Diana Clement: Are you a Santa or a Scrooge?

Photo / 123RF

Do you compile a spreadsheet for gift giving, or trawl the mall on Christmas Eve in desperation to buy something, anything, to put under the tree?

Whether you're the former, the latter, or yet another type of spender, you're partly driven by your money personality.

Years ago I used to feel despair when given what I considered to be wasteful gifts that were enquired about repeatedly for years afterwards. I couldn't even pass the item on to someone who would actually use it.

That's before I started to delve into the psychology of gift giving and discovered the many different giving personalities. Who's to say that my gift-giving style is better than yours? Some people get a lot more out of giving gifts than others do and prefer items that aren't practical in the way I would prefer.

A combined research team from the UK and US published work earlier this year entitled: "Who are the Scrooges? Personality Predictors of Holiday Spending", which found significant relationships between holiday spending and personality.

The research looked at "The Big Five" personality traits of: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.

These traits, the researchers noted, influence financial outcomes just as much as disposable income.

The researchers asked 1900 people in the UK to take a personality test and then tracked their spending from November 1 and December 31, adjusting for their typical spending in a two month period.

The results weren't all as predicted. The researchers were surprised to find that extroverts did not spend proportionately more during the festive season than introverts.

The research indicated that individuals high in openness are typically less conventional and tradition, which makes them less inclined to conform to societal norms regarding gift giving.

There are different approaches to spending at Christmas. Photo / 123RF

People who were high on the neuroticism scale also spent less than those who were emotionally stable.

Holiday spending isn't just gift giving, the "Who are the Scrooges" researchers noted. It can include events, gym memberships and other seasonal spending such as food.

Spending patterns for all of the above are also affected by your personal history. Consumer behaviour expert Sommer Kapitan, a senior lecturer at AUT, says our spending style and attitude toward saving is driven so much by how you grow up.

"This is from evolutionary psychology and it's called life history strategy," says Kapitan. "If you grow up with uncertainty and tight circumstances, you're more likely to value the short term and immediate over long term, because you never know what other bill will eat up your cash. There's always something that needs money, so might as well buy the thing.

"If you grow up with certainty and enough money to feel comfy, you operate from a place of stability and therefore seek to maintain that state for the long term," she says. "So you pick long term investment over short term immediate gains."

Tom Hartmann, managing editor at the Commission for Financial Capability (CFFC), says we can embrace those differences, as I have the friend who gets such pleasure out of giving presents.

We can also overcome unhealthy spending driven by our hearts and emotions. The key is to become self-aware.

"Think of yourself with money as a vehicle," says Hartmann. "Are you somebody that drives full speed ahead with the pedal to the floor? Or do you try to take it easier? Once you know who you are you can embrace your personality and the way you spend, but also make sure you get to where you want to be."

An interesting finding in the "Who are the Scrooges" research was there was little to distinguish those who plan their holiday purchases well in advance and those who rush to complete their shopping on December 24.

You could be someone like me, who spends a lot of time preparing lists for gifts, Christmas groceries and holiday activities, picks up items when they're on sale, but completes the shopping a night or two before Christmas as the shopping rush slows down and good bargains start to appear.