Understanding your money personality Quiz

This month, we’re digging into how understanding your money personality can help you manage your money with less stress and hassle.

Did you know that there are different types of personalities when it comes to spending, saving and dealing with money?

There are hoarders and savers, spenders, planners…

And these money personality types have a huge effect on how you handle your personal finances, sometimes without you being conscious of it.

Understanding your money personality is a really helpful step on the journey to financial freedom.

Not only does understanding your money personality give you insight into your spending, but it helps you plan to work with, not against, your financial instincts.

Doesn’t that sound awesome?

So, this week, we thought we’d embrace our inner Buzzfeed and create a little “What’s your Money Personality?” Quiz.

Answer the following 5 questions and we’ll tell you your money personality and give you some pointers on how understanding your money personality can help you manage your finances better. Make sure you remember what letter your answers are!

So, without further ado, here come the questions…

Question 1: You’ve just discovered that a distant relative has left you £10,000 in his will. The money lands in your account. What do you do with it?

Keep the vast majority of it in a savings account or invest it in ISAs and other high-interest accounts. You might need it someday so it’s not worth spending now.
Go on that holiday. Buy that car you’ve always wanted. Pay off your credit cards.
Sit down with a pen and paper and work out where to spend what and how much to invest.
Check your account to see what’s in there already before you decide. You think there’s a debt you’ve got to pay off, but you’re not 100% sure.
Whatever you fancy doing with it, really. You’ll just see how things go.

Question 2: An official-looking envelope lands on your doormat. It looks like a bill, but you’re not expecting one. What do you do?

Open it. If it’s a bill, you can probably pay it with your savings.
Uh oh. Best open it and hope you’ve got the money to pay this.
Freak out internally because you didn’t plan for this at all. Then open it and then check your budget to see if you can afford it. (You’ll probably use the rainy day fund, if you have to.)
Ignore it. If it’s important, they’ll send another one. You’ll deal with it then.
Open it and see what it’s all about.

Question 3: You spend most of your expendable income on…

Nothing, most of the time. You prefer to tuck it away for a rainy day.
Everything. Holidays, nights out, clothes, little gifts for friends…
Whatever you’ve planned to spend it on that month. (Although, some months you tuck most of it away.)
You don’t really spend it, you just get through the month.
Whatever. Sometimes stuff you need, sometimes stuff you just want.

Question 4: Your monthly budget is…

Aimed towards putting as much as away as you can.
Well, it exists, but — erm — you don’t look at it all that much.
A work of art. The most detailed budget you’ve ever seen. It’s colour coded too.
Budget? What budget? I hate those kind of things.
I don’t really believe in budgets. I just go with the flow.

Question 5: How much do you think about the future when it comes to money?

Lots. It’s my main driving force. I want to be financially secure all my life.
Erm, not much? I prefer to live for the moment.
Quite a bit. My budget has long-term and short term financial goals.
I want to think about the future more, but it scares me.
I don’t really. I take each day as they come.

Mostly A: You’re the Hoarder

There’s no doubt about it, you like to save money. We bet that your monthly budget is colour-coded and broken up into incredible detail. In fact, we bet you love working out your finances and getting your calculator out.

But you also have a hard time spending money on yourself, your loved ones or on expensive products. If you’re honest, these items seem a bit frivolous to you.

While being a hoarder is great for financial security, it can have adverse effects on your life if you’re not careful. Part of understanding your money personality might involve knowing when it’s OK to treat yourself or those you’re close to without feeling guilty or silly about it. That can stop you becoming a compulsive hoarder and remind you to enjoy life a little.

In other words, if you want to do it, live a little. (We’d wager you’ve hoarded enough to cover a few treats without denting your nest egg too much.)

Mostly B: The Big Spender

You’re the polar opposite of The Hoarder. You like to spend, there’s no doubt about it. But not just on yourself (although that’s nice), you also love buying gifts for others too. It’s not about being materialistic, it’s about spending money on the things that make you and others happy.

However, you also probably have a hard time tucking money away or prioritising money for long-term financial goals.

Part of understanding your money personality might involve coming to terms with your spending habits, but learning a way to save money as well. Automated savings (that come out on payday) might be the perfect solution. You won’t notice you’ve saved and still get to indulge your inner Big Spender all month long.

Mostly C: The Planner

While not quite as reluctant to spend as the Hoarder, you’re still very careful with money. When you do spend money, it’s very intentional.

You don’t often make impulse buys, instead, you’re a huge fan of price comparison sites and making your money work as hard as it can.

On the flip side, unexpected purchases and social situations that require a flexible budget can make you uncomfortable. Part of understanding your money personality will be to allocate some money every month for spontaneous spending. That way, you get to plan and go with the flow. Win, win!

Mostly D: The Ostrich

While it’s actually a myth that ostriches bury their heads in the sand, it’s still a funny image, so we’re rolling with it…

You really don’t like thinking about money any more than you have to, especially if things are a little tough. Instead, you prefer to ignore the situation and hope for the best.

And while this is can be good for helping you deal with stress, it can also lead to more problems further down the road as ignoring problems can also mean failure to plan for the future.

Instead, part of understanding your money personality could be setting aside one day a month to take a look at your finances and then spending the rest of the month ignoring them. That way, you still take an active role in your finances without them stressing you out or killing your day-to-day buzz.

Mostly E: The Cucumber

Oh, you’re the coolest of the cool. The Fonz of Money Personality Types.

Unlike the Ostrich, you don’t bury your head, money just doesn’t concern you that much. You have a very ‘everything will be OK in the end’ attitude that approaches impressive levels of Zen. You spend money on what you want whenever you fancy it. You’re not driven by budgets or social pressure.

However, the laidback attitude can spell trouble if you don’t put aside money for bumps in the road or plan for your long-term future.

Part of understanding your money personality could be, like the Ostrich, that you take a short money moment each month to make sure you’re still on top of things and are saving for the future.

What was your money personality type? We’d love to know! Let us know on social media!

Author The Bamboo Team
Posted 19 August 2019

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