Identify Your Financial Personality

In many years of counseling, we have seen that the most misunderstood area related to personal finance is the “personal” piece. We all need to understand basic financial principles but, even more important, we need to understand that each of us has a unique “style” in which we manage our money and communicate with others. We are all driven by our natural tendencies and understanding how we are wired is crucial to us making the right financial decisions for ourselves and our families. In addition, when we interact with someone who may think and behave differently than we do regarding money, it can tend to cause frustration and uncertainty.

Our financial personalities are driven by four specific traits that define how we think and how we behave financially. Through years of financial counseling, we have seen these specific traits displayed with every person we encounter.  There is not just ONE way to handle money.  By understanding yourself and others, you can make decisions that are best for your family.

The Financial Personality Assessment (FPA) is the first building block in the Storing Treasures journey. Your financial personality defines who you are. It’s the engine that drives your financial car. One of the goals of this course is to develop a financial plan that works for you. To do so, you need to understand your financial tendencies and style and those of your spouse, if you are married. Each of us has specific areas of strength and giftedness.

The Financial Personality Assessment will give you a big picture view of those personality traits that most often define you. Most of us can see many of these traits in ourselves from time to time – resist the temptation to over analyze. Choose those words that most often describe your personality. Also, circle the words and answer the questions based on your own individual personality and natural tendencies.