I don’t know about you, but I’m obsessed with all things Enneagram!
Having taught about finances for the past few years, I’m always interested by what motivates people to finally change their money mindset, get out of debt and build wealth. After completing my own personality assessment, the Enneagram is honestly the best assessment I’ve found to describe what makes me, me!
How your personality is wired can inform everything from your relationships, political affiliation, and it even plays a role in how you manage your finances. If you aren’t aware of which perceptions, tendencies, strengths and weaknesses you bring to the table, you’ll never be able to improve your relationship with money + reach your financial goals.
This post alone shouldn’t be used to determine your Enneagram number. When I learned about mine (Type 9: the Peacemaker), I read Ian Cron’s book, The Road Back to You, I listened to different podcasts, and I took various tests. Be sure to do a bit more research to determine your type!
With that being said, let’s talk about what the Enneagram is and what your number might mean for the way you handle money.
What is the Enneagram?
The Enneagram is an ancient personality typing system that indicates there are 9 basic personality types.. one of which we gravitate toward and adopt in our childhood. Each of those types has an unconscious motivation or driver that powerfully influences how that type acts, thinks, feels, and sees the world.
The 9 different personality types are as follows:
Type 1: The Perfectionist. These are meticulous, hard-working, reliable, conscientious, detail-oriented people who have a compulsive need to perfect themselves, others, and the world.
Type 2: The Helper. These types have a compulsive need to meet the needs of other people. They want to help, love, and support others in order to win their appreciation. Two’s are good listeners, naturally know what others need, feel guilty when asking for something, and worry if they are liked.
Type 3: The Performer. Type three’s have a need to succeed or appear to be successful, and avoid failure at all costs. They know how to get things done, are competitive, feel guilty if they aren’t doing something, associate value with what they do, and love to help others achieve their goals.
Type 4: The Romantic. These types have a need to be special and unique. They are creative, don’t want to be like everyone else, are sensitive to criticism, and sometimes just want to sit with their feelings.
Type 5: The Investigator. Type five’s are analytical, emotionally detached, private, and have a need to perceive and understand anything + everything. The are information junkies and are constantly gathering information to fend off feeling overwhelmed by the world. They like to stay in the background, make decisions based on logic, and trust thoughts more than feelings.
Type 6: The Loyalist. Six’s are worst-case-scenario thinkers. They are very loyal, reliable, like to play it safe and plan ahead, and seek guidance from others when making decisions.
Type 7: The Enthusiast. These people are fun, spontaneous, love adventure, and to tend to avoid afflicted emotions (i.e. uncomfortable feelings). Sevens are always positive, look on the bright side of situations, get distracted easily, and avoid negativity.
Type 8: The Challenger. This personality type is sometimes called “the bosses.” For these types, what feels like conflict for others feels like connection to type eights. They can be aggressive, have no issue confronting someone, strong opinions and beliefs, decisive, and rely on their gut instincts.
Type 9: The Peacemaker. These types are often known as the sweethearts of the Enneagram. Nines want to maintain the peace + connection with others and avoid conflict at all costs. They are easy to approach, enjoy having routines and a peaceful environment, and want everyone to get along.
How Does Your Enneagram Type Affect Your Relationship With Money?
Every personality type has its own lens of how they understand and view money. Now that you have a firm understanding of the different personality types, let’s discuss how your number affects your relationship with money.
Type 1: The Perfectionist
May be to rigid with money. Type ones are very concerned about budgeting and love the sense of control they get from tell their money where to go.
Since Ones are perfectionists, they tend to be more rigid with money. They can be hard on themselves if they make money mistakes and be judgmental of the way others handle money. If you’re a One, remember that everyone makes a misstep sometimes. If you want to be healthy with your money, you’ve got to give grace to yourself and others.
Type 2: The Helper
May be over giving with money. Type twos are natural givers and they want to serve others. In their budget, they may have a special line item for things such as charity, gifts or tithing.
