Financial Fitness Personality

We have defined five different types of Financial Fitness based on both your behaviour & attitude or feelings towards money. Which one do you most identify with?

1. ATHLETE

  • Current money position… I earn more than I spend.
  • When thinking about the future… I am well prepared, have super contributions set up, an emergency. fund, adequate insurance and an estate plan.
  • When I think about money… I feel happy and at ease.
  • When asked if I am a saver or spender… I am a conscious saver and intentional spender. I enjoy having the freedom to spend money on what makes me happy.

An Athlete enjoys life because of the way they manage their money. They often have peace of mind that their money is sorted in the present and for the future. They are conscious about how they spend money and save intentionally for their goals. Getting money help in certain life stages can be helpful to ensure an athlete remains financially fit throughout life.

2. HIGH POTENTIAL

  • Current money position … I earn more than I spend.
  • When thinking about the future… I am moderately prepared, but there is extra work I can do to have peace of mind.
  • When I think about money… I feel comfortable.
  • When asked if I am a saver or spender… I am not an intentional saver.

A High Potential individual has money left over at end of every month, but may not be as conscious about their future nor intentional with their spending or saving. A High Potential person can become an athlete by

  1. Getting sorted for the future
  2. Setting up saving as a habit
  3. Being intentional with spending, focusing on what makes them happy

3. INDIFFERENT

  • Current money position… I don’t know.
  • When thinking about the future… I don’t know – or am moderately prepared.
  • When I think about money.. comfortable or fearful.
  • When asked if I am a saver or spender… I am a spender.

An Indifferent person buries their head in the sand when it comes to their money position and they do not have peace of mind their finances are in order. The good news is, a lot can be done to move towards Athlete status including

  1. Becoming more knowledgeable about current money position
  2. Making savings a habit
  3. Preparing for the inevitable & unexpected

4. FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE

  • Current money position… I don’t know!
  • When thinking about the future… I am very prepared, with super setup, emergency fund sorted, adequate insurance and estate plan
  • When I think about money.. I feel happy.
  • When asked if I am a saver or spender… I am likely to have savings, but wouldn’t call myself an international saver.

Focused on the Future definitely has their future plans sorted out and has a peace of mind that in years (or decades!) to come their money situation will be sorted. However they are quite long-sighted and therefore do not manage their money day to day. Good news is, this can be rectified by getting the basics sorted.

5. ACTION REQUIRED

  • Current money position – I spend more than I earn and have some short term borrowing / debt (e.g credit card debt) I can’t seem to get rid of.

For those Action Required individuals, short term borrowing is common and needs to be addressed ASAP so we can start training to become an Athlete.