Have you ever heard of “money personality”?

We all have our very own relationship with money.

Whether we love it or hate it, spend it or save it, live for it or never even think about it – this relationship is real and has its roots.

I come from a very normal European family. My father was a self-made entrepreneur and is now retired, while my mum was first a full-time PA, then a stay-at-home mum and later a part-time PA. My father was in charge of the finances, my mum of our upbringing and household. Pretty standard, I’d say, for our parents’ generation.

I have only one sibling, an older sister. And what we were taught about money growing up is weirdly simple: don’t worry about it, you will find a man who will take care of your finances.

Of course boys get a hugely different financial education.

When my parents’ marriage started to crumble, our financial education got even more confusing. We were constantly passed the message that money was somewhat tight, but if really needed they would still find it “behind the sofa”. And that included money for our education, many travels and extra curricular activities.

I know for sure that if my mum hadn’t had her part-time job, she probably wouldn’t have found the strength and courage to split up and would have remained in an unhappy marriage.

When my sister and I went to uni, we chose humanities: translation studies for me, piano and languages for her. We both chose something aligned with our skills, and for a long time I simply didn’t think about my future salary.

Until I was made redundant (the first time) and realised that working as a translator didn’t pay much and, because the world is ever changing, would pay less and less on the long term. (Notable exceptions are translators and interpreters at the EU, UN, etc. – they earn superb salaries!)

I had moved from Italy to the UK a couple of years before that, and this was when my own, personal financial education started.

I chose to live in London, an expensive yet sensational city. This meant I had to be really mindful about money and make choices that would allow me to continue live there to a standard my husband and I like.

We took our time before getting married, buying a house and having our daughter, because in an expensive city you have to put time and effort into your careers first.

In the course of the years I have read loads of books and blogs, listened to podcasts and worked for interesting companies in different sectors. Some time ago I came across the FI (Financial Independence) movement and I now subscribe to it (though I must admit it may take me longer to get there as I started late and now have a family and a mortgage).

So what is my money personality?

I am mindful about money. I enjoy not saving it as much as I enjoy spending it on things that matter to me. The clue is in the healthy emotional return you get from spending your money.

I’m a savvy spender. I like a bargain and I like to be financially independent from my husband, so we split bills and mortgage costs roughly equally.

I’m a saver and live below my means. I put aside part of my salary at the beginning of every month.

I dislike debt. I’ve been lucky enough not have a student loan (on the European continent there is no such a thing as a student loan, partly because university fees are so low) and all my credit cards are on direct debit in order to avoid silly temptations. The only debt we have is our mortgage, and I look for any way of reducing it early.

I don’t invest in stock and shares besides my pension which is invested in a sustainable fund. Maybe I’ll get into the stock market one day, but for now I prefer to invest in peer-to-peer lending which gives me a good return and simply resonates more with me.

I have been investing for my baby daughter since the month she was born.

I enjoy my work, but I know that I’ll take time out to go travelling at some point in the future. Work is not all in my life.

I never want to argue about money. It is the most common cause of arguments for couples. I believe that if you have a hold on your finances, you don’t need to argue about it.

I live life by the philosophy of live and let live as well as work hard and be nice to people.


1 Comment

My unpopular opinion, Italy, tradition and innovation - Money For The Modern Girl · 15th June 2019 at 4:34 pm

[…] up in Italy has been a privilege. Being raised in a German and Italian household and being able to speak and think in two languages as well as comparing two different cultures on […]

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