Four Money Personality Types

Ramit Sethi has identified 4 distinct money personality types based on thousands of conversations. Here's how people relate to money.

Avoiders

• Most common money type
• Use conscious and unconscious techniques to avoid money discussions
• Common behaviors:
  • Claim their partner is "better at money"
  • Say they're "not good at math"
  • Sabotage money conversations with phrases like "Why do you always have to talk about money?"
  • Use deflection: "Can't we just have a good time?"

Optimizers

• Focus heavily on saving and investing
• Common traits:
  • Good at managing money fundamentally
  • Obsess over costs and returns
  • Calculate compound interest frequently
  • Can become extremely cheap and boring
• Key problems:
  • Take financial optimization to logical extremes
  • Difficult to be partners with due to constant cost focus
  • Often can't enjoy spending money

Worriers

• Constantly anxious about financial matters
• Often learned worry patterns from childhood
• Notable characteristic:
  • Cannot envision life without money anxiety
  • Worry becomes their primary relationship with money
  • Usually stems from past experiences

Dreamers

• Believe success is always just around the corner
• Key characteristics:
  • Chase the "next big thing"
  • Susceptible to get-rich-quick schemes
  • Often financially supported by others (usually partners)
  • Don't engage with practical financial advice
  • Live in "la la land" regarding money

Partner Dynamics

• Most couples aren't on the same financial wavelength
• Different money types often clash in relationships
• Communication between types is challenging
• Partners frequently operate on different financial "planets"