Introducing the Money Mindsets quiz

A new way to inspire better financial health in the workplace

They say money can’t buy happiness but it can definitely improve a person’s wellbeing.

Don’t believe us?

Well, consider this: 54% of employees are  stressed about their finances AT LEAST once daily. A good financial education program can actually reduce stress by one hour per employee per week, according to a study by the Journal of Financial Literacy and Wellbeing. So, if you’re a business with 30 FTE working at a minimum wage of $15 per hour, that’s up to $22,500 of value recovered.

The power of a good financial education program can’t be understated. Which is why ZayZoon developed the Money Mindsets quiz to empower your employees to better understand their money.

What is the Money Mindsets quiz?

Money Mindsets is a quiz that helps employees save and spend their money tailored to their own personality. Employees take the quiz, discover their financial mindset, and get access to tailored education and tools designed to improve their financial wellness.

To build this quiz, we leveraged academic literature, financial and psychology expertise and insights from workers just like yours.

The best part? Money Mindsets is a free offering for employers.*

Methodology: How we built Money Mindsets

To build a thoughtful, action-oriented quiz to help employees understand their money behaviors, we went to the experts.

1. Experts behind Money Mindsets

This isn’t your run-of-the-mill online quiz. We sat down with some of the leading minds in psychology and economics to build each mindset and toolkit.

Dr. Shih Yung Chou is a Brenner Endowed Professor of Business Management at Winston-Salem State University. His research explores the relationship between personality traits and online behaviors. Chou provided foundational insights into how the Big Five personality traits affect decision-making and financial choices (Picazo-Vela, Chou, Melcher, & Pearson, 2010).

Dr. Janet Koscianski is a professor of Economics at Shippensburg University and author of the economics textbook Microeconomic Theory. Her work on how individual preferences and consumer spending interact with market behavior was crucial in grounding our profiles in economic theory.

Dr. Dianna Lunsford is a professor and Program Director of Occupation Therapy at Gannon University. Her research on financial education in various populations, particularly marginalized groups, highlights how the right training can significantly improve financial decision-making. This guided our approach to creating practical advice tailored to each spending profile.

Dr. Michael Grabowski is the Director of the Game Design & Production program and a Professor in the Communication Department at Manhattan College. He has published work on popular culture representations of the working class and financial stress. His insights helped us specifically highlight how human values and emotions impact financial behavior and habits in our  spending profiles.

2. Academic literature review

In addition to conducting interviews with domain experts, we consulted the latest peer-reviewed academic literature on personality and financial behavior. Much of these insights have informed our mindsets.

As an example, Brown & Taylor’s (2014) paper “Household finances and the ‘Big Five’ personality traits” found that conscientious people tend to have lower personal debt, while extraverted individuals are more likely to accumulate higher debt.

3. Real-world employee research

 We wanted to be certain that all of the research we conducted would make a difference in the everyday lives of employees. So we reached out to them.. We interviewed workers across a variety of industries to find out what’s missing and what they need from financial education today.

Why the Big Five?

When you take the Money Mindsets quiz, you might notice we make use of the Big Five personality traits. The Big Five is one of the most widely-known and most thoroughly researched personality models. It’s familiar and,because of that, easy to understand.

This method categorizes personality into five main traits:  conscientiousness, neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, and openness to experience. These traits influence everything in our lives, including financial behaviors.

What makes the Big Five unique is that this method  places individuals on a spectrum of behaviors,  offering  a more holistic and flexible approach to one’s personality.

While no personality test or theory is perfect, the Big Five allows for a well-researched foundation to build upon with nuanced, up-to-date and real-world financial research from both experts and employees.

The six money mindsets

Without further ado, here are the six money mindsets…

We chose to represent our mindsets with animals because they’re approachable, playful, and they have universal meaning  applicable across cultures.

The Beaver

Strategizing for a secure future, one detailed long-term plan at a time.

The Ostrich

Building a secure financial future with caution and routine.

The Bull

Chasing high-risk, high-reward dreams with confidence.

The Octopus

Living life to the fullest, one spontaneous purchase at a time.

The Squirrel

Mastering the art of saving, one step at a time.

The Raccoon

Stretching cash, finding value in every unexpected corner.

How it works

1. Visit moneymindsets.com
2. Take the quiz
3. Get your mindset
4. Explore, learn, and improve
5. Share your mindset on social media and collaborate with others!

Explore Money Mindsets today

*NOTE: to take advantage of our tailored recommendations, get ZayZoon. It’s free for employers to offer and includes solutions to help employees save and spend smarter.