Money Matters: Managing your money in flow with your personality & neuro type

The traditional way of working with financial information involves grids of figures (such as Excel) or lists of transactions (such as accounting softwares like Xero) or fields of data (such as Tax Returns). They were designed so that you could easily total whichever figures you needed and make calculations or see patterns, and so are more readily carried out by those of us who learn best through Reading or are “Analyser” personality types

There’s nothing wrong with that, it definitely works for some people – however, the majority of people learn best through Visualising and being shown, not told.

Research suggests that 75% of all information processed is visual, and it is processed quicker than any other method. The visual cortex of the brain creates mental representations and meaningful connections between concepts. This enables even complex ones to be grasped quickly, and increases understanding and recall – this can help to keep things like a visual representation of a monthly revenue target readily in the mind’s eye. It also seems to make information more engaging and even enjoyable to receive.

A lot of people receive information best through listening (as Auditory learners or “Communicator” personalities), so talking through figures and results will embed that information and make connections.

And finally, there are the Kinesthetic learners who excel when they are allowed to play with things, which could be digital financial modelling tools for instance, where they can see the effect of different actions through trial and error and taking parallel paths. Working this way also makes it easier to work through things communally with other people.

Whichever way works for you, it could be a blend of 2, 3, even all 4! You could start by visualising targets and end up analysing grids of data!

In the end, what we’re talking about is understanding leading to actions, i.e. informed decisions then habits, not just sticking a wet finger in the air and hoping for the best!

#ownallyourfinances

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