Everyone has a money blueprint. The clue is in your behavior with money.
Transcript: “What’s Your Money Blueprint?”
About six months before John and I got married, we went to see his accountant so we could prepare to file our taxes jointly as a couple.
I brought my financial materials in so that the accountant could take a look.
He started going through my files, and looked up and said, “OMG, John you have a saver!”
I’d been a single mom for seven years and my son was almost 10 years old at the time. I had a good job at a hospital as a PR director.
I was proud because I had consistently saved. I knew that it was up to me to make a good living to support us.
Each month my credit union automatically deducted money that went into savings. Each time I received a raise at work, I increased the amount of money that automatically went into my 401k.
Each of us has a money type or money personality.
I’ve noticed with myself that this personality can change depending on your financial circumstances.
While I was a saver when I got married and we had two incomes, I moved into the spender category during most of our marriage.
Now that we’re in different time of our life because John is retired, I’m back to being a saver.
How do we get these money blueprints?
These money scripts or personalities are largely held in our subconscious mind.
Your money script or blueprint was formed before age seven as a result of what you saw, heard and experienced in your family.
Dr. Bruce Lipton says that the first six years of your life, your brain function is in theta and you’re not really conscious at this point. So we are imprinting what we saw, heard and experienced from our family what we learned about money.
It’s not your family’s fault because they learned it from their family. No one is to blame here this is how it works.
This is why it’s so important for you to understand what you believe about money.
Your beliefs can block you from making or keeping money.
Four Basic Money Types
They are four main types of money personalities: Avoiders, Spenders, Savers and Penny Pinchers.
Avoiders
You avoid looking at your bank or financial statements and believe that it’s better not to know. You most likely believe you don’t deserve to make money and you self-sabatoge your financial life.
Yet in my experience with participants in my money class, what you resist will persist. The more you avoid looking, the higher your anxiety and fear will be about your financial future.
Spenders
Spenders are focused on buying material things and get value from the status symbols money can buy.
When Spenders make more money, they spend more money and are often in debt. This group’s self-worth is attached to their net-worth.
Do you derive your sense of worth from the material things you buy?
Did you experience “not enough” as a child?
Penny Pinchers
They’re not willing to spend much money; only buy things on sale; they save things in case they might need them again one day.
They have a “lack” consciousness – there’s not enough for them.
They don’t like to talk about money. They don’t usually have much debt.
Saver
Savers are money conscious people. They are living a balance of having a life today and making a life in the future. In my story above, I knew that if I wanted to travel each year with my son to see my family on the east coast at the holidays, I had to save $50 a month. I put my money where my values were. When you pay down your credit cards, you are saving the interest you would have to pay.
It’s said that people who save money automatically each month end up with more money. They forget about what is automatically deducted and live within their means. How can you save even $25 to $100 a month? Would you have to give up some of your Starbuck’s budget?
Beliefs are based on your interpretation of your experiences.
Nothing has meaning until you give it meaning.
Beliefs are thoughts you’ve thought so many times you believe they’re true. They’re not true unless you’ve questioned them.
Remember you act out subconscious beliefs about yourself and money.
To be conscious of your money life, you must uncover what you believe or heard, saw and experienced as a young child related to money.
Now it’s your turn.
What’s your money personality?
Do you avoid opening your bills and stuff them away in a drawer?
Do you shop even though you have credit card debt because you really want to buy what you want now?
I’d love to know what you believe your money personality is so please let me know in the comments below.
If you like this video – share it with your friends. And you can sign up for more tips and trainings at sheroldbarr.com
Related Posts
6 Steps to Create Your Inner Money Game
What are your limiting beliefs about money?
Q & A with Natasha Lakos on Money, Fear and Soul
I’m a penny pincher. Although I do express occasional spender and avoider habits. I will be a saver as soon as…… I actually do save a little for certain extra things I feel I want to pay upfront for like massage and chiropractor visits. I have yet to be earning money on what I save AND I have too much credit debt for my comfort level. While I realize $4100 is not a lot of debt…. It is to me….
Hello Rita – maybe it’s ok that you are prudent with your money. According to Senator Elizabeth Warren who along with her daughter wrote a very good book called “All Your Worth,” you are actually saving when you pay off credit card debt. So savings means actual savings in an account and debt reduction. You are doing the best you can for now. See if you can not accrue more debt and pay it down. Keep the faith.
I’m solidly 4 out of the above 4. I’m an Avoider in that, although I regularly look at my financial information, Imost definitely have a deep pattern of not believing that I deserve to earn or have money. Hence, I’ve spent my life in public service careers which aren’t well paid and where I frequently have to justify the existence of my job. I’m in the Spender category not because I shop all the time, but because I use credit to pay for things for which I don’t have enough cash flow and end up in debt. I’m a penny-pincher because I’m afraid of spending, even on things I need, and always feel terribly guilty and afraid when I have to make purchases. 20+ years ago, I identified my “poverty consciousness”, read all the seminal works, did all the self-investigation, and still am exhibiting the same patterns. Finally, I’m a Saver, because over $800 a month of my gross income goes to retirement accounts and savings account; however, I have a lifelong pattern of manifesting financial crises that tend to wipe out anything I manage to put in savings (think paid-off cars getting totaled; medical emergencies, etc.). I’ve paid off credit card debt more than once only to have it mount back up again rapidly.