The Real Secret to Reaching Your Financial Goals

January is here, and we all have high hopes for this year—especially after 2020. But here’s the thing about a new year: It’s still the same you. When midnight came on New Year’s Eve, there was no magic wand that transformed you and took all your problems away. The only way anything is going to change for you this year is if you do it yourself!

The past couple years I’ve been researching what causes people to reach their financial goals. One of the things I discovered is that we all have the capacity to improve. We just need a little self-awareness to make it happen.

There are seven strengths and weaknesses everyone has when it comes to their money. I call them the 7 Money Tendencies. Knowing your personal tendencies will help you reach your goals faster because you know what to expect. You can see a potential pitfall from a mile away.

None of the tendencies are right or wrong, but they do have implications. I’ve identified these tendencies in my new book, Know Yourself, Know Your Money. They are:

1. Spender or Saver
2. Nerd or Free Spirit
3. Experiences or Things
4. Quality or Quantity
5. Safety or Status
6. Abundance or Scarcity
7. Spontaneous Giver or Planned Giver

You’ll lean toward one or the other of each tendency, but don’t overthink it. It’s a spectrum, so you might be somewhere in between.

For example, let’s look at nerds vs. free spirits. Nerds love spreadsheets and budgeting because it makes them feel empowered—but rigidity and rules all the time might lead to burnout. Free spirits spend their money more freely, living life to the fullest. But if they aren’t intentional with their money, they’ll look up in a few years and wonder where it went.

Or, take safety vs. status. If you tend toward safety, you value the security money brings, but you’ll never reach your big goals if you make money decisions based in fear. If you lean toward status, you’re more likely to justify a large purchase if it makes you feel successful—but you need to remember that money doesn’t define you.

The more you pay attention to why you spend (or don’t spend) money the way you do, the more you can course-correct when you need to. Having self-awareness around your money tendencies will help you to win with money faster.