Tl;Dr: It’s actually not quite as woo-woo as it sounds, and it is awesome.

But honestly, I’m totally cool with some “woo” sometimes.

If you’re trying to be an entrepreneur as a highly sensitive or highly creative person, but you can’t seem to get it right, this free online archetypes test can shed some light on what’s going wrong. Learning about my Sacred Money Archetypes® has given me a whole new view of my relationship with money and how I do business.

Doing business is definitely not one size fits all. I’ve always believed that when you match what you’re trying to achieve with how you naturally do things, amazing stuff happens. This specific test is all about learning how to honor and leverage the way you are naturally inclined to use and earn money.

How did I discover this test?

I’ve been working with archetypes for a long time–ever since I started this blog back in 2016. The reason why I started working with archetypes was to get a better understanding of how I could better convey my personality through my blog and books, especially when it comes to visual design and the way I present my writing.

In January I was taking a really fascinating course on creating online writing that connects by Belinda Marie of Soul & Self (BTW, she’s a fellow INFP entrepreneur). In the course, she shares how when we write online, we often show up as different archetypes, and each archetype connects with readers differently.

This line of thought made me curious about revisiting archetypes for business in general, and after doing some Internet searching, I came across the Sacred Money Archetypes®.

What do I love about it?

Having such a clear view of how I save, spend, and earn money is just mind-blowing.

The way financial mindset mentor Denise Duffield Thomas covers the information is especially in-depth. I’ve watched her videos multiple times, and I always learn something new or gain a new insight.

My number one money archetype is the Accumulator aka the Banker. The Alchemist and the Romantic are my second and third. All of my top three archetypes are pretty close to each other–only one point apart.

Just a quick description of my SMA archetypes for context:

Accumulator aka Banker: Having this archetype means that in general, I have good money habits and see money as a tool. I’m good at saving, and I’m resourceful. I also tend to do things myself if I know it’ll save me money.

Along with accumulating money, the Accumulator also hoards knowledge, and often can earn money by sharing their expertise. The downside to this is that I sometimes struggle with investing in myself and in my business. Also, I tend to under-charge for what I create.

Alchemist: The Alchemist is highly creative and trusts that the money will be there when needed and things will work out. Alchemists tend to be naturally good at manifesting and often don’t rely on strict business plans, but instead follow their intuition. In business, this archetype often struggles with having too many ideas and not following through, but the projects they do finish are just enough to keep their business going.

Romantic: The Romantic is my favorite! The Romantic archetype is all about dreaming, relaxing and having fun. This archetype’s focus is on spending money on things that are pleasurable. The obvious downside to this is that they may not put aside enough money to cover necessary bills and struggle to save.

Since Accumulator is my number one, saving money is my default. BUT…if I come across something fascinating and fun, I’ll spend my money on it, even if it’s expensive. If it sparks joy, I throw my thrifty ways out the window and spend the money. This is how I ended up with a $70 luxury foam roller that I (fortunately) use every day.

When my Romantic takes over, I’m always left dumbfounded, trying to figure out what possessed me to spend so much money all at once.😭💀

My absolute favorite thing about the Romantic is how it does business. The Romantic archetype wants the easiest, most comfortable way to do business. People with this archetype tend to work on their business in spurts. They work on it and then take a break. They dip in and out of things, and it just works for them. Basically, the Romantic archetype is the definition of hustle-free. They may also struggle with spending more time daydreaming about their business than actually working on it.

They like to look for ways to get things done proficiently without stress so they can have more time to relax. In fact, the Romantic archetype tends to make money when they share with others how they are working less and treating themselves like a VIP. (I bet Tim Ferris, the guy who wrote The 4-Hour Work Week, is a Romantic.)

How have I gotten creative with my archetypes?

I like fusing the information about my money archetypes with other personality type frameworks that I’m familiar with. For example, I’m an INFP, and I like the MBTI. I’m especially fascinated with MBTI cognitive functions. So the function stack for INFPs is introverted feeling (Fi), extraverted intuition (Ne), introverted sensing (Si), and extraverted thinking (Te). If I mapped my SMA archetypes to my MBTI functions with similar traits, it’s like this:

Fi = Romantic

Ne = Alchemist/Accumulator

Si = Romantic

Te = Accumulator

This actually gives me a lot of information. For one thing, when it comes to business, behind the scenes it’s most natural for me to have a work ethic more like the Romantic (Fi). I need space to daydream and take my time. But when I’m ready to share and extrovert myself (Ne), sharing my creations and knowledge feels the most natural.

And if I’m tired of working on my business, then falling back into the Romantic archetype and doing what I find pleasurable and easy is the best way to recharge (Si). And when I’m stressed out, I’m most likely to fall into intense Accumulator mode, obsessing over numbers, trying to make strict plans, getting frustrated from not finding answers and refusing to spend money on anything (Te).

Of course, this list reflects me personally. You may have totally different money archetypes from me, even if we share MBTI types. If you would like for me to map your top three SMA archetypes to your MBTI type, I’d be glad to do it. Just reach out to me via email.

I’ve also mapped my archetypes with my Strength’s Finder results, and that has brought me some interesting insights as well.

What changes has it inspired me to make?

This system has been a great way to filter the business advice I receive. There is an insane amount of business advice out there online right now. Only listen to what fits the way you function. Your personality comes first.

Recently I was looking for some guidance on how to grow my online writing business. I reached out to an online business coach who is pretty popular and who has published and sold a lot of books herself. So I asked her for advice on how to grow my writing business while dealing with chronic pain, and she suggested that the best way to do it was to write a book per month for a year.

I’ve seen this advice before in the online self-publishing space, and at first I was like, “Sure! That sounds great. Thanks for the advice!”

Ok. Let me clarify. My Accumulator side that’s all about taking practical, measured, robot-like action was cool with it. “Sure, I’ll become a book-making factory if it means more money in the bank,“ goes the Accumulator, who is also called The Banker for obvious reasons.

But my Alchemist and Romantic sides were NOT HAVING IT.

Alchemist: Making books is an art. How dare you try to commodify my craft! I need time to put my heart and soul into it, and a month per book isn’t going to cut it.

Romantic: Ain’t no way I’m doing all that. No, thank you. Next. (Puts on designer shades.)

So I had to get creative. I had to scrap the one book-per-month grind idea. Besides, the more I thought about it, the more I feIt like if I was a reader following a writer with that kind of output, I would find them overwhelming and annoying. Along with that, falling into this work style would render all of my lessons learned from suffering burnout useless.

So instead, I ended up devising a 12 books in a year plan that involves creating books in a way that builds synergy. This is my Alchemist side getting to work, so explaining it is a bit like describing someone’s aura or something. But basically, my energetic momentum from creating one book spills over into other books in a circular fashion, greatly reducing the amount of effort I need to put in. It’s an approach that’s gentle, creative, and way more human. Also I can bundle my releases, therefore not bombarding my dear readers with book after book.

Also I did my Romantic a favor and listed what those 12 books tentatively are, so I can work on the easy books in tandem with more challenging books while following a rhythm that suits me.

Plus, I decided to be forgiving and not stress about it. So what if I don’t quite hit 12 books? Just like other people with the Alchemist and Romantic archetypes, things will fall into place and opportunities will arrive into my world as long as I’m taking some kind of action. Serendipity and clarity loves a pace that leaves space.

So this wraps up my thoughts on the Sacred Money Archetypes.

You can read more and take the test here. This cheat sheet is helpful for looking at multiple archetypes.

If you take the test, I’d love to hear what you think about it.