If there’s one thing we know for sure: money is on a lot of our minds at the moment.

As the UK reaches record levels of inflation, new figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest that many of us are cutting back on fuel and clothing as rising prices make us question what we can truly afford.

Whether you’re a spender (hello treat brain) or saver, credit card company Aqua, alongside financial therapist Vicky Reynal have identified six distinct money personalities that reveal our emotional engagement with money and credit, as well as how best we can manage our finances.

1. The Supersaver

The ultimate “I’ll find it cheaper” type, you take pride in accumulating savings and can easily keep to a budget.

You’re extremely responsible in your spending behaviours, will therefore not take on too much risk. However, you may find that to an extent you sacrifice the enjoyment that can be gained from spending and find improvising with money, such as an unexpected bill or payment, hard to handle.

As financial therapist Vicky Reynal suggests, try setting aside a budget for improvised or indulgent expenses as a way to enjoy the money you have but in a controlled way. Staying within budget will address the anxiety of spending, while having money set aside for these kinds of expenses might take away some of the guilt associated with spending.

2. The Spender

You have a serious case of treat brain and enjoy spending, but have the tendency to overspend with no budget or plan in place to manage your money.

Spenders enjoy spending money and getting themselves and others the pleasures that money can buy, however sometimes this spending becomes about boosting your self-esteem. And in a cost of living crisis when money is stretched, you may be forced to rethink some of your purchasing habits.

While your generosity is certainly something to hold onto, try setting limits and implementing a reward system for sticking to them. For example, set up a monthly budget and use an app that can alert you when you are at risk of going over. Give yourself a reward for sticking to the budget at the end of the month, or even a bigger reward for sticking to budget over a longer period of time.

3. The Planner

Likely a Type A personality, you’re good at creating thought-through strategies for your money, taking very few risks. On the whole, you feel in control of your finances: you can prioritise financial goals and your spending errs on the moderate side.

However, financial success may also be closely linked to your sense of personal success, so when you overspend or lose money, you’re likely to be deeply affected by it.

Instead of dwelling on what could happen if your financial situation suddenly changed, try asking yourself what are the things that matter most to you in life? What are the qualities that you admire most in others? If you feel brave enough, ask this directly to your close family and friends. Finding out first-hand that financial worth is a very small component of what you value and what others value in you might help diminish its importance (and therefore make any losses less painful).

4. The Worrier

If you have a lot of anxiety around finances and feel reassured by constantly checking your accounts, you’re a worrier.

Because you strive to feel in control of your finances, you tend to be meticulous about your spending and may struggle at times with financial decisions and change your mind frequently.

However, worriers can benefit from working towards finding a balance between feeling in control of the finances vs. letting the finances control their thinking to ensure that they don’t find themselves in a spiral of spending shame.

Try asking yourself: when does the budgeting/checking/planning go from a healthy habit to over-preoccupation and anxiety? It may also be helpful to set aside a predetermined time of the week or month to check your finances rather than checking more than necessary.

5. The Avoider

If you typically find making financial decisions stressful and delay them if you can, you have an avoidant personality. A ‘head-in-the-sand’ type of person, you’d rather not think about money as it is anxiety-provoking, and prefer not to check accounts too often.

However, not staying on top of their finances has a cost and can lead to debt accumulation or missing out on opportunities for better deals, savings and investments.

Bringing yourself to face your finances when it causes anxiety is not easy. Reynal suggests to try setting a goal that will make a big difference: re-negotiating a loan, seeking a better mortgage deal, and break that down into small and manageable tasks. Add a reward at the end of it or try to quantify the savings you achieved as a result of this action to further incentivise. 

6.The Thrillseeker

For you, it’s all about living in the here and now and thinking of the consequences later. You may have a tendency to make impulsive purchase decisions and therefore take risks with money as it gives you a sense of power, prestige, and freedom.

This attitude of course has some benefits: you’ll likely find financial decisions very easy to make and are good at improvising with money in unexpected situations.

However, the risks don’t always pay off, and you can end up in difficult financial situations because of taking on too much risk.

Try taking Reynal’s advice and implementing some rules within which you can still indulge in some risk-taking, but not in a reckless way. Create a reminder of risks that didn’t pay off: how much did you lose? How did it feel? Being more in touch with the cost of taking on big risks might help you make a different choice next time.

Take the quiz to find out your money personality here.

Images: Getty