There Are 4 Money Personalities—Here’s What Yours Says About You

Money is a complex and emotional topic that can raise a whole slew of feelings—happiness, stress, guilt, joy—especially for entrepreneurs who continuously navigate financial decisions. But more often than not, these feelings about money rarely have anything to do with your current circumstances. Chances are, they stem from childhood and the relationship you witnessed your primary caregivers have with money.

On this week’s episode of WorkParty, Jacqueline ‘Jack’ Howard, Senior Director of Financial Health & Wellness at Ally Financial, joined Jaclyn to explain how our past experiences inform our money story, a story that’s been written, whether we realize it or not, and affects our financial beliefs and behaviors as we get older.

According to Howard, the first step to uncovering your money story is understanding that people aren’t inherently good or bad with money. Instead, she poses the question: What happened to make you feel this way about money? “[It’s] so much bigger than a credit score or even a budget,” she says. “Ask yourself, why are you spending money? Why are you not spending money? When you start to unpack those issues, you really begin to understand the whys.” 

The next step is creating a timeline of influential financial moments. List out milestones you’ve had with money in chronological order. From there, identify emotions that connect to each moment, then write down the messages that are reflected in these events.

Did the adults in your life avoid openly discussing money? Did your family practice extreme frugality? Perhaps a life event led to struggles with finances. Howard shared that her timeline includes happy memories of going to the credit union to pull out spending money with her mom and brother, getting a job in high school to support her family after the passing of her mom, and later, surviving breast cancer.  These events have influenced Howard to spend more money on experiences, because we only get to live one life.

Next, identify your money personality. Each personality has its own set of challenges when it comes to managing money:

  • Money Worship is when someone has the belief that money, or the things that money can buy, can solve their problems. 


  • Money Avoidance is seen when a person believes money is inherently bad and the desire for wealth is negative. Avoidance also includes those who feel overwhelmed or anxious about their finances, and as a result, ignore them. 


  • Money Status includes those who believe their self-worth is tied to their net worth. 


  • Money Vigilance consists of those who worry excessively about money. They may be hesitant to spend, even on necessary items, for fear of running out of money or falling into debt.


Coupling your money story with your money personality, creates a tool that can be used to help identify what drives you to achieve your goals. As a self-identified Money Worshipper, Howard has found success in automating financial responsibilities, so she knows exactly how much is available to invest in expenses that would otherwise make her feel guilty. (Like a new pair of sunglasses to go with her new haircut).

The way Howard sees it, once you've connected the dots, it becomes easier and easier to develop guardrails that allow for more flexibility around spending. “When you take financial trauma, money psychology, and a person’s money personality into account, it shifts the conversation from one of shame for being bad with money to a feeling of empowerment because you understand the root cause," she says.

Tune into this week's episode of WorkParty to learn more about taking charge of your money journey.

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