Someone quite knowledgeable once said "One's greatest challenge is to control oneself".

Life is full of different personalities; you could be an extrovert, introvert, or even a control freak!

Just because you are the type that likes to party hard, it doesn't necessarily mean you will be carefree with your cash. Equally, if you are the shy and retiring type, you might like to live life on the edge by taking up spread betting, (or whatever else floats your financial boat!)

That is why to make your hard earned money work even harder, it pays to know your money personality type; this can help you break your bad habits, and help you achieve your financial goals!

If you acknowledge your approach to money, then you can look at the things that make you rush out at and spend at the drop of hat. Who knows, you might even begin to save some money?

Taking the flipside, many keen savers might be happy to stash their cash but if you are a saver, have you thought about your how well your cash could grow if you had a well-balanced portfolio rather than a healthy savings account paying good interest.

So, what type of money personality do you have? Take a look at the types below:

• Moneyphobic!

If you are moneyphobic then you fall into one of two categories:

You are either a) someone who feels overwhelmed/bored by financial matters (or the idea of dealing with them), or b) you are a money hippie who sees cash as the root of all evil and would rather pretend it doesn't exist.

Avoiding money will not make it go away!

If you're in debt or just don't understand finance, it's never a good idea to start ignoring your bank statements and credit card bills. (They begin to pile up in the corner of the room...).

Paying off what you owe and making the money you have go further is not hard! Start by taking time out to look at what you have.

Read our guide to Money Management

Pretending you don't need money is pretty unrealistic (unless you live on a very remote Pacific atoll). If you feel uncomfortable sitting on a pile of cash, there are lots of successful socially-responsible investments and thousands of charities you can give the cash to.

If you do feel like giving some money away, we can recommend a brilliant charity called HOPEHIV.

• The spender

"Between work and family, I'm really not spending enough quality time with my money".

If this statement applies to you then perhaps you sometimes wish you were a saver? But this feeling doesn't last for long, especially once your salary arrives. Then you are off faster than a badger on fire looking for new ways to spend!

Ok, so you may feel as if you can (and do) buy everything you want. But have you stopped to wonder whether that is really true?

You may have 50 pairs of designer shoes, but secretly you wish you had invested the money in a new home, a trip to see friends in Australia or even in just a savings account for when you needed to fix the washing machine that broke again for the third time.

The key is to understand this: saving money gives you even more options and freedom, not less! 

So if you want an extreme makeover, money edition then you need to start here:

1. Draw up a budget. Then you will really see where all your cash is going and how much you could cut back and save.
2. Identify your spending triggers. These could be boredom, feeling fed-up or just being paid each month. Try changing your habits, particularly if you tend to spend at lunchtimes during the week or go straight to the shopping mall at weekends.
3. Leave your credit cards and debit cards at home and take out only as much cash as you need for the day or week.
4. Once you know how much you can start saving, set up a direct debit so the amount leaves your current account as soon as you are paid. You will barely miss it.
5. If you don't already bank online, this could help you keep tabs on your balance as it shrinks throughout the month.
6. Set goals which you can only achieve through saving, so you have an incentive. These don't have to involve spending; just start by aiming for £1,000 in your savings account.

Read our guide to Getting Yourself out of Debt

• The saver

Security is no bad thing. For many of you, this means being able to pay your rent each month. For the savers amongst you, it goes way beyond this: it's the habit of a lifetime and it's taken very seriously. You hate debt with the fire of a thousand suns and you avoid it all costs!

Equally, your view of spenders is pretty low; you cannot understand how anyone could exist without three months' salary in the bank strictly for emergencies (such as the end of the world or there never being another series of Lost)

If you are a spender who is married to a saver, think extremely carefully before asking to borrow any money from them. (In fact, consider just about every option apart from loan sharks and selling body parts on eBay!)

A good saving friend will always lend you money you need but you also get a long lecture about money management and a series of ongoing questions about why you are broke!

Sure, everyone needs a hobby but if this is you, then you should think about the following:

• Whether you spend so much time looking for ways to save and watching your account balance rise that you never actually enjoy your money!
• How hard your money is working and your attitude to risk. There is a world of opportunity beyond your current account and many and at least one of them is bound prove enticing to you and offer attractive returns
• Lending to help others. Zopa is a marketplace where people lend and borrow money to and from each other, sidestepping the banks. It's a smarter, fairer and altogether more human way of managing your money, where both borrowers and lenders get better rates. So in addition to earning interest you could be helping someone set up their own business or have IVF treatment.
  

Happy spending/saving!

Peer pressure spending: how much does it cost you?

10 tips that will make sure you stay broke!