Our personalities determine how we look at every aspect of our lives. The car that you drive, the home that you choose and the type of work that you do are all related to your personality. Your personality is made up of all of the small characteristics, likes, dislikes and thoughts that make you the person whom you are.
So it only makes sense that your personality will dictate how you view and manage your money. Knowing your financial or budgetary personality and personality traits will help you to determine how to make a budget and stick to it.
Goals Get and Keep Your Interest
If you are a goal oriented person then charts and graphs are your friend and motivational tool. You find that it is easier to create a to do list just so that you can cross each item off of the list as you complete it. That tiny act of drawing the line gives you more satisfaction than actually completing the task. You like to plan everything and be able to follow a well thought out plan to reach your goals. You also like being able to refer back to your list or plan to chart your progress. Seeing even a small amount of progress keeps you motivated and driving towards your goal. You know from years of experience that following your plan and reaching each tiny goal will eventually get you to your larger main goal.
The process is simple and it works well for you. One feature to add to your financial plans might be a surprise category. You create a plan and then follow it but some things can’t be foreseen. So add an unexpected category to your budget. You will plan and save for it just like all of the other categories but you won’t know where the money is going until it pops up. But it will still be a part of your plan.
If you are a goal oriented person then charts and graphs are your friend and motivational tool. You find that it is easier to create a to do list just so that you can cross each item off of the list as you complete it. That tiny act of drawing the line gives you more satisfaction than actually completing the task. You like to plan everything and be able to follow a well thought out plan to reach your goals.
You also like being able to refer back to your list or plan to chart your progress. Seeing even a small amount of progress keeps you motivated and driving towards your goal. You know from years of experience that following your plan and reaching each tiny goal will eventually get you to your larger main goal.
The process is simple and it works well for you. One feature to add to your financial plans might be a surprise category. You create a plan and then follow it but some things can’t be foreseen. So add an unexpected category to your budget. You will plan and save for it just like all of the other categories but you won’t know where the money is going until it pops up. But it will still be a part of your plan.
Autopilot is Your Solution
You are a person who chooses to fill your life with all of the things that make you happy. Friends, family and hobbies are all very important to you. But money is not something that thrills you so you don’t want to devote much thought to it. You do however understand that having money and managing it appropriately is what allows you to do and have the things that make you happy so you have created an automated solution. You are a huge fan of automatic bill pay, automatic check deposit and an automated savings plan.
This keeps your bills paid, your credit outstanding and your time free to do what makes you happy. But don’t forget to take a moment to review your accounts from time to time. It can be easy to forget about services or subscriptions that are paid for automatically. Are you still using that service website that you pay for each month? Do you even watch anything on Netflix? Have you used the rewards points on your credit card or are they about to expire? Also check into things like new policies at work that relate to your 401 K. Maybe the match percentage has changed and you need to increase your contribution. All of these automated systems are great but they need to be reviewed every few months to make sure you are maximizing every opportunity.
Overwhelmed but Managing
Are you that person who always has a list of things to do that is a mile long? Do you spend your day going from one task to the next without ever taking a moment just to breathe? If your day is one long multitask marathon then you need to plan a time to slow down and look at the big picture.
Having a huge task load and completing it is great but you also need to take the time to review long term goals and be sure that you are really working in the right direction. Financial plans are designed to take advantage of time.
You invest knowing that interest will add up over many years to give you a nice nest egg. But rushing from one task to the next all day everyday never lets you step back and chart a long term course. Don’t forget to look beyond today’s to do list and be sure that there is a plan in place for the next 5, 10 or even 20 years so that you are taking full advantage of the benefits of compounded interest.
Budgets are for the Birds
Are you happy flying by the seat of your pants when it comes to budgets? Is close enough a real answer when you are figuring out how much you spend a month? Maybe focusing down to the penny is a frightening thought to you because there is really not enough money to cover all that you want and need to do. You are better off just not knowing.
The ostrich with its head in the sand is your mentor. This system, or lack thereof, cannot work for very long. But sadly, you won’t know that until it is too late because you haven’t been monitoring your finances. So now you are deep in debt. To begin to get a handle on where your money is going, start with just tracking expenses for a weekend.
Write down every dime you spend. Then work up to tracking for a week and then maybe even an entire month. As you pay more attention you might find that there are areas that you can easily reduce or eliminate spending to help get your budget back in line with what you can actually afford. You can also get a title loan with no job.
Who Are You?
Figuring out how your personality colors your thoughts on finance, money and budgeting can be a huge help in setting up a system that works for you. Trying to force yourself to use someone else’s perfect plan will never last. But finding the system that motivates you and makes sense to you is the only way to learn how to make a budget and stick to it.
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