“My sister and I are so different when it comes to money. She’s a big saver and recently bought her own apartment. On the other hand, I have over J$60,000 in credit card debt. I’m feeling a little jealous of her although I know it’s not fair, because she has tried to help me manage my money better.

“Why is my sister so successful with money while I’m always a loser?”

Why it is that some people seem to be ‘born with gold spoons in their mouths’ while money never seems to visit the lives of others? Are some people just destined to be lucky with money while others are doomed to remain poor?

Kathleen Gurney, Ph.D. author of Your Money Personality: What It Is and How You Can Profit from It states that there are psychological factors at play when it comes to money, as our thoughts and beliefs about money help to influence our financial success or lack of it.

She points out that along with our physical self, emotional self and social self, we also have a financial self. This money self influences the way we interact with our money.

Dr Gurney goes on to say, “If you don’t know your money strengths, you can’t use them. If you don’t know what’s preventing you from getting money, you will remain a money victim. If you don’t know what you want from money, you will never reach your financial goals. If you aren’t willing to change your money attitudes, you will stay in your financial status quo.”

Most of our money attitudes are developed in our childhood. We learned from our parents by internalizing what they said about money and how they interacted with it. Specific events that related to money could also have left lasting impressions that influence how we handle money today.

If you feel that you’re not successful with money today, chances are that you can go back to your early days and find some of the reasons why.

Want to learn how to ‘think and grow rich’? CLICK HERE!

In her ground-breaking book, Dr Gurney examines nine money personalities and looks at traits that influence the way we think about and deal with money. In part one this week, we will look at five personality styles as she has outlined them. See if you can identify your money personality!

1.  Entrepreneurs

– will take risks in order to achieve a business and financial goal
– believe that good luck is on their side in attaining their financial goals
– have a high belief that their individual work efforts can bring them financial success
– enjoy the feeling of prestige and fame associated with having financial status and power
– like to be involved in financial decisions but will delegate money management to someone they trust

2.  Hunters

– find it easier to make financial decisions if they can rely on someone else’s advice
– spend their money impulsively, according to how they are feeling at the time
– lack pride in the way they have handled their money
– find that they spend as much as they make, and save very little
– are motivated to buy status symbols as personal rewards for their hard work

3.  Safety Players

– believe that their financial fate is often cast by forces outside of their own control
– have a tendency to be passive with their money than to actively take charge
– make financial decisions without a lot of analysis
– have a high level of doubt that people can be trusted when their money is concerned
– are skeptical of whether financial success can be attributed to hard work

4.  High Rollers

– enjoy the thrill associated with taking risks with their money
– are discontent and frustrated with their current financial situation
– let their emotions guide their financial decisions
– desire that their money bring them feelings of power and prestige
– get greater enjoyment in spending rather than saving their money

5.  Achievers

– want and need to be integrally involved in their money management and investing
– prefer conservative, low-risk investments
– have difficulty delegating their money management to others
– have little interest in status and prestige with their money
– are highly analytical in their financial decision-making

Next week we’ll examine the rest of Dr Gurney’s money personalities. We’ll also look at how you can use this information about your money behaviour to make improvements that can help you to achieve your financial goals.