Enneagram Types: How the 9 Enneagram Types Manage Money

Hello, hello! Welcome back to Financial Self-Care and today we are talking about the 9 Enneagram types and how they each manage money.

You can listen to this episode of Financial Self-Care with Financial Therapist, Lindsey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen!

My business is really getting to a place that I’m proud of and excited about. It’s still totally messy and half the time, I feel like entrepreneurship is just the Wild Wild West.

BUT one thing that has really helped me understand how to operate a successful business and maintain some semblance of balance in my personal life is understanding who I am at my core.

I know my fears, my motivations, my desires, and my defaults. I know how I show up when I’m in a relatively healthy mindset and I know how I present when I’m not mentally thriving. 

And that’s all thanks to a little tool called The Enneagram.

What is the Enneagram?

If you’re unfamiliar with the Enneagram, it’s a personality typing system or categorizing system. The Enneagram is a nine-point diagram, with each point representing a personality type. 

9 Enneagram Types

The nine types include:

1. Type 1: The Perfectionist
2. Type 2: The Helper
3. Type 3: The Achiever
4. Type 4: The Individualist
5. Type 5: The Investigator
6. Type 6: The Loyalist
7. Type 7: The Enthusiast
8. Type 8: The Challenger
9. Type 9: The Peacemaker

There are a lot of personality tests out there, but the Enneagram is without a doubt my favorite. 

It’s comprehensive, detailed, and if typed accurately, can provide invaluable insights into how and why you move through the world the way you do.

The Enneagram is a way of understanding how people are motivated, what they fear, what they desire, and how they react while in a healthy, average, or stressed state. Understanding your type can help you recognize your strengths, challenges, and the underlying reasons for your actions and reactions.

And while it sounds crazy that the Enneagram theorizes that there are only 9 “types” of people in the world, each person expresses their type very differently. For example: I’m a 3. My best friend is also a 3. And while our motivations, fears, and desires are the same, it manifests very, very differently for each of us. 

It today’s episode, I’m going to give you a brief overview of each of the nine types and how they play a role in your money management (or lack thereof).

How the Enneagram Works

But before we do that, I want to explain a few more things you need to know about the Enneagram. You have to understand how the Enneagram works.

1. You can only be one type

First you gotta understand that you can not be more than one type. 

For example, I’m an Enneagram 3. While some characteristics of a type 8 and a type 7 are fitting for me, I can’t be an 8 or a 7 because I’m a 3. 

2. All 9 Enneagram types have a wing

Next is, each Enneagram type has wings. Your wings fall on either side of your number. So again, I’m a 3, the achiever. My wings are a 2 or a 4. So the accurate type for me would be phrased as a 3w2. 

If you’re a 7 your wing numbers are either a 6 or an 8. If you’re a 1, the reformer or perfectionist, your wings could be a 9 or a 2. Get it?

We’re not going to get too in-depth on wings today, but if the Enneagram is of interest to you, it’s helpful to know what you’re working with.

3. The Enneagram is a framework for growth

And then finally, the Enneagram should be used as a framework for growth. It’s awesome because it actually details how you are likely to behave based on whether you’re in a healthy state-of-mind, average, or under stress.

Ultimately, the Enneagram helps you move toward greater self-awareness and healthier ways of relating to yourself and other people in your life.

Why I Love the Enneagram

That last thing – the whole idea of being able to understand the people in my life – is one of the main reasons why I’m so fascinated by the Enneagram.

When AJ and I met, we knew right away that we were completely opposite people. He’s an introvert. I’m an extrovert. He packs for a trip weeks in advance. I pack for a trip a few hours in advance. He likes to have a plan in place. I like to jump and hope the world catches me. 

And that was all cute and endearing when we were first dating and relatively new in our relationship. But the things I once found to be sweet started to annoy me. Like why do you need to research everything and plan so much anyway?

And things he once found lovable started making him uneasy. Like how can she just risk going all in on her business without a 30-page step-by-step all-inclusive business plan?

We wanted to start understanding each other better, so ultimately we could stay on the same team and win this game of life. Enter the Ennegram. 

Turns out, AJ is a 5, the investigator. He fears being incapable or useless and therefore likes to research everything he does before doing it. AJ desires being competent and is motivated by having an understanding of his environment. He likes to have things figured out as a way of ensuring his (and my) safety.

