Long-time readers of this blog are familiar with the four money personalities I discuss: the giver, the saver, the spender, and the acquirer. Over time, though, I’ve learned that while people tend to understand the first three, they often stumble over the last one. On first blush, people generally thought the “acquirer” referred to someone who liked to accumulate or collect things. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The acquirer was someone focused on how money came into their life, not what was done with the money after it was received.
For the past few years, I’ve been racking my brain to find a better descriptor for this money personality and I’ve finally settled on the “earner.” While there are certainly other ways you can acquire money than by earning it, that is the most common way and often the key identifier for this money personality. I hope that this new name will help people who weren’t sure whether or not this personality was for them to see themselves in it.
Earner Stereotype: Often earners are mistaken for workaholics because they are always chasing the next dollar. But what drives them is often more complex. Earners may work long hours to provide for their families. They may strive to get a promotion and a large raise so they never have to return to the impoverished environment they grew up in. Or they may find the thrill of closing the deal or the challenge of starting a new venture to be what gets them out of bed in the morning.
Earner Mantra: “There’s always a reason to hustle.”
Earner Strengths: Earners tend to be motivated and hard-working. They may choose to have more than one job, out of necessity or simply a desire to earn more. Salary, benefits, and bonus structures are often more important than intangibles like hybrid work or an easier commute. They may choose to be in a commission-based role where their hard work is directly tied to their wage. And they tend to be very interested in passive income sources — what could be better than making money while you sleep?
Earner Secret Weapon: This group tends to be very entrepreneurial and they are brilliant at finding new (sometimes unexpected) sources of income. Think: the teenager who goes door to door after the blizzard asking to shovel their neighbors’ driveways. Or the neighbor who, instead of selling their home, opts to rent it out at a rate that both pays off that home’s mortgage and helps offset their new one. Or the person who takes on a few evening and weekend shifts at Instacart to cover the cost of a fun-but-pricey hobby. Earners don’t depend on their primary employer to help make these dreams a reality — they create opportunities to do that themselves.
Earner Blindspots: Since earners tend to be laser-focused on what they are bringing in, they might miss what actually happens to their money once they have it. They may ignore basics like budgeting or tracking spending since they live by the belief that they can always earn more. Their money may not be used strategically in ways that align with their values. They may also be unprepared for the future if they don’t have an emergency savings or retirement plan in place. In the extreme, since the opportunities for earning are endless, they may fall into a trap of feeling like they can never earn “enough,” which might affect their peace of mind or even their sense of self-worth.
One thing to note: The need to be a provider that many men have been socialized with does align in some ways with this money personality. That being said, anyone — no matter their gender identity — can have an earner mindset. How can you tell the difference between the two? For the “earner,” earning money is something they get to do, whereas for the “provider” it's something they should do or even have to do. But the best litmus test is the secret weapon: While a good “provider” may be hardworking, they are less likely to have the creative entrepreneurial spirit when it comes to earning money.