Determining Money Personality Can Help You Save

 

Why is it that some people are more free with their money without worrying as much about the consequences of spending until the bills arrive? Instead, they concentrate on the immediate satisfaction of all their purchases. On the other hand, there are others that are completely opposite in their spending habits to the point of using coupons to waiting for sales before parting with money in order to accumulate funds for the long term future. Is money personality learned early in life from our parents or can it be better explained through the brain?

There was a research study in 1972 conducted at Stanford University called the Marshmallow Experiment that tested preschoolers on their response to how they handled treats. The children were instructed they could eat one treat immediately or wait so they could eat both at the same time a couple of minutes later.

Interestingly enough, the Marshmallow Experiment followed the same subject group to adulthood and found that the ones that delayed gratification were more prosperous than the ones that went for immediate satisfaction and became spenders. No one can help how their brain responds to the gratification that shopping has on them even though the behavior can be a bad idea. However, there are ways around a money personality for an excessive spender.

Money Personality Saving Tips for an Excessive Spender

 

If you fall into this of an excessive spender category, then you can make it easier on yourself by leaving your credit cards at home. You are much better off paying with cash than allowing your eyes to tempt you with money that you don’t have by using those credit cards.

You may find yourself adopting new spending habits once you need to visit the bank for more money. Seeing your balance and withdrawals can keep you more grounded when you come face to face with those figures more often. Besides that, driving to a bank, banking machine or just waiting in line, takes up time that can be another deterrent to control spending.

Another helpful money saving tip is delaying the purchase until you have more time to think about it. Is that item really something you need right now or is it more of a passing whim that you would love to have?  You can still indulge while being on a budget–that is if you have a plan.

Some people live in the immediate future without regard for tomorrow. Sometimes, it helps to take a moment and think about future plans for retirement, cost of your children’s education, health care, etc. Reality about those things can startle an excessive spender to truly save money.

 Money Advice for the Overly Thrifty Spender

Some people are driven to save to the point of having enough money, but can go without things they might need. An overly thrifty spender can also have a crippled social life because of the related expenses of entertaining friends, going out to restaurants, movies, etc. Nevertheless, here are money tips to better balance spending for an overly thrifty spender.

Being thrifty is wonderful, but so is living a full life. Therefore, try to set aside a little each month in your budget of household expenses for a little pleasure like dining out or entertaining, perhaps.
If you have reached your savings goal of being comfortably set, then ask yourself how much more do you need to accumulate? You did everything right so why not spend some money without guilt? Saving just to accumulate more puts a stranglehold on you and happiness that you need to loosen.

How you handle money may be determined by personality type, but it can be managed with proper balance. Hopefully, what I shared can give you a better handle on saving your money to work with your personality type.