Factoring your personality into your finances.

New York Life | October 13, 2021

Understanding how your personality affects the financial choices you make can help you make smarter choices to protect what matters most to you.

Your personality and your financial priorities are just that, uniquely yours. When it comes to money, everyone thinks differently.

However, the financial choices we make are rarely black and white. Emotions come into play, and can influence the decisions you take.

That’s why it can be very useful to see how different financial personalities can influence your decisions. It’s time to ask — which one are you?

• Thrill seekers
  You’re an adventurer, living a ‘try-anything-once’ lifestyle. But be careful that your carefree attitude doesn’t carry over to your finances. You choose the road less travelled, but that doesn’t mean you need to cut corners on protecting yourself and your family. There are smart ways to spend money on new experiences and prioritize what matters most. Typically, thrill seekers never want to have regrets about the things they wish they had done. Make sure having the insurance cover you need is never one of them.
• Careful planners
  To your friends and family, you’re a detail-oriented, well-organized problem solver they can all rely on. You like to be in control of every aspect of your life and rarely spend impulsively. However, sometimes by focusing too much on the everyday detail of your finances, you miss the bigger picture. You feel you’re in control today, so you don’t fear tomorrow. Despite a need for security, you might not always be thinking as far ahead as you should. Take stock of the insurance you currently have in place and ask yourself if it makes you feel as confident about the future as you are about the present.
• Creatures of habit
  Consistency and routine are your key traits. However, sometimes the financial habits you’ve established can cause you to miss out on smarter ways to manage your money. You have a well-established blueprint for your daily life that’s carefully organized, so it can be a challenge to get you to plan for the unexpected. That can make you vulnerable to unpredictable events or emergencies. Make sure you have the right cover in place, just so you have a contingency plan for unexpected surprises.
  
• Chronic worriers
  You keep their finances under lock and key and rightly believe that saving is important. But you may also be uncomfortable discussing your money with anyone else and find it hard to deal with the unpredictability of life. As a result, you likely have a sizeable fund saved for several rainy days. You might even be stockpiling money that you would be better off investing – or even spending. For you, accessible cash represents security. But remember, accessible cash isn’t always the best long-term investment.
  
• Reality deniers
  When it comes to money, you would rather bury your head in the sand than face your financial reality. You may even have piles of bank statements unopened on your doormat. You need to put measures in place that make your finances feel less of a stressful chore. Take your head out of the sand slowly. Set aside an hour to automate some key transactions. It’s a smart way to avoid thinking about them — setting up automatic 401(k) contributions, or sending money into a savings account, for example. Motivate yourself with some rewards for hitting a savings goal, like going on a weekend break.

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