Around the age of 35, after being gainfully employed for over 10 years, I realized I started thinking about my money as people. I literally started calling my savings my “pennies”. Not only did I do that, but I started making decisions about them based on whether or not my actions would make them happy or sad.
This is the personality I gave my pennies – their wants and desires:
Stack up – Pennies are very social and they like to hang together, the more the merrier. When you stack them together they tend to reproduce. This is a good thing.
Be used purposefully – When I spend money on what it was intended for, my pennies feel like celebrating because they fulfilled their purpose in life.
Pennies get angry when you take them for granted – When you don’t respect them, blow them or otherwise mistreat them they avoid you. That is a bad thing.
You probably have confirmed your long-held suspicion that I am “unique”.
But, I found that relationships with money are a REAL THING!
Yes! Depending on how your parents and grandparents experienced money, you can have one of four relationships with money. Dr. Bradley Klontz calls this your Money Script.
I love to geek out over why some people save and some people don’t, so I got really into this. Here are the 4 Money Scripts, which one sounds like you?
1. Money Avoidance – With this money script, you believe money is bad. They also believe they are not deserving of having money. They also suspect that anyone who has money is possibly evil. If you try not to think about money, over spend, enable others financially or don’t read any statements, you just might be money avoidant
2. Money Focus – Those who are money focused hold the belief that all their problems would be solved if they just had more money. At the same time, the believe there will never be enough money. They also believe that money is power. If you are younger, single, an over-spender and wracking up credit card debt, this could be you. These folks tend to also be workaholics and overly generous with resources they can’t spare.
3. Money Status – This script tends to link self-worth with net worth. As a a result, they tend to be very flashy and can easily overspend. Many believe if they are a good person, the universe will take care of their needs. Some people who fall into this category may rely on others financially, gamble or keep money secrets from their spouse.
4. Money Vigilance – People with this money script are alert and aware of their financial situation. They believe in saving for a rainy day and the connection between hard work and financial reward. This type is the most financially healthy and correlates most strongly to higher net worth. On the downside, the money vigilant can be afraid to spend money and suffer from excess wariness and anxiety. (insert me here)
Regardless of which of the scripts sound like you, by doing some introspection and honest work, you can change your money script and your relationship with money. You can do it on your own, or you could use the help of a trained coach.
If you are interested in learning your own money script, I can give you access to a free assessment. It takes about 5 minutes to complete. E-mail me at nicole@frombroke2baller.com with the subject Money Script and I will send you a link!