Molly’s Money | What “Money Language” Do You Speak?

If this is your first time here, Molly’s Money is a regular series I write on this blog that includes ALL things personal finance – debt management, budgeting, home buying, savings, investment, etc. I am NOT a financial advisor, but I am married to one! These are just things that I have learned over the years as I struggled with my own personal finances and ultimately, became debt free in 2012. Got a question about money that you want answered? Leave it in the comments below or email me!

My husband and I were reading our nightly devotional a few weeks ago and that night, the one we were reading was on the “four money languages.” Now wait a tick, before you click away, hear me out for a second… this was something I had NEVER heard of before, nor had I really ever even THOUGHT about before. I’d heard of the five love languages, but money languages was definitely not something that was even on my radar.

Well, the next day I kept thinking about what we’d read and it was a concept / idea that REALLY intrigued me. I mean, my husband is a financial planner and me, well, I just like talking about all things personal finance… my husband and I are similar in so many ways when it comes to how we view finances, yet we are also TOTALLY different. But, like, how can that be!? haha!

And the more and more I thought about it, the more I thought how helpful identifying our own “money language” can be to change how we interact with our spouse, our significant other, our friends, our family, our boss, etc. when it comes to dealing with or talking about money.

While, yes, taking the time to identify your money language can be REALLY helpful in how you approach finances in a marriage, I honestly think it can be helpful for how we approach our finances in LIFE. Married or not.

So, with that being said, I thought I’d share the four money languages with y’all… but take a little spin on the “explanation” of each money language.

The Four Money Languages

• Driver – Money means “success”

For a driver, money literally “drives” them. They are “driven” by money… I know, this sounds simplistic but it’s true. The more money that a driver has, the more successful they feel. Doesn’t matter if they’ve climbed to the top of Mount Everest or run a marathon or founded an extremely influential business… if they don’t have money, they don’t feel successful. A driver can be a saver or a spender…

• Amiable – Money means “love and affection”

An amiable person shows their love and affection for people with money. They make it a point to show how much they love someone by purchasing gifts, buying dinners / lunches, paying for things, etc. Money = love and affection for an amiable person. The less money that an amiable has, the more they feel that their ability to show love for others suffers. They are generous people… the more they give, the more they feel loved. They must give in order to feel loved. Amiables are definitely SPENDERS.

• Analytic – Money means “security”

An analytic feels protected by money. The more money that an analytic has, the more secure they feel. Doesn’t matter if this person is a Marine, or a police officer, or a bouncer at a club, or a stay at home mom that conquers the world through winning a battle over who’s going to eat their vegetables… an analytic feels secure when they have money in the bank. A lack of money means a lack of feeling secure and a lack of feeling in control. The more money they have, the more they feel like things are good and everything is going to be alright. Analytics are SAVERS.

• Expressive – Money means “acceptance and respect”

An expressive person is someone who things that money can “buy” acceptance and respect. They think money can fix anything or fix any situation. Buying a gift, paying a bill for someone, taking “care” of it, means that others will accept and respect them. The less money they have, the more they feel as though their acceptance and respect from others is threatened. An expressive is typically a spender, but may save for emergencies and times when money might come in handy for fixing or taking care of something.

So, what money language do YOU speak? Which category or language do you fall into? What about your spouse or significant other? What about your sibling(s)? What about your friends?

See if you can identify where you fall and where your loved ones fall… talk about it with them. See what they think. Get the discussion going. My husband and I talked for quite some time about which language we feel like we speak and it was really interesting to see what we thought and what we felt. It opened up a whole new line of communication for us!

I’d love for you to share your thoughts in the comments!