Totally opposite of my 3-ness. Where I want to be successful and am driven by wanting to feel valued and worthwhile and impressing others. Safety is hardly on my radar. 

Learning those things about each other really helped me understand that there is a purpose to all the time he spends researching things. 

And along the journey I realized so much about other people in my life, too. My 8-friend, who challenges everything before her and puts on a strong front even though deep down has vulnerabilities and insecurities just like the rest of us. 

The 2s in my life that just want to be loved, going to extreme lengths to please people (even if it means putting herself – and her money – in a detrimental place). 

And, of course, learning about myself. Like it or not, as a 3, I care very much about what other people think of me.

The Enneagram has shed light on how I can be the best version of myself whether that’s as a mother, a wife, a friend, a financial therapist, or any of the other hats I wear. And because I’m a huge fan of personal development, I love building self-awareness and understanding why I am the way I am. 

Your Enneagram Type and Money

So with all that said, let’s actually talk about each of the 9 Enneagram Types and how they show up with money.

One final disclaimer: There is SO MUCH that goes into typing, and this is certainly not a comprehensive analysis of each type. In order to accurately type yourself, you’ll need more than just this one episode. But it’s a starting point.

Enneagram Type 1: The Perfectionist

And with that, we’ll start with Type 1: The Perfectionist

• Core Fear: Of being corrupt, evil, or defective
• Core Desire: To be good and have integrity
• Core Weakness: Resentment
• Key Motivations:
  • To be right, good, and consistent, 
  • To improve the world around you, and 
  • Avoid criticism

Ones can be called the perfectionist or reformer because they strive for perfectionism in all things. They’re afraid of making mistakes and maintain high standards for themselves (and those around them) because they have a really strict inner critic who is constantly in their head saying, “You can do better.”

Ones are conscientious and ethical and have a strong sense of right and wrong. They’re mantra is, “This needs improving.” Followed closely by a whisper that says, “I must be the one who improves it/them.” 

When things aren’t done the “right” way – or they way the One believes is right – they’re filled with resentment. Both resenting the person doing the “wrong” thing and resenting themselves for allowing the “wrong” thing to happen.

Enneagram Type 1 & Money

When it comes to their money:

• Ones put a lot of pressure on themselves to get money “right”
• They compare themselves to how well others are doing, financially
• One worry about money
• They believe there is a “right” way and a “wrong” way to manage money

Ones tend to worry about many things and their money is no exception

Because Ones are such black and white thinkers, they are strict with how money management should be done. They also struggle with perfectionist tendencies, so when their spreadsheet doesn’t look perfect, they get flustered or frustrated. 

While their insistent need for accuracy can be a good thing, it can easily go too far because perfectionism with money is impossible.

As I was working with an Enneagram Type 1, we were reviewing their North Stars, their dreams and desires for their life, and almost always a One will wrap up their goals with, “I just want to be good with money.” Because, again, they’re very black and white. In their mind, there is a right way and a wrong way to handle money.

Plus, that way of thinking can get particularly messy when you have a partner who doesn’t manage money in the same way as you. A Type One will often see their partner as doing money “wrong.”

Enneagram Type 2: The Helper

Okay, moving on to Type 2: The Helpers.

• Core Fear: Of being unwanted or rejected
• Core Desire: To feel loved
• Core Weakness: Pride
• Key Motivations:
  • To be loved, needed, appreciated and connected, 
  • To express admiration and feelings for others, and 
  • To vindicate their claims about themselves

Twos are generous and self-sacrificing, but can go too far into people-pleasing. They are well-meaning and driven to be close to others, but can get caught up in thinking they know what’s best for their loved one.

They typically have problems with acknowledging their own needs. And may avoid asking for help because they don’t want to be seen as a burden. Yet all they want is to feel loved and appreciated.

Enneagram Type 2 & Money

When it comes to their money:

• Twos spend money as a way to bring others joy
• Managing money can feel more like a necessity than fun
• Twos like to buy thoughtful gifts
• Spending and saving is often very emotionally driven

Twos are generally emotional beings. They can be highly sensitive. And because money can also be a very sensitive topic, managing money can quickly feel like an emotionally taxing task. 

And Enneagram Twos LOVE to buy things for other people and/or to provide acts of service for other people, even if doing those things are not the most financially responsible choices. 

It’s hard to balance when, at your core, being thoughtful is a part of your identity, yet supplying another meal for that family friend or buying that “just because” gift is really not in the budget.