Twos want to help others, but they may over give with money. They tend to not give it much thought, which can potentially put them into trouble (and a negative budget). If you’re a Two, it’s important to watch out for overspending on others and be sure to make yourself a priority as well!
Type 3: The Performer
Tend to spend money on status symbols. These types may fall into the trap of using money as a way to project an image of success. They might spend a little too much for the sake of being seen. Threes are highly motivated by seeing progress they make toward a goal, enjoy tracking their transactions, and especially love seeing their savings accounts grow.
If you are a Three, ask yourself this question prior to making a purchase: “If no one else saw this, would I still want it?”
Type 4: The Romantic
Tend to avoid budgeting due to lack of interest. Fours don’t spend money to impress others because they don’t have a desire to fit in. They may overspend in an effort to purchase something that is unique, creative or an original.
They believe budgeting is beneath them and don’t want to spend the time doing mundane things. Fours see themselves as being “too cool” for budgeting and believe there are more important things to worry about.
If you are a Four, give budgeting a try! Completing a budget allows for you to prioritize what you value most in life!
Type 5: The Investigator
Research what to do with their money, but don’t actually execute on it. Fives are generally good with money and are amazing savers. They tend to stress about not having enough money for the future, spend a lot of their time doing research, and get lost in the details. Ever the rational type, they prize being capable, self-reliant, minimalists, and don’t see the need for extravagant purchases.
when it comes time to move forward with a decision, they can’t seem to pull the trigger and execute. They get stuck in “paralysis of the analysis.” If you are a five, it’s okay to spend money! By completing a budget, it gives you the power to spend without feeling bad about it.
Type 6: The Loyalist
May look outside authorities to make money decisions. Sixes are chronic worriers and generally look to others to help in making financial decisions. Just like type ones, sixes can stick to a budget with no issue. They value security even more than most people, so having an emergency fund is very important to them. They’re more likely to be financially responsible and save money.
Type 7: The Enthusiast
May be impulsive with money. Type sevens are generally the most impulsive with money and tend to have the most credit card debt (out of all the types). A Seven will make budgeting fun! They value new experiences so they tend to put a large chunk of money toward entertainment, food, and travel.
Since Sevens are so spontaneous it can sometimes get them into trouble with impulse buys. If you are a Seven, try establishing a rule of waiting at least 24 hours before making a major purchase. Otherwise, have a rule with your significant other that you won’t spend more than a specific amount without discussing it first.
Type 8: The Challenger
Generally have an “all or nothing” mentality with money. Type Eights are people who are “all in or all out”… “go big or go home!” While they may throw caution to the wind and spend a lot of money without worrying, they are also very generous when giving.
Sometimes, the only person an Eight will listen to is themselves. Whether it’s spending, saving or giving for the month, once a budget is in place they’ll actually follow it. Lastly, they don’t want to be controlled by anyone else such as banks, credit card companies or Sallie Mae. They like the feeling of being in control of where their money goes.
Type 9: The Peacemaker
May find budgeting hard because they are easily distracted. Budgeting may be hard for Nines because they can get decision fatigue. A budget generally gives a Nine the inner peace they crave because having a plan for their money helps them feel calm (instead of chaotic).
Their biggest struggle is just opening up their bank account and sitting down to do the budget. Nines, don’t put it off! Once you get started, you’ll feel so much better.
What Does Your Ennegram Say About You?
Did you have fun learning more about the Enneagram and how it effects your money mindset?? Did you learn something new about yourself?
This idea of being self-aware and understanding who you are through your personality type can truly be beneficial to you! How your personality is wired plays a huge role in the way you see money, how you interact with it, and the way you manage your finances. Take what you learned in the above post and begin to improve your relationship with money + reach those financial goals!
Want to learn more about the Enneagram? Check out the following resources:
Read The Road Back To You by Ian Morgan Cron
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