The Budgetarian

What 'money scripts' do you consciously or unconsciously subscribe to?

FQ (Financial Quotient) - Rose Fres Fausto - Philstar.com

October 18, 2023 | 7:00am

Recently, I came across Klontz Money Script Inventory and I think it’s worth sharing with you the four basic scripts that people adhere to.

I have talked about Childhood Money Memories (CMM) and their importance to our current relationship with money. This is why understanding your money behavior starts with this exercise. (To know more about this, go to Chapter 4 "FQ Book 1 FQ; the nth Intelligence" or read and watch articles in FQMom.com and FQMom YT Channel.)

Recently, I came across Klontz Money Script Inventory and I think it’s worth sharing with you the four basic scripts that people adhere to. Looking at them in tandem with your CMM exercise may help you identify your money beliefs that are affecting your relationship with money right now. Let’s go through them one by one.

1. Money status seekers

Money status seekers tend to link their self-worth with their net worth. They may prioritize outward displays of wealth. They may come from households that gave higher standing to people with more money. They are more likely to overspend, more than what they can afford, sometimes hiding such expenses from their spouses. They may also be prone to gambling excessively. Money status seekers are often financially dependent on others.

2. Money vigilants

Money vigilants are alert, watchful, and concerned about their financial health. Feeling that they have enough is important to them so they always save. They do not wait for financial windfalls or expect to win the lottery but work hard for money. They value bargains and are less likely to buy on credit. They do not believe in financial handouts and are usually discreet about their financial status with others, not wanting others to know how much money they have. They are frugal and smart spenders but may also be excessively anxious with money. If unchecked, money vigilance may prevent them from enjoying their money.

3. Money worshipers

Money worshipers believe that money is the key to happiness. They feel that the solution to their problems is to have more money. Because they also believe that one can never have enough money, they find the pursuit of money never truly satisfying. They are prone to buying things in an attempt to achieve happiness, most likely using credit. They are more likely to put work ahead of family.

4. Money avoiders

Money avoiders try not to think about money. Some believe that wealthy people are greedy or corrupt, that there is virtue in living with less money. Some, who were born into wealthier families, may feel that they do not deserve the money they have and may not be interested in looking into their financials, ending up being ignorant with budgeting and other money matters. They may frequently give away money in an unconscious effort to have less of it. Money avoiders may end up sabotaging their own financial success.

There is a short test to take to know what your money script is, the link is provided below. No matter what you get in the test, what is important is that you know that you entered adulting, managing your own money with some baggage that may not be your own doing. Our money scripts or beliefs are a product of our childhood, our money environment while we were growing up. Whether they were positive or negative is out of our control and are already in the past.

While our childhood money memory scripts were not written by us, we are now the writers of our FQ Scripts from this day forward! Isn’t that good news? We can boot our relationship with money. And we can do this by articulating the life we want to have now and in the future. What is our dream life today and when we reach our third act or retirement years? In order to be happy now and in the future, we should have a clearer understanding of what it takes to be happier (Click "Money and happiness".) And when we reboot our relationship with money, we should use our core values as our guide or compass in doing so. Click "What you do with and for money should agree with your core values" or do exercise in Chapter 5 of "FQ Book 1".

In the end, we should always remember that money is our tool in fulfilling the life we want.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. If you want to know where you are in your FQ journey. Click here.

2. Join me in this Friday’s episode of FQwentuhan and be entertained by the humor of Victor Anastacio as we talk about money. He also shares his childhood money memory.