Have you ever looked at your bank account and thought, why do I keep doing this?
Saving obsessively. Spending impulsively. Avoiding money conversations altogether.
Most people assume these habits come from discipline — or lack of it. In reality, they come from something deeper. Research by the Journal of Financial Therapy shows that these patterns strongly shape people’s relationship with money across their entire lives.
Your Money EQ type
Your relationship with money follows a pattern. The Japanese author and financial expert Ken Honda calls it your “Money EQ type.” It forms early in life and quietly shapes how you earn, save, spend, and worry.
But here’s the good news: according to Brad Klontz, psychologist and certified financial planner, once you see your pattern, your behaviour starts to make sense. More importantly, you can change it and improve your finances.
Let’s break it down.
The three core money personality archetypes
According to Ken Honda, people fall into three broad money archetypes at the highest level. Each has strengths, blind spots, and predictable behaviours.
1. People who engage actively with money These people interact with money constantly. They track it, chase it, protect it, or enjoy it.
2. People who are indifferent to money Money is not a central focus. They see it as secondary to purpose, creativity, or relationships.
3. People who avoid or fear money Money creates discomfort, anxiety, or moral conflict. Avoidance feels safer than engagement.
Within each group, more specific types show up.
The active money types
The Hoarder
Hoarders feel safest when money is untouched. Saving equals security. Spending creates anxiety, even when it’s reasonable.
Their behaviour often comes from early experiences of instability or scarcity. Scientific research shows that these patterns frequently trace back to childhood experiences of unpredictable finances or messages that money must always be preserved “for emergencies.”
The challenge is learning that money is also meant to support life — not just protect against fear.
The Spender
Earning like a boss but spending like there’s no tomorrow.
Spenders love the joy money can create. Experiences, generosity, and pleasure matter more than future calculations. Spending often happens impulsively and emotionally.
The issue isn’t enjoyment — it’s lack of boundaries. Long-term consequences tend to get ignored until they hurt.
The Moneymaking Addict
This type equates earning with self-worth. Productivity and income feel like proof of value. There’s always another goal, another target, another number to hit.
Satisfaction rarely lasts. The cost is often burnout, strained relationships, and a sense that enough never arrives.
Avoidant and indifferent types
The Indifferent-to-Money Type
These people don’t dislike money. They just don’t think about it. Often found among professionals, creatives, or intellectuals, they focus on meaning rather than numbers.
Finances are frequently delegated to a partner. The risk is quiet disengagement from responsibility.
The Monk
Monks actively distance themselves from money. They believe it complicates life or distracts from higher values. Minimalism feels virtuous.
While simplicity can be healthy, avoidance can also limit growth, impact, and freedom.
The Hippie
This type sees money as harmful or morally questionable. Anti-consumerism and spiritual ideals dominate. They may give away money easily or reject financial ambition.
The challenge is reconciling values with practical needs in the real world.
Compulsive patterns
Some money personalities become intensified:
- The Compulsive Saver finds safety in watching savings grow, yet never feels secure.
- The Compulsive Spender uses purchases to regulate emotions or self-esteem.
- The Compulsive Moneymaker measures identity almost entirely through income.
These patterns usually trace back to childhood messages about money, control, or worth. Because they’re intense, they can become disruptive. Research on money disorders shows that these are psychological patterns, not simple knowledge gaps, and may require coaching interventions rather than just financial education.
Combination types
Most people aren’t just one type.
- The Saver-Splurger saves rigidly, then releases all restraint in one spending burst.
- The Gambler mixes earning and spending with risk and excitement, chasing big wins.
- The Worrier fears loss regardless of how much money they have.
These combinations explain why smart, capable people still feel chaotic or anxious with money.
So what's the takeaway?
Your money behaviour is not a character flaw. It’s a reflection of your money personality.
Once you understand your type, you stop fighting yourself and start working with awareness instead of shame. Growth begins with recognition.
Ready to change your relationship with money?
From shame to awareness to change.
If you want clarity instead of confusion, calm instead of anxiety, and intention instead of cycles, Upward Coaching can help.
I’ll help you identify your Money EQ type. Then you’ll learn how to rebalance it in a way that fits your life, values, and goals.
If this resonated with you, book a free strategy session or explore my Money Mindset Mastery program. I’ll guide you to rewrite your money story in a way that aligns with your financial goals and matches your values.
Always remember: your relationship with money CAN change. And when it does, everything else follows.
With love and gratitude,
Nora