Spending Personalities with Todd Christensen | Ep. 188

Key Takeaways

• 1

  There are six spending personalities, each with strengths and weaknesses, and people can shift between them over time.

  Achievement (red): Spending on self-improvement, education, and certifications

  Admiration (purple): Spending to impress others broadly, often the most financially challenging

  Relationship (blue): Spending on family and close connections, sometimes neglecting self-care

  Approval (green): Spending to impress a specific person or small group

  Responsibility (yellow): Most common for both genders, focused on obligations and bills

  Amusement (orange): Spending purely on fun and entertainment, common in teens

• 2

  Each spending personality has specific strategies to avoid overspending and financial pitfalls.

  Red spenders should stick to a budget and avoid justifying overspending as 'self-improvement'

  Purple spenders should focus on values rather than valuables that depreciate

  Blue spenders need to prioritize self-care to avoid forced splurges and guilt

  Green spenders should ensure relationships develop beyond gift-giving

  Yellow spenders should remember life includes enjoyment beyond bills

  Orange spenders should identify long-term internal values, often shifting toward relationships

• 3

  Survey data reveals gender differences in spending personalities, with responsibility being most common overall.

  Women: Responsibility (yellow) is #1, about 10% more than relationship spending

  Women with young children: Almost 100% identify as blue (relationship spenders)

  Men: Nearly equal split between blue (relationships) and yellow (responsibility)

  Many men shift from orange (amusement) to blue/yellow as they take on family roles

• 4

  Everyone is a 'rainbow' of spending personalities with a primary color and an opposing one they avoid.

  Avoiding spending in certain categories leads to unplanned debt when forced to spend

  Planning line items in budgets for all categories prevents overspending and guilt

  Debt is problematic regardless of spending personality type