When I work with Enneagram Twos, we usually need to create a list of all the people they like to buy things for throughout the year (birthdays, mothers day, Christmas, a Tuesday) because gift-giving is a non-negotiable for them. And we need to make sure it’s accounted for in their system throughout the year.

Type 3: The Achiever 

Next up, we have Type 3: The Achiever

• Core Fear: Of being worthless
• Core Desire: To feel valuable, successful and admired
• Core Weakness: Deceit
• Key Motivations:
  • To be affirmed and admired, 
  • To distinguish themselves from others,
  • To have attention, and
  • To impress others

Threes are self-assured, charming, and ambitious. They value productivity and are seen as the go-getters of the Enneagram. 

The little voice in the back of a Threes head is constantly mocking them saying, “You’re not doing enough,” and can lead a Three to feeling impatient and frustrated. They also don’t like to feel the feels and are often confused by how they’re feeling internally. Though, they’ll never show the outside world that they’re struggling. 

Threes feel like they’re only worthy of love when they have accolade after accolade hanging on their wall. And they have this eery ability to chameleon into whomever they need to be depending on which friend group or professional setting they are in.

Enneagram Type 3 & Money

When it comes to their money:

• Budgeting needs to be efficient and feel productive
• Spending doesn’t feel emotional; it’s logical
• Threes spend money on things that make others believe they’re successful
• Setting money goals is easy for a Three

Three’s tend to optimize everything in their lives and money is no exception. They’re driven to impress and many Three’s have high-paying jobs because of it. 

However, because of a Three’s need to impress, they might be guilty of overspending on luxury items to seem more financially impressive to those around them. 

If Threes aren’t doing well financially, they will go to the ends of the Earth to hide that from the world. 

Setting financial goals are easy for a Three because Threes are driven by to-do lists (and usually have 12 of them at all times.) When I give a Three a task, it’s usually done before we even hang up the call. 

Finally, because Three’s don’t typically see money management as an emotional task, it can be hard for a Three to understand why their partner may get emotional about money.

Type 4: The Individualist

• Core Fear: They are flawed or have no personal significance
• Core Desire: To be unique and find themselves and their significance (to create an identity)
• Core Weakness: Envy
• Key Motivations:
  • To express themselves and their individuality, 
  • To create or surround themselves with beauty, 
  • To maintain certain moods, 
  • To protect your self-image, and 
  • Take care of your emotional needs above all else

Fours are sensitive and care deeply about being authentic. They’re the classic “stop and smell the roses” types because they have an unmatched ability to find beauty all around them.

They can sometimes feel like a “loner” because they’re on a mission to find their place in the world. And Fours are often deep in their feelings.

Fours suffer from comparisonitis and envy all the cool things other people do or have. They can feel like they’re fundamentally flawed or are missing something, like a card in the Game of Life, that they weren’t dealt. And if they were just dealt a different hand, things would be better.

Though highly creative, they can also have problems with melancholy.

Enneagram Type 4 & Money

When it comes to their money:

• Spend money on their uniqueness
• Money is very emotional – sometimes, so much so, Fours avoid it completely
• Fours spend money as a coping skill
• They work hard to have a good relationship with money

Because of how much Fours envy those around them, they often feel like they just don’t understand money and how it all works. And instead of that being a capitalism problem,, a Four will feel like it’s their own, individual fault.

Fours buys things as a way to cope with life, both healthy things and unhealthy things. And have to work really hard to have a good and consistent relationship with money.

They might struggle to invest because they don’t see the point. When I work with a Four, they can easily go to a very existential place with money wondering what it all means anyway. 

They can be very hard on themselves and some Fours have a hard time understanding that sometimes financial downturns are part of life, not because they did anything wrong.

Type 5: The Investigator 

Now, for Type 5: The Investigators

• Core Fear: Being ignorant or incapable
• Core Desire: To be competent and not a burden
• Core Weakness: Averous
• Key Motivations:
  • To possess knowledge, 
  • To understand the environment, 
  • To have everything figured out as a way of ensuring safety and 
  • Hoarding resources and energy

Fives are self-sufficient, curious, and have an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Specifically on the topics that actually appeal to them. 

They are collectors of information and the mantra is: “I’m gonna look that up.” Often feeling like they don’t have enough resources, and because their energy can get depleted quickly, Fours value their energy more than any other number on the Enneagram. 

Fives are independent and often care more about logic than emotions.

