First, let’s be sure we understand the range of possibilities with money management systems. Think of three people you know and describe what you can of their money management systems and how they generally get things done. Here are a few examples: Example #1: LynnDee uses her dining room table a lot. It is the first stop as she walks into her house. She unloads the mail there. Her checkbook is always there. She seems to like to spread out. Sitting at the table, you can see her oversized wall calendar on a kitchen wall. It is covered with written notes. The tackboard next to it is covered with pinned-up notices, invitations, notes, announcements, and newsletters. LynnDee is a very artistic person. Her house is a flood of color and filled with framed art, stenciling, and stylish antiques. I also happen to know that her drawers are in chaos, often spilling their contents when pulled open. Example #2: Sally works as the photographer and librarian for an architectural firm. Beautifully dressed, Sally is famous among her women friends for storing her off-season wardrobe at the cleaners. She says her closets are too small and this way everything is cleaned and ready when the season rolls around again. She keeps a small set of in-between clothes at home for the variable spring and fall weather. Sally was also an early bird in using the computer to print out household bill payments. She got a box of checks that would work with her printer. She programmed it so that the monthly bills only require the dollar amount to be keyed in. She even bought window envelopes and had the recipient’s address printed on the check, which can then show in the window. Her friends had a load of fun with that one. Example #3: Marge loves to play sports and coach her kids on their teams. She is always on the move and either lives out of a gym bag, a locker at the community pool, or the trunk of her car. She carries all kinds of regalia with her wherever she goes: water, pocketknife, change of clothes, deodorant, flashlight, address book, and checkbook. She lives in bits and pieces, here and there, except when she’s in a workout or at a game. She puts her bills in one of those accordion files and carries it with her. She will pull it out and write some checks if she has a moment before the game, just sitting in the bleachers. Periodically, she takes the remaining stack of papers and files them in a drawer in her bedroom desk. Think about your examples, or these three women. It doesn’t take much to realize they are very different. Each has a lot of talent-but it is distinctive. They have strengths, but they aren’t the same. Now just imagine trying to make them all follow the same process, methodology, or system in managing their money. Forget about it. Quickly list some words to describe each or all of these women. Responsible, energetic, scheduled, visual, modular, colorful, systematic, portable, technical, thorough, flexible, busy, sporadic, persistent, and so on. In short, each woman manages her money effectively, but each does it in a dramatically different way according to her own lifestyle and personality. The challenge is to identify what works for you, and how that can help you define your own effective money management system. There are numerous so-called self-discovery instruments available these days to help you describe your individuality. Have you taken any? We can take tests that help us identify our learning styles (such as visual, kinesthetic, audio), our emotional intelligences, our colors (autumn, winter, spring, summer), and our personality styles (1STJ, ENFP and so on). Whenever possible, it is fun and useful to fill out these questionnaires or take such tests. They are not diagnostic tests; instead, they are descriptive. They don’t analyze a personality. Rather, they give you another way to describe yourself. And that is useful. Whether you have taken such tests, now is the time to reflect upon and use any information you have about your profile. Let’s do it by focusing on some categories that particularly relate to money management. We will talk through these categories and then brainstorm ways in which your particular traits can play out usefully in your money management system.. These categories are as follows:
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