One of the reasons couple disagree about money is because money means different things to each of them. For some people, money provides a sense of security, of being taken care of; this kind of person would tend to be cautious about spending money and would try hard to put money in the bank.
For others, money provides a sense of freedom; while to some they avoid dealing with money as much as they possibly can. They might exercise a more carefree attitude. Of course, most of us fall somewhere in between. There is no right or wrong way to think about money, but it’s important to create a budget that works for both of you.
We all know that there are those that save practically every “kobo” they’ve ever made and then there are those that spend more money than they make while avoider don’t usually know how much they have in their bank account and always make late payment in their bills. So, are you a saver, a spender or avoider? Which groups do you belongs to?
According to Sarah Milton a financial expert, for spenders, they love spending money and also like immediate pleasure that comes from buying things for themselves and they can be generous to others, often picking up the tab for dinner or buying gifts “just because”.
Spending money to accumulate “stuff” or to indulge themselves makes Spenders happy but they may also have a hard time prioritising their spending and putting money aside for savings. Spenders tend to focus on living in the moment rather than looking at the bigger financial picture and they often find themselves in debt because of their spending habits.
She said on the contrary that, savers love to hold on to their money. They tend to be very organised with their finances, often having a clear, written budget and they always know how much money is in their bank account.
Savers watch their spending carefully, often to the point where they have a hard time justifying purchases that seems unimportant such as vacations or entertainment. Many Savers worry about their future financial security and they tend to be very conservative with where they choose to put their money, often preferring the safety of a high interest savings account over investments such as mutual funds or stocks.
We also have avoiders. They are the people that always avoid dealing with money as much as they possibly can. They never know how much is in their bank account and are often late with bill payments; not necessarily because they don’t have the money but because they don’t make paying bills a priority. In many cases, avoiders consider money to be challenging and complicated and prefer to devote their energy to more interesting things. They tend to be hit with late fees and bank charges simply because they don’t pay attention.
There’re other set of people different from the three kinds of people mentioned above that tend to give away as much of their money as possible either to good causes or friends/strangers in need.
They don’t feel right about having money when others don’t and so they find ways to benefit others without building wealth for themselves. This kind of persons are called money monks, they often avoid investing their money because they don’t want to be perceived as “greedy” and the idea of building wealth doesn’t sync with their spiritual, political and human values. She said
When it comes to creating financial security and building wealth sometimes the most powerful tool can be an understanding of our strengths and our areas of challenge. The psychology of money is an area that is often overlooked when it comes to dealing with finances but factors such as your money personality can have a big impact on your ability to earn, hold and grow money.
If one of you is a saver and the other is a spender, you’ll probably have many disagreements about money. But you can also learn a lot from each other about enjoying life (on the one hand) and planning for the
future (on the other).
The person who is the spender might feel a sense of security being with someone who is more cautious about money. And the person who is more restrained might be able to enjoy life more with someone who is more spontaneous about money.
TIAMIYU ADIO ISMAIL