Enneagram Type 5 & Money

When it comes to their money:

• Fives like to be independent with their money
• They think money is logical and unemotional
• Sometimes Fives think they could be more generous
• Time, energy, and money are all of equal importance

Fives who are interested in personal finance excel at it because they will research it to no end. Fives who don’t care about personal finance will spend their time researching other areas of interest, effectively avoiding money management.

However, even if personal finance is interesting to a Five, they can get caught up in researching how to manage money rather than actually going out and managing their money. All that researching can  eventually become a stall tactic and a hindrance. 

When I tell a Five to go open a High-Yield Saving Account, they will come back to me with the interest rates of 42 banks and a complete pro and con list of why they should or should not work with each of those banks, but they won’t have taken any real action on opening the account or transferring money to the account. 

Making and committing to a decision can sometimes be difficult for a Five. But because Fives value competence and knowledge, once they have a plan, they’re good at sticking to it. 

Type 6: The Loyalist

And for our Type 6: The Loyalists

• Core Fear: Fear or being without guidance
• Core Desire: To have security and support
• Core Weakness: Anxiety
• Key Motivations:
  • To have security, 
  • To feel be assured and supported by others, 
  • To fight against anxiety

Sixes are committed, loyal, and methodical. They’re loyal and are great at supporting others. But despite showing that support of other people, rarely does a Six trust themselves. 

When in an unhealthy place, Sixes can have really poor self-talk and can be very anxious. Sixes are always looking for what could go wrong. In turn, they’re great problem-solvers and hard-working.

Sixes are good at playing devil’s advocate and their version of a haunted house is being put in the middle of two friends having a disagreement.

Enneagram Type 6 & Money

When it comes to their money:

• Sixes like to use money to help plan for the worst
• Stability is really important
• Sixes tend to avoid risk because they’re worried they won’t make the right decision
• When managing money, Sixes don’t like surprises

Sixes prioritize safety and security over all else and because of that, they can be more risk adverse. Even when they have an emergency savings fund, they will do everything possible to not use the funds in that emergency fund – even in the event of an actual emergency.

Because of how loyal a Six is, they will spend money on making sure their friends and family feel supported. However, even though they trust and support others, they don’t trust themselves with financial decisions. 

I’ve seen Sixes be really worried about doing money “wrong” so they lean on a financial advisor. Then, due to how loyal they are, Sixes have trouble breaking up with that financial advisor, even when the financial advisor is charging them an arm and a leg (and maybe even their first born) for the account management. 

Sixes really don’t like surprises, so they generally build their Spending Plan with very conservative numbers, just to be safe.

Type 7: The Enthusiast

Next up, Type 7: The Enthusiasts

• Core Fear: Being deprived and in emotional pain
• Core Desire: To be satisfied and content—to have their needs fulfilled
• Core Weakness: Gluttony
• Key Motivations:
  • To have security and reassurance,
  • Feel supported by others, 
  • To test the attitudes of others toward them, and 
  • To fight against anxiety

Sevens are extroverted, energized, and spontaneous. They are playful, yet practical, but can easily become over-extended and all over the place.

They avoid boredom at all costs. The term “sit with your feelings” will never be something a Seven wants to do. Instead their mantra is: “What’s next?”

Sevens have a hard time sitting still and are constantly seeking out new experiences.

Enneagram Type 7 & Money

When it comes to their money:

• Budgeting can feel too rigid
• Sevens leave room for spontaneity in their Intentional Spending Plan
• Sevens believe everything will always work out
• Future planning can be difficult for a Seven because they can’t commit to just one life path

Sevens are joyful and when they’re in a healthy state can focus their talents on what they deem to be worthwhile goals.

Because money work can feel really slow and because of how quickly a Seven gets bored, it’s hard to get a system in place. When they have a system that works for them (AKA something simple and quick), they hardly change it up.

Sevens can struggle with impatience and impulsivity. They can have shiny object syndrome jumping from one bandwagon to the next. And they’re more comfortable with risk because they truly believe everything always just works out.

Type 8: The Challenger

Okay, on to our Type 8: The Challengers

• Core Fear: Of being weak, powerless, or manipulated
• Core Desire: To protect themselves and their loved ones
• Core Weakness: Lust or excess
• Key Motivations:
  • To be self-reliant and important, 
  • To prove their strength and resist weakness, 
  • To be dominate their environment, and 
  • To stay in control

Eights have strong personalities. They’re self-confident and assertive. And they will do anything to protect themselves and the people they love.

