Whats your money language?

Are you a:

Saver; Spender; Investor; or Giver?

Don’t know?

What is the first thing you would WANT to do – (not what you think you are supposed to do), if I gave you $1M today….?

Yes, if I dropped $1M into your bank account today for your express purpose and no one around you would know…..what would you do that would bring you the most PLEASURE….FIRST… (even though you can do them all)?

If you said:

I am going to go an buy that new bag, book a holiday and then put the rest in the bank, then you are most likely a SPENDER;

If you decide to invest in real estate or some shares and then use the dividend or rental income to go on a holiday, then your dominant language is an INVESTOR

I will donate 20% to my favourite charity or church and then pay down my house and treat myself to some new clothes, then you are probably a GIVER

If you call up your local bank and ask for the best rates on a 3 month term deposit and lock it away so you can sleep on it….before deciding to buy that new (second hand) car….then for sure your speaking SAVINGS language!

Like the 5 LOVE Languages book written by Gary Chapman, if your dominant language is different to your partners then communicating about finances can be like trying to speak Italian to someone who only speaks Finnish!

And although you might be saying the same thing, because you don’t understand each other, you may end up in conflict over your finances.

Tarra Jackson in her 4 Financial Languages book describes how understanding your dominant language and that of your partners can enhance your ability to communicate about money without arguing!!!

Regardless if you are a saver, giver, investor or spender, if you OVER-save, OVER-GIVE, OVER-invest or OVER-spend it’s not a good thing.

Tarra Jackson goes on to describes how understanding your dominant language and that of your partners can enhance your ability to communicate about money without arguing!!!

So how do you learn another money language?

Fortunately it isn’t as hard as learning a foreign language, but if you get it right, it will certainly open up your lines of communication, just as speaking French in France would ensure you don’t miss out on the cheese because you ordered a ‘jambon Beurre’ instead of a ‘jambon fromage’ baguette!

Tarra mentions that investors and savers are probably the most judgemental languages of the four and the reason why is because:

A saver says: “if you save your money, you’ll be OK.” And the investor says: “if you just shut up and do what I tell you to do and invest your money, you’re gonna be OK.”

And the spender and the giver is like: “I don’t care what you say. I’m going to invest and— I’m going to spend, and I’m going to give!”

So, if you are an investor - the best way to help a spender, saver, or giver understand why they may consider investing is to speak in their language.

How do you do this?

You could teach a spender how to spend money on investments to make more money so they can spend it later.

“You know, you want to spend more money later? Hey, let’s spend a little bit of this money into this investment so you can get a return on your investment. And you’ll have more money to spend later.”

If an investor is encouraging a saver to spend, because a saver is risk-averse, you have to assure them that their threshold will not be touched.

You’re just going to invest a little bit so you can get a return on your investment so you can save more.

And the same thing as a giver, if they give to themselves and put it in an investment, they can get that return on investment so they have the ability to give more to others or to themselves later.

What language do you speak?

- Coach Rach