If you have  some extra money that comes in unexpectedly, what do you do with it? Your answer may be related to your own money personality.

We all have different “money personalities”. And one simple way to think about your own personality is to ponder what truly motivates you around money. What is important about money? Regardless of whether you’re aware of it or not, these “money motivations” are part of your personality.

The good news is that if you get clear on your personal motivations, your financial behavior will make more sense to you. Of course you’ve done things the way you have, because you’ve had your own motivations that drove you! If you get conscious about these motivations, it will be easier to make cleaner money decisions.

There are two primary money motivations (well there are more but I’m going to focus on the big two here.) They are FREEDOM and SECURITY. Most of us are motivated by either the deep need for freedom or the deep need for security. Here are three quick questions to help you think about yourself:

1. Is money important to you right now because it allows you to:
a. Go out and get what you want?
b. Feel secure?

2. If you have money left over at the end of the month, do you:
a. Go out and have a good time?
b. Put the money into savings?

3. Are your goals about money:
a. To have enough of it so you can do what you want to do?
b. To save enough of it so you never have to worry about your old age?

Now granted, these are very simple questions. I know that. But I bet you see the point. Most of us are either motivated by freedom or by security.

If you’re motivated by freedom, you see money primarily as a source of freedom and you want and need a lot of autonomy in your life. If you sense there is not enough money, your deprivation buttons get pushed big time! You tend to chafe at schedules and are more likely to be self-employed or have a work schedule that doesn’t depend on you being at your desk 9 to 5. You’ve probably never worked seriously with a budget, but you are very generous with your money sometimes.

If you’re motivated by security, you see money primarily as a source of security. To you, money equals stability and protection. It means protection against bad things that could happen. You tend to not like a lot of risk (too stressful!) and you enjoy a regular source of income. (An erratic income is super hard on this personality type.)  You’re more likely to plan your finances, and you actually may enjoy this.

Keep in mind that neither one of these money motivations is better than the other. It’s about balance and not being too extreme. There is nothing wrong with being motivated by freedom. But taken to an extreme, you may blindly spend everything you’ve got and end up in deep debt. There’s nothing wrong with being security minded, but taken to an extreme you don’t risk enough and enjoy your life now. You don’t want to only live for the future!

If this intrigues you, I’m teaching a teleclass on understanding your money motivations on September 29th at 12 noon, Pacific Time. Register here. (We’ll send the recording out if you can’t make it live. But you need to register first to get the recording.)

If you would like to read more, check out Olivia Mellan’s books.  Start with Money Harmony. Olivia is a brilliant psychotherapist who focuses on money issues. And her famous book Money Harmony is still my favorite on understanding your money personality. She goes  very deep into many money personality types, going far beyond the two motivations I’ve written about here. (And her other awesome book, Overcoming Overspending– a winning plan for spenders and their partners, is really fabulous.)

So what about you? Are you more motivated by security or freedom? Has this changed for you over the years? Do share!