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Confident Money Managers – Strengths, Challenges and Leveling Up Your Personal Finance Game

January 26, 2021

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Created in collaboration with The Myers-Briggs Company, an authority on personality research and publisher of the MBTI® assessment, Marcus by Goldman Sachs has created a Financial Personality Quiz, to help you uncover your financial personality.

Whether we’re talking everyday spending or retirement planning, everyone manages their finances differently. And knowing your personality type can help you better utilize strengths and understand blind spots about how you approach financial management.

The quiz, co-created by Marcus by Goldman Sachs and The Myers-Briggs Company, highlights four different financial personality types: Confident Money Manager, Short-term Strategist, Value-Based Planner and Laid-Back Balancer.

Ahead, we’ll be diving into Confident Money Managers. As the name suggests, you Confident Money Managers have many strengths when it comes to money. For one, you’re more likely than others to create a financial plan and stick to it. Did you start saving for retirement early? No surprise there!

Let’s see what other strengths Confident Money Managers tend to have, as well as what challenges you likely face. And of course, we’ll offer some possible solutions that can help you tackle your blind spots!

Interested in taking the official, validated MBTI assessment? Through MBTIonline, you can:

discover self-awareness
improve relationships and communication
find your ideal career with predicted career satisfaction
host a team development session and more!

Note, payment is required to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^® and access courses and resources.

Expected Financial Strengths of Confident Money Managers

As a Confident Money Manager, you have many strengths when it comes to your finances. You’re also genuinely interested in personal finance and learning about money-related topics. Which is probably how you found yourself here in the first place! Let’s go over some of the other assets (see, what we did there?) of your financial personality.

Confidence is Key

Alright, the name gives it away. Confident Money Managers tend to be, well, confident! Like we mentioned earlier, that confidence also means you’re not only likely to come up with a detailed financial plan, but also likely to stick with it over time.

Interested and Engaged

As a Confident Money Manager, you likely display higher levels of interest and engagement when it comes to your finances. How does that excitement about all things finance play out? You may live by a detailed budget to keep tabs on your expenses and/or pay your debts off with regularly-scheduled payments.

You Confident Money Managers are also most likely to track your financial information over time, perhaps even using apps, spreadsheets or other tools.

If you’re nodding your head yes, you may want to also check out Marcus Insights: a free set of financial tools and trackers on marcus.com and on the Marcus app.

With Marcus Insights, you can link accounts from thousands of financial institutions – including checking and savings accounts, credit cards, brokerage accounts, loans and retirement accounts – to see your money in one place and take some of the effort out of compiling and analyzing your accounts. You can track your cash flow, visualize your spending and better understand your habits with just a few taps and swipes – which, as a Confident Money Manager, is likely right up your alley!

Traditionalist Approach

Let’s be clear - “traditionalist” in no way implies “boring.” Rather, it means you’re likely a long-term planner and are more likely to consider traditional investments or criteria when deciding where to put your money. You’re probably not investing in cryptocurrency, but instead, you prefer to focus on long-term investments to build wealth. That may include putting money aside in a 401(k) or IRA. (PS Marcus Insights also allows you to track your retirement and investment accounts in one place, so you know exactly where you stand with your financial goals.)

Marcus Insights’ smart tools and trackers are designed to help you see your money clearly and make empowered financial decisions.

Learn More

Expected Financial Challenges of Confident Money Managers

Every financial personality has a few blind spots. Yes, even you, the Confident Money Managers! Here are some of the potential challenges you may come across:

Not Seeking a Second Opinion

The same traits that make you so confident as a money manager can also get you into some trouble. If you overestimate your confidence in certain matters, you might be less likely to seek a second opinion when making financial decisions, especially in areas you’re not as knowledgeable in.

Instead of trying to exercise total control over every aspect of your finances, it might be worth it to occasionally check in with a professional, like a financial advisor or tax expert, who can help you make informed decisions.

Moving too Quickly

Being a Confident Money Manager, you tend to prefer black-and-white to gray, and “yes or no” to “maybe.” (We get it, having certainty often feels good!) But when it comes to some financial decisions, you might get a little overzealous just to gain closure. And when that happens, you may act too quickly without doing your due diligence.

While you’re pretty knowledgeable about finances – so fast action may not always be a bad thing – speediness could negatively impact your finances if you’re not careful. In situations where you may be moving too quickly, it could be helpful to take a beat to evaluate the decisions by assessing the pros, cons and degree of risk.

Overanalyzing and Losing Objectivity

As a Confident Money Manager, you can probably see how your overconfidence can get the best of you. At the same time, there’s also potential for you to overanalyze your options and become too critical when making financial decisions. Having a well of financial knowledge like you do definitely comes in handy! But it might lead you to overthink things from time to time.

If you’re stuck, working with a financial advisor can be a good idea. They can help you review your options and land on a decision that’s best for you.

Remember, when it comes to figuring out our financial lives, we’re in this together! With that in mind, you Confident Money Managers may find the following resources beneficial when organizing your financial lives (and creating the solid long-term plan you desire):

And if you’re interested in learning more about personality type? Click here to receive the free Ultimate Guide to Extraversion and Introversion eBook from The Myers-Briggs Company.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for individualized professional advice. Individuals should consult their own tax advisor for matters specific to their own taxes and nothing communicated to you herein should be considered tax advice. This article was prepared by and approved by Marcus by Goldman Sachs, but does not reflect the institutional opinions of Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. or any of their affiliates, subsidiaries or division. Goldman Sachs Bank USA does not provide any financial, economic, legal, accounting, tax or other recommendation in this article. Information and opinions expressed in this article are as of the date of this material only and subject to change without notice. Information contained in this article does not constitute the provision of investment advice by Goldman Sachs Bank USA or any its affiliates. Neither Goldman Sachs Bank USA nor any of its affiliates makes any representations or warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the statements or any information contained in this document and any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed.