If You Have a Spender in Your Life, Remind Yourself of Their Good Qualities

Do you love to spend money? Are you someone who doesn’t mind–or actually enjoys–letting go of your hard-earned cash? Good for you. Or if you are married to one, yay! Why? Because there are plenty of reasons to celebrate the Spender in your life.

We see it in kids as young as three or four–their natural approach to money. Sure, toddlers aren’t whipping out their wallets, but if you watch how kids interact with their “currency”, i.e. toys, treats, etc. you see their natural approach to spending and saving at a young age. We are born with a natural approach to money that we like to call your Money Personality. It is hardwired in from the start, like how tall you are or the color of your eyes.

We have found about 60% of the population has “spending” in their natural makeup. They either lead with it, what we call your Primary Money Personality, or it is their Secondary Money Personality, which may not “drive the bus”, but can be a very vocal backseat driver.

Taylor and I are both Spenders. And, no, we aren’t deep in debt. We consider our Spender Money Personalities a strength because we understand it and how it affects our marriage and our money. Some financial experts try to shame Spenders, shame on them! Spenders should be celebrated.

Here are 3 benefits of being a Spender or being married to one. Spenders are:

1. Generous.

One of the main benefits of being a Spender, or being married to one, is their generosity. Spenders love giving to others and they aren’t afraid to spend their money to help or treat others.

When we get an invitation to a party that says, “No gifts.” Guess who always takes a gift? Spenders. They love to give gifts and think a party, of any kind, deserves a generous gift. Spenders cannot, not give a gift.

Studies prove that giving is better than receiving. From an article on Inc.com entitled Money Really Can Buy Happiness If You Spend It These 4 Ways, According to Science, “When researchers gave college students some extra cash and instructed one group to spend it on themselves and another group to spend it on others, the second group reported much more happiness than the first.

We also believe every board of directors needs one Spender or several. They are ready to help move the organization forward and aren’t afraid to spend the money it takes to do so.

2. Thoughtful.

Another reason to celebrate the Spender in your life is for their thoughtfulness. Maybe Spenders aren’t MORE thoughtful than others, BUT they aren’t going to let an expense keep them from showing their thoughtfulness.

For example, if you have houseguests and you’re a Spender, you can’t wait to offer them the best of the best for accommodations at your home or nearby. And you aren’t going to let some expenses stand in the way of showing them a great time while they’re in town.

Or if you are moving and you ask a Spender to help, they’ll either hire it done – ha – or show up to help AND buy the pizza for lunch.

Spenders don’t let money stand in their way of being helpful or thoughtful.

3. Ready to take action.

When a Spender in your life sees a need or opportunity, he or she is ready to jump on it. They don’t freeze up when it comes to making a financial commitment to help out or have fun.

Spenders make great memories. They won’t look back on the past with regret at the things they didn’t do because they took action and made it happen.

You can’t go back and enroll your kids in the club sport they begged to play or take your in-laws to dinner after they are gone. We don’t mean to be morbid, but Spenders won’t let money stop them from making the most of the time they’re given. They take action.

Are you wondering if you’re a Primary Spender? Or maybe you sense you have some Spending tendencies but aren’t sure. We encourage you to take the 5 Money Personalities Assessment TODAY. The knowledge is helpful and a great resource to have.

We encourage you to be proud to be a Spender or be sure to celebrate your Spender! Tell them how much you appreciate the things we’ve mentioned or create your own list. But give the Spender in your life some extra love.

Taylor & Megan Kovar

The Money Couple