There are 6 money personalities. Find yours.

I’m not the most savvy when it comes to personal finances. I’d love to be the woman who saved $36,000 by never spending $5, but that just sounds boring impossible.

Or, more specially, I’m an ‘avoider’, which is a ‘money personality type’ that I share with one-fifth of the population but, between us, we only hold 9 per cent of personal wealth. A depressing thought, but at least I’m not alone.

Money makes me anxious. I don’t want to control it. I don’t even want to know about it. But I also know I need to change that – see the never-ending rabbit hole that is my financial anxiety?

So why don’t I just fix it? I could – but that kind of change is not going to come naturally.

Mark Bouris, executive chairman of wealth management company Yellow Brick Road, has profiled six ‘money personality types’ to help us better understand our strengths and weaknesses (or, in my case, purely weaknesses) when it comes to dealing with money.

His argument is that, by better understanding your values, motivations and reasons for spending and saving money, you’re more likely to be successful in managing your finances.

Which one are you?

Enthusiast

These are the types that make me cringe. Not in a bad way, in a wish-I-had-a-10th-of-your-smarts way. These are the people who regularly engage with financial planning, expect to retire early and are confident in their decisions. There’s a reason why they’re confident too – they’re usually always right. They’re practical and educate themselves on all things finance-related. Stocks, investments, self-managed super funds (yes, self manged – they manage their own super!), enthusiasts are right across all these money-making mysteries.

Only around 14% of the population is composed of Enthusiasts, but the infuriating bunch posssess around one-third of Australia’s entire personal wealth.

via GIPHY

Delegator

These are only slight-less irritating than enthusiasts, but the’re still going to be rich. They have a similar financial awareness and confidence when it comes to personal wealth, but they’re not so savvy. Instead, they regularly seek advice from experts to manage their wealth (yes, they have welath to manage!). Delegators make up around 19% of the population and hold around 18% of private wealth.

Avoider

These are my type of people. They don’t open bills. Avoid paying anything. And they hold their breath every time they withdraw cash. Avoiders are known for their anxiety, head-in-the-sand mentality when it comes to money. They don’t want to see an adviser, they don’t have a plan and superannuation is something their employees figure out. As I said above, this crowd make up around one fifth of the population, but hold only 9% of the wealth – but it’s all good, the money will just sort itself out, right?

Interesting note: Avoiders are usually women under 40. I still have time to turn it around.

via GIPHY

Conservative DIY

These guys are sneaky and effective. They take up only 15% of the population, but they hold 20% of personal wealth. They’re the average income earners who have worked their way into wealth through a – you guessed it – conservative and do-it-yourself approach. Their money management traits include care and confidence, and they’re likely to invest in term deposits, property, managed funds and shares.

Player

Don’t be fooled by the name. This crowd is stable and decisive, they just like to live it up. They’re usually city-dwellers and typically male. Between them, they make up 15% of the population and hold around 13% of private wealth.

Too busy

These are similar to the avoiders, but probably not so bad. Plus, they have a reason to be lax when it comes to finances – they’re too busy, and this busy-ness is likely to lead to wealth. The income of those who are Too Busy is likely to be above average, but they’re failing when it comes to income protection and life insurance. They make money, spend money and don’t want to address the serious stuff. This group makes up around 15% of the population and own 11% of personal wealth.

via GIPHY