Your Wallet and your Money Personality

Nice wallet shame about the finances!

Next time you take out your wallet to pay for something consider this. In one simple flash you’ll reveal to the world your hidden secrets of how you approach and handle your money.

These secrets are in fact called your money personality and you can be one of three types. You can are either be a Spender, you could be Careful or you could Savvy with your money. You’ll definitely have elements of each in your overall make up however you will lean more towards one of the three at any one point in time

Speaking of time, your money personality has taken many years to form. In fact, it started when you were a child while you watched and listened to your parents talk about and deal with money. Then over the years you would have started to form your own money personality by what you may have learned at school, from your friends or even from your work colleagues. All of these experiences add up to form how you approach money today and ultimately they have helped shape what your wallet looks like. For example if you grew up in an environment where money was always talked about in a negative way and your parents kept bickering over their finances then there is a high chance you could be a Careful personality. If on the other hand you grew up in a family where money was spoken about in a positive way and you were in fact encouraged to actively manage your own pocket money chances are you are savvy. But if you grew up never being taught or in a family that kept spending their every last cent then chances are you’re a spender.

So when it comes to your wallet and your money personality, what are the signs that give you away?

A Spenders Wallet
A Spender money personality is generally a person who loves to shop. They have plenty of plastic in their wallet made up of credit cards, shopping discount cards and a whole heap of loyalty cards. All for spending! They also have bundles of shopping receipts and plenty of ATM dockets as they like to ‘ATM graze’ In other words take out a few dollars here and there over and over. By doing this, they convince themselves that they are not spending too much at any one time! However it is different story when it’s all added up. As a result there is a small amount of cash jammed in and plenty of coins in their wallet. There may even be a bunch of photos of family and pets. In terms of looks, a Spender’s wallet is generally branded and it’s relatively new and shiny, a direct result of being upgraded regularly. When it comes to size, a Spenders wallet is the ‘Sumo Wrestler’ of wallets! Many of them weigh the proverbial tonne and often have trouble closing the clip as the contents are literally bulging at the seams.

A Careful wallet
Careful money personality people are by very nature quite conservative. So much so, that many of them still probably have the original bank account they set up way back at school. By default, Careful personalities don’t like taking risks so they tend to shy away from the glitz and glam and as a result have the girl next door wallets. Their wallets are well loved and a good few years old. Inside, Careful’s only carry a small amount of cash and coins as they don’t like to spend too much. Some even have a secret compartment in their wallet that has a $20 or $50 note neatly folded up just for an emergency. In keeping with their dislike of anything risky, Careful’s generally only have one credit card and one debit card in their wallet along with a Medicare card and one or two forms of picture ID. In terms of thickness a Careful money personality’s wallet is quite thin and sometimes even has a lucky charm or memento from a special occasion.

A Savvy Wallet
Just like a modern designer kitchen a Savvy money personality’s wallet is sleek, functional and well organized. Generally a Savvy money personality has got their money worked out and they know how to use debt the smart way. They understand risk and know that to make money you need to use someone else’s money wisely. Therefore they generally have a few credit cards in their wallet but only use them when they know they can pay them back in full and collect the points. When it comes to cash they generally carry enough cash to see them out for the planned period of time and so you rarely see ATM receipts. Keeping to their well organised ways, they store their notes in denominational order and coins are kept to a minimum in a separate compartment. Hence their wallets are relatively thin. You won’t find many receipts in a Savvy wallet as they are renowned for cleaning out their wallet almost daily and keeping the overall look to be very neat and tidy, much like their finances. Savvy money personality’s are proud of their wallet and tend to choose more up market wallet brands which they keep looking like new for a long time.

Want to know what your Wallet tells the world?

Pick one answer from each question and add up your results at the end.

1. What does your wallet look like?

1. Old, non branded and very well worn
2. It’s designer branded
3. It’s well looked after
4. It’s new, bright and shiny.

1. It’s quite thin
2. Pretty fat, I can't fit another thing in it
3. It’s streamline
4. It’s quite a snug fit

1. A credit card, an ATM card, cheque book, ID, my Drivers License, some money to get me by. I might even have a $20 not hidden away just in case!
2. Many credit cards, many discount cards, my Drivers License, photos of my family, a little bit of cash, plenty of receipts, ID, ATM card.
3. One or two credit cards, some ID, frequent flyer cards, my Drivers License, ATM card, generally about $50 - $100 in cash plus a few coins.
4. A lot of credit cards, photos, heaps of ATM and shopping receipts.

1. Always some cash whether it be around $20 or $50
2. $50 to $100
3. $100 plus
4. No cash at all, just a few coins

1. Only a small amount but I take them out at the first opportunity
2. Plenty for small purchases
3. I only keep some high value coins
4. Don’t know never counted it.

1. I place them neatly in the note section
2. I just jam them in
3. The notes are ordered in ascending / descending order
4. I really don’t know

1. A week old
2. Perhaps a month or more
3. A day old at the most!
4. I haven’t looked for months.

Add all a’s _______________________

Add all b’s and d’s ________________

Add all c’s ______________________

Total      ______________________

So what does your Wallet tell you about your money personality?

To find out simply contact your nearest Lifestyle Money Coach and they will be glad to explain!