Table of Contents

• I created a “Money Vibe Check Test”

  • Disclaimers

  • Why take the test?

  • Here are my results

• Appendix

  • Methodology

  • Existing frameworks

  • Factors that correlate with our relationship with …

Apparently it’s easier to talk about religion, sex, and politics than money.

Gone are the days that we define money as a purely neutral object, a means of exchange, or a unit of account.

We’ve established WTF money is: a complex & pervasive social and political tool. By definition, we all have a money vibe. Aka a relationship with money.

Guess what? Understanding our behavior and emotions behind money has been studied for at least 40 years now, if not more. Only in the 90s did “money attitude” begin to gain increasing attention within the academic world.

But why isn’t there a Myer’s Briggs equivalent for determining our money vibe?

I created a “Money Vibe Check Test”

So based on months of research and chats with financial psychologists, I created my own: the Money Vibe Check Test.

The test consists 30 questions to identify:

• Your perception & feelings about money

• Your financial literacy standing

• Your risk preferences

Based on your responses, you’re assigned a probability-based score for each caricature and will receive an email with your money vibe.

Disclaimers

Now, let’s go over a few disclaimers:

This test is not comprehensive. There are so many dimensions and factors that influence how we think about money. Things like our partnership status, our cultural background, our childhood experiences with finances, and even our current mental and emotional state all play significant roles.

Also, this test is designed to offer insights into your potential financial tendencies and is not a substitute for professional financial advice. The results should not be interpreted as a definitive assessment of your financial capabilities or as a basis for making investment decisions. This test has not been developed under research or clinical settings and is not a clinically validated instrument for personality assessment. For personalized financial planning, please consult with a qualified financial advisor.

When I was chatting with a financial psychologist, she equated any money test as equivalent to a horoscope because these tests are based on our self-perception, which is subjective. We may think we have a healthy relationship with money, only for an outsider to objectively say we don’t.

Why take the test?

Two reasons.

1. Let's bring a little lightness to the heavy stuff. There's a certain joy in discovering you're an ENFJ, “the protagonist,” and sharing that quirky detail with friends. It's a fun shortcut to understanding ourselves and each other. And honestly, who has time to wade through dense psychology papers about money? Most of us don't, and that's perfectly fine. Talking about finances shouldn't feel like pulling teeth. We can destigmatize the conversation around money by injecting a dose of humor and relatability. It's about making those hard topics feel less daunting, more approachable, and even, dare I say, enjoyable.

2. More importantly, engage your critical thinking. These questions are meant to nudge you. How does money sit with you? Does it trigger unease? Do you lean towards a positive or negative view? Or is it something you rarely consider?

Here are my results

Research

This test was developed based on:

• The Money Attitude Scale developed by Yamauchi and Templer & the Money Beliefs & Behaviors Scale developed by Furnham (popular frameworks can be found here). Aka if you’re curious about current research in the space, see appendix.

• “Big Five” financial education questions

• Risk tolerance & capacity research 

Few asks from you folks:

• Feedback: What did you like? What did you feel was missing?

• Share the fun: Ask your friends to get their money vibe check and see what they get!

• What else do you want to learn?

Stay tuned for bite #3 next week, where we get hands-on about your money.

With 💛 & until the next 🐝,

Sneha

Appendix

Here’s some background on existing research in the psychology of money space. Full methodology, disclaimers & paper can be found here for curious folks.

Methodology

• The number of publications in the “psychology of money” space has increased in the last 25 years.

• This research has predominantly been done in Asia, North America, and Europe.

Existing frameworks

There are predominantly four frameworks that have been validated & gained recognition for how we view money:

Factors that correlate with our relationship with money

• Gender

• Age

• Income

• Education

• Individual traits

For example, results suggest women and men have different approaches to money. Men tend to associate money with power and prestige, viewing it as a means to obtain respect, impress others and demonstrate value and status. In contrast, women are more likely to be concerned with spending and feel more anxious about money, thus experiencing their relationship with money in a more ambivalent way.

But, a lot of these results tend to different culturally, like the relationship between income level and the importance attributed to money.

And more importantly, no scale deeply investigates the emotional dimension of money. The existing scales reflect our behaviors or beliefs about money, but not our underlying emotions about them.