There are three primary personality types when it comes to handling money: Spenders, savers, and investors.
Spenders spend it likes there's no tomorrow, with little regard towards rainy days, retirement, or stress-free vacations. Savers account for every dollar and sock as much away as they can. Investors use a combination of saving and spending to make their money work for them and grow.
These money mindsets apply to real people and fictional ones. Here's how five of your favorite fictional characters handle money.
Rebecca Bloomwood — Spender
Rebecca Bloomwood from Confessions of a Shopaholic is the definition of a spender. She buys things to feel better, fit in, and be happy. She amasses tons of credit card debt and ultimately learns that she needs to prioritize saving—or at least not spending more than she earns. Spending the money you don't have to on things you don't need might feel good in the moment, but that bill always comes -- that's the less fun part.
Jessica Huang — Saver
Jessica Huang, the amazing matriarch on Fresh Off the Boat, is a thrifty mom. She's running a family, so she needs to budget, but she takes it to the extreme, always looking for a way to squeeze a little extra out of the family budget or the family business. Saving your pennies is a great habit, but don't save so hard that your quality of life suffers as a result.
Christian Grey — Investor
In addition to being a billionaire playboy and BDSM enthusiast, Christian Grey is a savvy investor. He diversifies his investments and puts money behind companies and people he believes in. Unless you are a professional financier, your gut may not be as well-honed as Mr. Grey's. Stick with the people who know what they're doing and stash your money in a safe and historically very profitable Vanguard account.
Rebecca Bunch — Spender
Rebecca Bunch from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a spender who used to be an inadvertent saver. When she had a high-paying job in New York, she lived for work and didn't have much to spend money on. In West Covina, however, she spends lavishly and quickly and it comes back to haunt her eventually. Big life changes can make even the most disciplined of us get off our leash a little bit. Get wild if you need to, but always come back to the real you. Or better yet, find a balance between the extremes.
Mindy Lahiri — Investor
Your instinct might be to think of The Mindy Project's Mindy Lahiri as a spender. After all, she has a killer wardrobe and a swanky NYC apartment. But, don't be so quick to judge. Mindy is actually an investor. While she does like to spend on herself, especially early in the series, she eventually changes her ways and gets her finances in order so she can invest in herself and her new business, Later Baby, and open her own fertility clinic. Get it, girl. The satisfaction of success outweighs the joy of any material possession, every single time.