How Your Love Language Can Influence Your Finances
Different love languages affect everyone differently and can influence how a person spends and earns money.
Gary Chapman’s book The Five Love Languages revolutionized the way we think about and approach relationships. Knowing your love language can help you understand the ways you give and receive love, and knowing your significant other’s helps you better love them, too. But knowing your love language can do more than just improve communication in your relationships; it can help you understand your relationship with your finances, too.
According to BestLife, if your love language is Words of Affirmation, you value kind and meaningful words. When translated to finance, this can mean that you prioritize emotional stability over financial stability. You would rather be happy with a lower income than stressed, overworked, or unappreciated with a higher income, an important aspect of yourself to keep in mind, especially when fielding job opportunities.
Those with Quality Time as their love language value time spent with loved ones above all else. If this is your love language, you’re likely to use your finances to facilitate that time with loved ones, choosing to invest in experiences or memories rather than material things. You also may be more naturally frugal than others, as spending time with a loved one often doesn’t cost anything.
If your love language is Physical Touch, you love physically being with your loved ones more than anything. Hugs, kisses, holding hands, or even just sitting close to the ones you love make you feel safe and secure. Appreciating this physical security in relationships means that you often value that same security in your finances, and you’ll likely be more apt to save money than others.
If you love to feel supported by your loved ones, your love language might be Acts of Service, meaning someone cleaning up while you’re gone or bringing you a meal in a time of struggle can mean the world to you. People with this love language feel that love should show itself practically, and they feel the same way about financial success. Money should be used practically and efficiently so that it can better be used to help themselves or others in times of need.
If gifts make your heart swell, your love language might be Receiving Gifts. People with this love language prioritize success in their finances more than other people, and they value having the money to buy things they want or provide gifts for the people they love. They’re less frugal than others, but they also value money more, so they often put more energy and time toward financial success than others.
No matter what your love language is, it’s important to know how it affects you, in everything from a new relationship to a raise at work. Knowing what you value and why can help you be more in sync with a partner who might value other things when it comes to finance, as well as help you to be aware of opportunities of growth for yourself. Last but not least, your love language can help you learn to love yourself better, and there’s no better way to do that than by taking care of your finances!