They can be intimidating at first, but when an Eight lets you in and you become one of their people, they have the biggest heart. Eights are fighters, and when in a healthy place, they will advocate for justice to no end. 

Eights have a hard time being vulnerable and expressing their feelings because they don’t ever want to show signs of weakness. Instead, they can have a bit of a temper and are comfortable with confrontation.

Enneagram Type 8 & Money

When it comes to their money:

• It’s hard for an Eight to trust other people with their money
• Making a plan is easy because Eights have a strong “knowing” in their gut
• Having savings and investments makes them feel safe, independent, and strong
• Eights do not believe money is the root of all evil

Eights never want to be betrayed, so they have a hard time trusting anyone else with their money. They also have a hard time being vulnerable and admitting faults, so they may not seek help with their money for a long time, until they find someone they can trust completely.

They like to feel in control, so Eights like to know where their money is coming from and where it’s going.

I rarely have to convince an Eight that having money is a good thing – they already know that. So I don’t usually have to convince an Eight that it’s time to raise their rates or ask for a raise. 

However, just because they might make a good salary, doesn’t mean they’re necessarily managing their money well.

Eights can be their own worst enemy because they stand in their own way (by not being willing to relinquish control, be vulnerable, and let others help them) with other areas of their financial life like how to spend intentionally, save well, or optimize investments.

Type 9: The Peacemaker

And last but not least, Type 9: The Peacemaker

• Core Fear: Conflict and separation
• Core Desire: To have inner stability and “peace of mind”
• Core Weakness: Sloth
• Key Motivations:
  • To create harmony in their environment, 
  • Avoid conflicts and tension, 
  • Preserve things as they are, and 
  • Resist whatever would upset or disturb them

Enneagram Type Nines have this incredible ability to bring people together from all walks of life. They’re creative and supportive, but can find themselves agreeing with people just to keep the peace.

Nines are complacent and can struggle with inertia. They want to create harmony, but they don’t want that harmony to take a lot of effort. Thereby sacrificing their inner stability.

Enneagram Type 9 & Money

When it comes to their money:

• Nines are easily distracted from their financial goals
• They spend money on life’s conveniences
• Nines procrastinate with big money tasks
• Money management must be ultra simple or else they’ll avoid it

Nines get decision fatigue very easily and when that happens, they’re likely to end up melting into the couch. Not due to laziness, but because they’re trying to keep their internal peace. That’s why, with their money they have a hard time sticking to financial goals – it can all get very overwhelming very quickly, so they stay stagnant. 

Nines can sometimes feel like they’re on a roller coaster, albeit a very short roller coaster because they’ll have a great new idea, and within a few hours or a day, they get tired from all the highs and lows of a new endeavor, so the ride comes to an end and they go right back to doing what they’ve always done.

When I work with a Nine, they often have a great plan in place, but by the time I meet with them next, they haven’t accomplished a whole lot. That’s why Nines need teeny tiny bite-sized tasks and for money management must be ultra simple, otherwise they’re likely to avoid it altogether.

The Wrap Up: Enneagram Types & Money

So, my friends, those are the Nine Types. I’ll say them one more time:

• Type 1: The Perfectionist
• Type 2: The Helper
• Type 3: The Achevier
• Type 4: The Individualist
• Type 5: The Investigator
• Type 6: The Loyalist
• Type 7: The Enthusiast
• Type 8: The Challenger
• Type 9: The Peacemaker

If you’re interested in learning more about the Enneagram in general, I’ve linked a few books in the show notes that I found to be really helpful. Also, Google is great. You can start reading about all the types there. 

I would also encourage you to take an Enneagram test. They’re not all perfect, but this is an exploration journey. It’s not a diagnosis. 

And then finally, be very honest about the good in you and the bad. Like yes, a 3 is the achiever which is great for many reasons, but there are some qualities about being a Three that I’m certainly not proud of.

In fact, ages ago, when I started learning about the Enneagram I thought I was an 8, but the truth is I just didn’t want to admit to identifying with the “flawed” parts of being a 3. But I couldn’t pretend to be a different number just because I wanted their characteristics.

And there’s no type that is “the best” and there is no type that is “bad.” They all have strengths and weaknesses like the human beings we are. 

Now go enjoy the rest of your day!

Next read: 40 Ways to Practice Financial Self-Care