Things Don’t Always Turn Out the Way We Think They Will
In life, we tend to mess up a lot. We think some decisions are great (even though they really aren’t) and
we make mistakes that we may or may not be able to fix. The important thing about making a mistake is
to learn from it and challenge yourself to do better next time. I won’t lie, I make a lot of mistakes. Some
are hard to fix and others are just plain silly. One incident that happened recently comes to mind.
In my attempt to be a responsible car owner, I scheduled an appointment to get my oil changed at the
car dealership. I usually do this on Saturdays and wait on my vehicle, but they were booked solid the
Saturday I needed and told me they could take me to work on Tuesday morning if I dropped it off then.
I’m not used to doing it this way, so I didn’t know what to expect. At 8:15 that morning, I arrived at the
dealership and their driver took me to work. I asked if they could come pick me up and take me back to
the dealership at noon (when my lunch break began) and they happily agreed to come get me. At 12:00,
I looked out the window and no one was there. I was really hoping that they didn’t forget about me
(mostly because I was super hungry.) At 12:01, I saw a car pull up with the same dealer tags as the one
that dropped me off. I briefly wondered why they were driving a different vehicle, but I just grabbed my
stuff and went outside to the car. When I grabbed the handle, the door was locked. The driver looked at
me a little weird, and then he unlocked the door. He continued looking at me with a very strange look,
to which I hesitantly replied, “You’re not with the car dealership, are you?” He looked quite confused at
this point and said, “No… I’m here to pick someone up for lunch.” You can imagine that at this point I
was feeling a little surprised and a lot embarrassed. I apologized for awkwardly trying to get into his car
and briefly tried to explain myself, but I’m pretty sure I was so flustered that I didn’t make any sense. As
soon as I shut the door, the guy from the dealership pulled up and I got in his car as quickly as possible.
What were the odds that someone had just bought a car from the exact same dealership and he came to
pick up my co-worker at the exact same time that I was supposed to go to lunch? I’m not a math major,
but I’m pretty sure it was a crazy coincidence.
Anyway, the point to my story is that sometimes things don’t always turn out the way we think they will.
Something may seem like it’s the right thing, but later on down the road we might figure out that it
wasn’t. When it comes to money, this is especially true. When we’re looking to make a large purchase, it
can be an exciting time! I agree that it should be exciting, but we don’t want to let the excitement get in
the way of making a good financial decision. Yes, I understand that “good financial decision” doesn’t
sound exciting at all, but later on down the line you’ll be grateful you made a good decision.
One of the most common big purchases people make is a new vehicle. There’s something so enchanting
about that new car smell and the super clean interior. Getting a new car is great, but if you owe more on
your current vehicle than it’s worth, it may not be wise to roll that amount in to the new loan. This could
end up costing you a lot more money in the long run and if you decide to buy another vehicle in 2-3
years you may be doing the exact same thing then. If you’re in this situation and still itching for a new
vehicle, make yourself a plan on when you can get one. Look up the value of your vehicle and compare it
to the amount you owe on the loan and try paying extra until you get those numbers to work out in your
favor. Then mark your calendar for the date you think you can start vehicle shopping. This will allow you
to stay motivated, but not make any rash decisions that you may regret later. Just remember, your
vehicle’s value may change over that timeframe, so you want to give yourself a good cushion and
update as needed.
Other decisions, like moving to a new home, buying new furniture, or getting a new TV may make a
serious impact on your future if you haven’t planned for them in advance. When you decide you want to
make a large purchase, look at the big picture and truly decide if it’s the right thing for you to do right
now. If it is, buy away!
The simple act of planning isn’t a guarantee that you will never make a mistake. You’re human, the odds
aren’t really in your favor to be mistake-free, but at least you’ll know that your decision was the best
you thought it would be at the time. I’m not exactly sure how I could have avoided trying to get into a
stranger’s car, but I’m sure if I had been more aware or a little more patient then maybe I could have
avoided the situation, but it sure does make for a funny story.
Until next time…
Your Financial Personality
There are so many different personalities and a million different personality tests out there that let you
discover so much fun stuff about yourself (whether true or not). Some of the tests let you find out what
color you are, what animal represents you, or which Kardashian you would be. I’m no personality test
expert, but I did recently take the Myers-Briggs personality test. This test has been around since the
World War II era and has been widely used since then. I’m not vouching for the validity of the test in
determining career placement or your life’s decisions, but I do know that it was pretty fun reading my
results and thinking, “That’s so me!”
For those of you who haven’t taken the test before, your results give you four letters that represent you,
with a possibility of 16 outcomes. Your results show that you are (E) extroverted or (I) introverted, (S)
sensing or (N) intuitive, (T) thinking or (F) feeling, and (J) judging or (P) perceiving. I’m an ENTP, which
basically puts me in a category of around 3% of the population with a variety of famous people from
Mark Twain and Tom Hanks to Captain Jack Sparrow and Weird Al Yankovic. Still not sure how I feel
about that, but C’est la vie.
Knowing your personality type can be really fun to discover more about yourself or possibly why you do
the things that you do. ENTP’s are known for being very argumentative, but I’m not sure I can just go
around starting arguments with people just because my personality type says I will. While your
personality test can say a lot about who you are and how you handle situations, it can also tell you a lot
about your money habits. There is plenty of research out there on this topic and knowing what your
type is and what it means can give you some insight into why you deal with money the way you do (or
why your spouse does) and learn how to overcome financial obstacles and promote financial success.
One article that I found interesting on Forbes’ website breaks the 16 personality types up into four
different groups: Protectors, Planners, Pleasers, and Players. This article focuses mostly on investment
traits, but I believe it can be applicable to our everyday money habits as well.
Here’s a summary of the different groups in the article:
Protectors (ESTJ, ESFJ, ISTJ, and ISFJ) Protectors are the conservative ones who always focus on the
future. They are usually minimalists and don’t like spending money on frivolous things that don’t seem
important to them. Protectors want to make sure they have their ducks in a row and they definitely
don’t like surprises. The best thing for this group to do is create a well-backed emergency fund just in
case things don’t go according to plan. Protectors need the constant stability and low-risk investments,
which can be both good and bad. Their financial decisions will be well calculated and planned in
advance, but they can end up missing out on some opportunities that need immediate response.
Protectors make up about 38% of the population.
Planners (ENTJ, ENTP, INTJ, and INTP). Apparently Planners like to see themselves as smarter than
everyone else and they like to focus on the big picture. Unlike the Protectors, they’re not as scared to
spend money and can stomach the ups and downs of the market just a little better. While big picture
thinking can be good, Planners may get so caught up in the future that they forget to pay attention to
what is happening right now. The hardest part for ENTP’s in particular is that they get bored easily and
are always looking for something better. This can be good and bad when it comes to finances, especially
when the “big picture” doesn’t always work out the way they think it will. If you are a Planner, make
sure part of your plan also includes short-term savings and a simple spending plan. Planners make up
about 12% of the population.
Pleasers (ENFJ, ENFP, INFJ, and INFP). Pleasers take money personally. They use money to either please
themselves or please others (hello gifts!) and are very caring individuals. If you’re a pleaser, you need to
be careful with your spending. Many pleasers tend to overspend and can find themselves in credit card
debt for essentially no good reason. While this isn’t true for all, it is something to look out for if you find
yourself in this category. Pleasers make up about 12% of the population.
Players (ESTP, ESFP, ISTP, and ISFP). Players are pretty much the exact opposite of Planners. They live in
the moment and have a hard time thinking long-term. Players are resourceful and positive, but face
many obstacles when it comes to retirement planning because they get bored too easily. Players make
up about 38% percent of the population.
All of the personality types have positives and negatives. No one type is better than the other, but it is
really cool to see how your type compares to others and how the individuals in your life can actually
help balance you out. If you have 15 minutes to kill and have never taken the test before, I suggest
trying it out. If nothing else, it has to give you a little more insight into life than finding out if you’re more
like Kim or Khloe.
Until next time…
Article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/learnvest/2013/01/14/how-your-personality-type-affects-yourfinances/#750df872e051