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HSFPP Update # 215—Money Personalities

Message from Bob: This week’s update about financial personality types should spark a lively classroom discussion. The Web Site Picks of the Week should also help teens appreciate how their financial personality could not only help or hurt their finances, but also their relationships.

Money isn’t everything, but it definitely helps to have enough of it, especially in case of an emergency. Are your teens ready to pay for a flat tire or a car repair, for instance? Or did they overextend themselves in order to get the coolest ride possible, regardless of the cost? (It could be because of their money personality.)

While they are still young, this is an excellent time to teach your teens about the causes and consequences of the current recession, as well as to get them working to help those who are less fortunate.

We have been notified that educators were having trouble accessing our Web site from our updates and video lessons, and we have found the problem: several recent lessons have had outdated or incorrect links to our Web site. The links at the end of this lesson have been checked and are now up-to-date; we will also make sure that those links in our archived updates are corrected. If you have passed these lessons on to other educators, we would appreciate your letting them know our correct Web site so they can make full use of our program. Thank you to those educators who let us know of the problem!

If you have any comments or suggestions for the HSFPP, please let us know. We like to hear from you and are always glad to hear how we can improve our program and make our lessons more useful to you.

Academic Expectations:

Social Studies

Academic Expectation 2.18
Students understand economic principles and are able to make economic decisions that have consequences in daily living.
Unit 2-6

Practical Living

Academic Expectation 2.29
Students demonstrate skills that promote individual well-being and healthy family relationships.
(Program material addresses risky behavior and its impact on teens)

Academic Expectation 2.33
Students demonstrate the skills to evaluate and use services and resources available in their community.
Unit 5

Vocational Studies

Academic Expectation 2.37
Students demonstrate skills and work habits that lead to success in future schooling and work.

 

Web Site Picks of the Week:

“Spending Patterns and ‘Money Personalities’ Clarify Money Conflicts,” by Gisele L. Microys and Robin C. Robertson, Alberta Medical Association [December 1, 2005].

“Opposites Attract – Even When It Comes to Feelings About Money,” by Holden Lewis, Bankrate.com [February 5, 2001].

 

Activity:

Before teens read this week’s article In the New$..., have them fill out the Money Personality Quizonlineor print it out from the bottom of the article, “Your Money Personality,” by Olivia Mellan, at divorcemag.com.

 

In the New$... Money Personalities

by Claire Kimberly, family studies graduate student, University of Kentucky

It’s Friday and you are finally getting paid. Perhaps you decide to spend your money on a new video game or maybe you put the entire paycheck into savings. Either way, did you know that you handle your money the way you do because of your personality?

The feelings and values one places on money differ from person to person. One person might feel that money should be spent freely because you only live once. Someone else might see money as an opportunity to provide for the less fortunate, so he or she gives a vast majority of it to those who need it most. I will mention five types of money personalities described in Olivia Mellan’s book, Money Harmony. I will also give some tips on how to improve your money habits. Be sure to look at the Money Personality Quiz to see which one you fit into most closely. (Don’t worry if you don’t fit one of the categories neatly, as people are more complicated than broad categories like these.)

Hoarder – This type of personality has a tendency to save as much money as possible. It is difficult for a hoarder to spend money on items they don’t necessarily need to survive. This could include gifts, vacations, or nice clothes.

Spender – A spender tends to find satisfaction in spending their money on material items such as clothes, cars, or electronics. This type of personality has difficulty saving their money. An example in the media could be Cher’s character in the movie, “Clueless.”

Money Monk – This type of person feels guilty if they have too much money. Money monks might have difficulty not giving all of their money away to those who are less fortunate. Some examples of these types of people can be seen on the TV series, “Extreme Homemaker,” people who serve others while personally living in terrible conditions.

Avoider – An avoider could be fearful of money. They tend to avoid dealing with it by keeping a budget or opening a savings account. This might be because they feel anxious or ignorant when dealing with money. An example of an avoider might be someone who keeps their money hidden in their home because they do not want to deal with a bank.

Amasser –This final personality type could be obsessed with having a great deal of money always at hand so they can spend, save, and invest it. An amasser loves money and thinks about it a lot, but might have trouble enjoying life.

Now that you have learned about your personality type, here are some activities you can do to improve your spending and saving habits.

Hoarders: (1) Spend $25 on something nice, but not practical, for yourself or for a friend. (2) Don’t look at your budget for one entire week. (3) Continue to save, but don’t be obsessive about it.

Spenders: (1) Put $20 into your savings account; if you save some money already, save more. (2) Avoid going on shopping binges. (3)  Don’t spend money you don’t have (don’t use credit cards except when absolutely necessary).

Money Monks: (1) Buy something you have wanted for a while and enjoy this “selfish pleasure.” (2)  Make a list of ways to give money both to yourself and to others. (3) If you are harming your own finances by giving others too much money, limit how much you will give.

Avoiders: (1) Keep track of where and how you spend money. (2) Sit down and pay bills and/or balance your checkbook. (3) Talk to someone whom you trust about what you can do with your money to make the most of it; make sure this is someone who is knowledgeable about saving and investing.

Amassers: (1) Spend less than 15 minutes a day looking over your budget and investments. (2) Do something that has nothing to do with money, such as going to a park or a museum. (3) Find a new hobby that will draw your attention away from your budget. 

The point of these suggestions is to help each personality type find balance. As in the example of Money Monks, some people give away too much money for their own good. Many people, on the other hand, don’t give enough to help others. Hoarders are likely to do and redo their budgets so they can save more money, so not looking at their budgets for a few days could be helpful to their sanity. For many people, though, a budget is a lifesaver that they avoid at their own peril. Keep this in mind as you work to improve your finances and your life.

Sources:

Ram Sridhar, “Millionaire Mindset: What is Your Money Personality? Take the Test!” Forbes.com, February 15, 2008.

Olivia Mellan, “Your Money Personality,” divorcemag.com [no date given].

Olivia Mellan, Money Harmony, Resolving Conflicts in Your Life and Relationships. Walker and Company, 1994.

 

Discussion Questions:

1. Did your personality type surprise you? Why or why not?
   
   
   
2. How do you think your personality type would affect you if you won the lottery?
   
   
   
3. In your opinion, which financial personality type might do better in this economic recession? Which financial personality type might do badly in this economic recession? Why?

 

Take-Home Questions:

1. How do attitudes about money affect one’s satisfaction with life?
   
   
   
2. How do you think it would affect you and your relationship if the person you planned to marry (or even have as a roommate) had a different financial personality type?

 

Kentucky High School Financial Planning Program

http://www.ca.uky.edu/hes/fcs/hsfp

The purpose of the HSFPP financial updates, video lessons, and Web site is to assist county Extension agents, credit union educators, high school teachers, and parents who home school their teenagers so that they may improve the economic well-being of our teenagers; and also to show educators how the HSFPP, updates, and video lessons meet Kentucky core concepts. The Web site, updates, and video lessons are provided by the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, and are free to all educators. The list of core concepts and order form for free program materials including the student guide and instructors manual can be found on the Kentucky HSFPP home page.

If you are not already on our listserv:

The video lessons are available only to members of our listserv and will not be posted to the HSFPP Web site because of the timeliness of the information. If you would like to receive our video lessons, which are sent to our listserv biweekly, on alternate weeks from these updates, please sign up at the following page of our Web site: http://www.ca.uky.edu/HES/fcs/HSFP/response.htm.