D - To be completely honest, you’d rather not get involved unless it’s absolutely necessary. Money is a well-known cause of damage to friendships and other relationships.
3. What do you think of outrageously wealthy people who flaunt their possessions on social media?
A - It must be nice to be so fortunate, but you don’t think too much about it. There’s no point obsessing over what you can’t have.
B - Honestly? You are kind of impressed, and sometimes even slightly envious of people who can be that free with money. Especially if they look like they’re having a lot of fun.
C - They are very clearly over-compensating for something that they lack. You pity them, in a way.
D - The mere thought of people like that makes you slightly uncomfortable. If you behaved like that you’d be terrified of the repercussions.
4. Would you say you generally feel in control of your finances?
A - Ha ha, no way.
B - It depends on what’s going on. Sometimes you’re in control, but you do get drawn into frivolous things sometimes.
C - Yes, very in control. You pride yourself on it.
D - You try to be in control, but you believe you can never be too careful, so you try to stay vigilant at all times.
5. Would you choose a boring job that was well paid, or an exciting job that was underpaid?
A - You’d go for the exciting job, and worry about the problems later.
B - You’d take the boring job. If anyone made fun of you for it, you’d silence them with your ginormous pay check.
C - You’d take the boring job; it may not be fun but at least you’d feel financially secure.
D - You’d be tempted to take the exciting job, but you’d be too scared of the consequences. You wouldn’t even enjoy the job if you were constantly anxious about it, anyway.
6. What are your thoughts on new financial technology & banking apps?
A - You don’t pay much attention; it doesn’t really concern you.
B - It’s quite a trendy industry, you’re happy to hear about it if it’s something cool and interesting.
C - You love to be in the know about things like that, especially if they’re useful when it comes to saving money.
D - You’re slightly distrustful of them. You’d rather stick to traditional methods of managing your money.
7. What are your thoughts on money as a status symbol?
A - You don’t really like the thought of that. There’s more to a person than the contents of their bank account.
B - Money talks. It’s a symbol of status and success, whether people like to admit it or not.
C - Flashing a load of cash around can look desperate. Having money saved away and not bragging about it is far more impressive.
D - You’re quite wary of that concept. Pride comes before a fall, after all.
8. How often do you spend money purely on yourself as treat?
A - Only if you can really convince yourself you deserve a treat.
B - Seems a bit pointless. Treating someone else would be more enjoyable.
C - Doesn’t really appeal to you; you’d only feel guilty about wasting the money. Knowing that you have the money saved feels better than a temporary treat, anyway.
D - You don’t mind doing that occasionally, as long as it’s genuinely your own decision and not someone else’s.
9. Some of your friends insist on going to very expensive places, and spending time with them is starting to stretch your budget. How do you react?
A - You just go along with it. You often get strong-armed into things that you later regret, unfortunately.
B - Bring it on - if your friends want to test out your spending abilities, you’re more than happy to rise to the challenge.
C - You won’t be pressured into anything if you don’t want to - you’re more than happy to stand your ground with this.
D - Sounds horrific - any decent friend wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable, especially where money’s concerned.
10. What are your views on discussing money?
A - You’d much rather talk about something else. (Pretty much anything else).
B - It can feel pretty good to talk about your latest purchases, especially when you get to show off a little bit.
C - You’re happy to offer advice on saving techniques. In fact, you can get quite passionate - so many people are too careless with money, it’s frustrating to see them making bad decisions.
D - It’s not always the most pleasant topic but it’s good to stay in the loop - especially when there are so many things that could go wrong.
11. Which of these statements do you agree with the most?
A - Some people are naturally gifted with managing their finances. I’m just not one of those people.
B - Life is short, you might as well enjoy yourself as much as you can, while you can.
C - Be intelligent about finance. Don’t spend recklessly just for the sake of appearances, keep something for a rainy day
D - The powers that be would happily drain us all for every penny, if we aren’t careful. Stay vigilant!
Scores
- Mostly As
You tend to avoid money You tend to avoid dealing with your finances, hence sabotaging yourself. Maybe you feel guilty about money, or aren’t confident in your abilities to handle it properly.
Money doesn’t have to be intimidating - face your fears, it’s better in the long run. Take it step by step. Start by setting yourself small budgeting challenges to develop confidence in your own abilities There’s no reason you can’t be just as finance savvy as other people.
- Mostly Bs
You like to flaunt money Is your self-worth rooted in the material possessions you have? Maybe you have a strong desire to impress others.
Try to stick to a budgeting system to keep better control over your finances. Invest in things that are important to you, rather than prioritising what other people might think. It may also be worthwhile spending time with people whose company you genuinely enjoy with or without money, and realise you can have a lot of fun without spending very much.
- Mostly Cs
You like to stash money away You’re known for your great saving habits, and like to feel completely safe before spending. Maybe you believe you’ll never have enough to be truly comfortable. You may have experienced not having much in the past, and don’t want to go through the same thing again.
You are very good at saving and budgeting, so balance that out with investing in yourself. Why not have professional portfolio photos taken of yourself, or update your skills?
- Mostly Ds
You are slightly fearful about money Your relationship with money is based in fear. It’s good to be vigilant, but by being too vigilant you may actually be harming your finances.
Being cautious isn’t a bad thing but you might actually be missing out on opportunities to grow your money.
Look into investment products, or try talking to a financial adviser.
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