Name: Your Personality Type: ESFP

MONEY BEHAVIOR ASSESSMENT™

Overall View of Money

Individuals with this personality type typically view money in a spontaneous and fun manner. Easy-going and fun-loving, an ESFP views money as a way to promote harmony and fun for herself and others. She sees money as a tool to further the many new possibilities or social trends. Excitement and drama often punctuate her use of money. She is frequently the “performer” of the world in which she lives, seeking the attention of others with little or no thought to the financial consequences. If a person of this type cannot have some regular, new opportunities for social outlets, she is likely to feel drained or even “dead” inside. Spending Behavior

Spending is almost always based on the desire to keep life full of fun. An ESFP often enjoys the finer things in life and takes great pleasure in objects of aesthetic beauty. If she cannot see how the routine or boring monthly bill-paying promotes these things, this type can have difficulty keeping a steady handle on such. Seeking out new and exciting experiences often occurs and spending therefore is usually directed towards such.

An ESFP can easily over-indulge, placing more importance on immediate sensation and gratification than on her duties and obligations. She may also avoid looking at the long- term consequences of her actions. Spending is more for the current moment, thus making it more likely that she will spend regardless of the price or her ability to afford the purchase. Keeping a person of this type directed on her innate ability to be the “life of the party” without dramatic displays of finances is important.

Suggestions for Change:

The ESFP must find a way to make “old things new again” to avoid spending. She should seek as many opportunities to socialize with flare and drama without spending. Hosting parties where others contribute, donating time and energy at the local theater, or getting involved with fund raising are some possibilities. One key thing to keep in mind – a person of this type would do well to remember that hers is a legitimate social need that spending will never fill.

The following statements are computer generated and based on your Myers-Briggs Type Indicator scores. They may not reflect every aspect of your personality type and should be reviewed in the context of an assessment by an appropriate professional. Some statements may not apply. MBTI® and MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR® are registered trademarks and MYERS-BRIGGS™ is a trademark of Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc., the publisher of the MBTI instrument. Behavioral Finance Assessments, LLC is not affiliated with and is not a licensee of Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc. This document is Copyright 2005, 2008, James M. Dodson, PsyD. MONEY BEHAVIOR ASSESSMENT™ is a trademark of Behavioral Finance Assessments, Inc. MONEY BEHAVIOR ASSESSMENT™

Shopping Behavior

When shopping, this type of person usually seeks out the busiest stores or stores where they expect many people to shop. To this type of person, shopping can be synonymous with socializing. Because focusing on details is a natural strength, shopping is usually about finding the least expensive item or service to accomplish whatever task is at hand regardless of how much effort is needed to make it work. Making one trip to the store for a minimal number of items is preferred, but if additional items are needed, additional trips will occur. This type of person shops in the smallest way possible for the least expensive or least number of items needed. Smaller changes are preferred to big changes when shopping. The kinds of products shopped for are usually items that bring harmony to a situation or relationship. If this type of person decides to shop, a great deal of information gathering and researching various products is apt to dominate their behavior before settling on a choice. Although internet shopping may occur, this type of person will prefer shopping with others in stores.

It's easy to associate socializing with shopping and spending. But when money is tight and the urge to shop becomes strong, remind yourself that you want to socialize. Therefore, try to meet that need in a different way (i.e. instead of walking with friends at the mall, walk with them in the park or neighborhood). Don't expect others to shop as frugally as yourself. If you expect others to be as informed as yourself on cost and savings while shopping, you may quickly find conflict that could detract from your shopping experience. To help keep from overspending while shopping, remember your tendency is to bring harmony to others. This can be just as easily accomplished by shopping for something small in value, but high in thoughtfulness of the other person. Researching and gathering information about items or services is important, but making decisions before shopping can help this type of person reduce distractions from other competing products or services. In short, increase decisiveness by researching before shopping. Other ways to increase decisiveness can include imposing a time limit to decide, get comfortable with someone else's decision, and remind yourself that your decision is not set it stone - you almost always can exchange or cancel a product or service in favor of something else.

Budgeting Behavior

A person with this personality type may not include items in the budget that appear mundane, boring, or immediately non-gratifying. Because the act of budgeting involves little spontaneity, trivial input or even avoidance of budgeting may occur. Yet, the ESFP can display surprising practicality – usually when budgeting events that allow her

dramatic flare to blossom. Keeping a person of this type focused on how the budgeting process promotes spontaneity, fun, and attention may help her get more involved.

