What is Your Spending Personality?

We all have different approaches to the way we manage our money. Some of us are tap-and-go happy, striding cheerfully from pay day to the pub in our brand new kicks before we crash and burn, our card declining just before the weekend. Others are more careful,stashing their cash away to save for something big like a house. Whatever your approach, there's always a better way to manage your finances. So what does your spending personality say about you?

‍ The Careful Counter

This type of spender is a budgeting mastermind. They're almost always on top of their finances and like to know exactly where their money is going. Careful Counters make a conscious effort to save a portion of their salary for a rainy day and rarely, if ever, dip into their savings.

Before taking out a loan, they'll analyse every possible cost involved, from fees to interest rates to ongoing repayments.

Tips

• Saving is important and it's great to be conscious of growing your account balance, but don't be afraid to live a little either! Taking a holiday once in a while or splurging on a new TV isn't going to be overly detrimental to your long-term savings goal.

‍ The Big Spender

Big Spenders are spontaneous -- with their calendars, their relationships and their money! Their attitude to saving is haphazard at best and they tend to live paycheque to paycheque in the pursuit of fun. This laid-back attitude to life makes them exciting to be around, but it's not so good for their finances. If they're not careful, Big Spenders can run into debt.

 Tips:

• If you have debt spread across multiple accounts, a consolidation loan can be a good way of tackling your debt all in one. This will make it a lot easier to keep track of.
• Lenders look more favourably on those with a good credit history. Ensuring your finances are in good shape will boost your chances of loan approval in thefuture.
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‍ The Carpet Sweeper

The Carpet Sweeper's approach to money is simple: just stick your head in the sand. This type of spender finds the topic of money uninteresting or uncomfortable, or both. They tend to have a towering pile of unopened bills on the bench and money spread across multiple bank accounts. They're prone to missing a repayment here and there, and may not have the best credit score.

Tips:

• No one wants to live in the shadow of a scary pile of bills. The best thing to do is to tackle them head-on. Set aside a day for life admin, roll up your sleeves and start getting organised.
• If you're constantly forgetting about your repayments, set up a direct debit or automatic transfer and let it do the remembering for you. This will ensure your credit report remains in tip-top shape -- and you're less likely to deal with those pesky late fees.

‍Very few of us are perfect when it comes to money. Whether you hide from your bills, can't resist a sale or avoid spending money at all, we can all learn a financial lesson from time to time.Implementing small changes to the way you manage your money can make all the difference in the long run.

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