The ESFP must recognize that help from others when budgeting is often necessary. She should involve others in helping set up an “allowance” to keep financial matters on track. A person of this type may budget better if she shares the responsibility with someone more focused on the longer term aspects of budgeting. She should revisit the budget process often to keep some structure on “enjoying the moment” so that it doesn’t get out of hand.

If this person is under considerable financial stress or is overwhelmed with negative thoughts and possibilities, saying simple and global statements will likely help her overcome the problem in the short-term. This strategy may help her identify the true nature of the problem, which usually is an unfulfilled social need of some kind.

Saving Behavior

Saving behavior is best characterized as something done for beauty, fun, or love of life. Because an ESFP’s style is to enjoy the moment and be spontaneous, saving can be haphazard or inconsistent. Prolonged saving is usually easier for this person to do if the task for which she is saving requires extensive planning with others.

This person is more apt to save if she can resist the urge to spend what is on hand in order to “experience” the moment. Setting up automatic mechanisms for saving may help. To save for the longer term, she might involve more people and increase the time for planning the task. (i.e. Adopt the mindset, “Let’s make a production out of it!”).

Also, saving can be accomplished by encouraging a person of this type to become active in an investment club that meets often and emphasizes socializing.

Communication About Money Issues

Others may view a person with this personality style as expressive and outgoing when communicating about financial matters. Conversations may tend to drift to topics of immediate gratification and fun activities instead of staying focused on the financial

matter. If posed with a problem or idea for which he has no ready answer, a person of this type will typically begin speaking order to “think” through to an answer.

Before discussing an answer, announce to the other person your intentions of needing to verbalize your logic as you work through the presented problem or issue. Inform them that as you verbalize, you will say some things that will not work. You will need to talk through wrong solutions before getting to the one you believe is right.

Remember that some people fall silent into introspective thinking to arrive at a conclusion. These individuals are not ignoring you though they may appear that way. It is important to give them time to think to themselves, but do ask them for an idea of how much time they will need. Carefully consider their response as it almost always has been thought through to a conclusion once verbalized.

Emotional acknowledgement of the other person’s communication is good, but it is equally important to acknowledge the facts and practicality they present.

If you find yourself arguing, it is usually because the other person is trying to make an important point and may not have the words to fully express such. Make sure you are clear on that point and its importance to that person. You can do so by rephrasing back to them what they say and getting their feedback for clarification.

Risk Tolerance for Personality Types

Risk tolerance usually refers to a person’s ability to tolerate a decline in the value of invested money while waiting for such to improve. Simply put, how long can you wait for your investment to turn around?

Risk tolerance varies according to age, gender, and personality type. Younger investors tend to tolerate more risk whereas older investors do not tolerate risk as much. Females are less tolerant of risk than males. Personalities that are introverted, value imagination, prone to make decisions based on relationships as opposed to facts, and have a need for order and decisiveness usually have a low tolerance for risk. Personalities that are extraverted, have the need to use their senses to evaluate something, prefer using logic and facts in analysis, and are open to changes and fluid situations usually have a high tolerance for risk. Exceptions to these findings exist, but generally these factors remain consistent.

Personality type is related to the amount of risk you can tolerate - not necessarily the risk you take. This personality profile has a Medium High Tolerance to risk. An older female of this personality type has a slightly less than Medium High Tolerance for risk. A younger male has a slightly greater than Medium High Tolerance for risk.

The information below shows where your personality type falls on a scale from low to high tolerance. Keep in mind that differences in risk tolerance between two different types can generate much conflict if not respected. Open discussion about such differences with a focus on a healthy compromise is suggested.

Low Tolerance for Risk ↔ High Tolerance for Risk (Pessimistic) ↔ (Overconfident) ______

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

The following statements are computer generated and based on your Myers-Briggs Type Indicator scores. They may not reflect every aspect of your personality type and should be reviewed in the context of an assessment by an appropriate professional. Some statements may not apply. MBTI® and MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR® are registered trademarks and MYERS-BRIGGS™ is a trademark of Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc., the publisher of the MBTI instrument. Behavioral Finance Assessments, LLC is not affiliated with and is not a licensee of Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc. This document is Copyright 2005, 2008, James M. Dodson, PsyD. MONEY BEHAVIOR ASSESSMENT™ is a trademark of Behavioral Finance Assessments, Inc.