The Seven Money Types: Discover How God Wired You To Handle Money

by Tommy Brown

"A unique approach to understanding how you innately relate to handling money. A fascinating concept!"


– Gary Chapman, author of The 5 Love Languages


True financial well-being involves more than getting out of debt and accumulating wealth. It’s about discovering how you’re wired by God, and how that wiring influences the way you think about, feel toward, and handle money.


Discovering your money type – whether you are an Abraham (hospitality), an Isaac (discipline), a Jacob (beauty), a Joseph (connection), a Moses (endurance), an Aaron (humility), or a David (leadership) – will bring greater self-awareness, reduce internal financial tension, help you resolve financial conflict with others, and help you grow financially from a faith-based perspective. As you walk with Pastor Brown through the Scriptures you’ll find holistic financial pathways that lead you to a place of increased awareness and confidence related to money.


In The Seven Money Types, Pastor Tommy Brown leads you on a journey of personal discovery as he reveals the seven money types found in Scripture, helps you identify the type that best fits you by means of a 35-question assessment, and coaches you on understanding, affirming, developing, and enjoying your unique approach to money.

Genres: Christian, Finance, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Religion, Money, Christian Non Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

Published March 14, 2017

About the author

Tommy Brown is a pastor with a B.A. in Pastoral Ministry and Masters degrees in Divinity and Management. As a contemplative teacher, he seeks to connect the dots between Scripture, God’s deep work in the human soul, and the patterns of our ordinary lives. He is the author of The Seven Money Types (Zondervan, '17) and The Ache for Meaning (NavPress, September '23). Learn more at www.tommybrown.org.

Reviews

[Ali McNeely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Like an enneagram for money, but instead of numbers you relate to a Biblical patriarch. Some of the Biblical connections felt like a stretch and there could’ve been fewer anecdotes per chapter for me, but some people like anecdotes. Would love to talk about it, esp with the people closest to me, to understand how they believe the Lord has created them to relate to money. He is a creative God.

[Jeanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only when we realize a right relationship to money entails a right relationship to God, ourselves, and others can we experience the well-being for which we long. Money then becomes a tool to achieve our desires and do good in the world. Money, in the biblical tradition is the raw material God uses to teach us to trust, to love, to serve one another, and to restore God's creation.


Do we help others with our money or do we honor them? Is there a difference?

How we handle our money and what we think about money is a reflection on our emotional disciplines.

There are seven ways we can handle our money that is biblical. With the help of Old Testaments giants Abraham/hospitality; Isaac/discipline; Jacob/beauty; Joseph/connection; Moses/endurance; Aaron/humility; David/leadership. Each of these by example of strength and weakness can help us discover how to relate to our resources that give the Lord glory and keep us from our resources owning us.

The text starts with you taking a test of money type and also shows the shadow of your money type. Where you might get in trouble in how you handle or relate to money. This is the part that I found most interesting and I found true. I did have hard time with the "broad brush" of money types and the biblical characters. Money with experience and background makes how we relate to money very complex and not so easy to put a type to it. Fear and love is the driving force behind how we relate to money and is at the root of our money problems.

All in all, I think some would benefit from this read and others might want to pass.

A Special Thank You to Zondervan and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

[Matt · Rating 1 out of 5]

DID NOT FINISH

I'm not 100% positive when I first heard about this book, but I'm guessing the author was on Focus on the Family, or some other podcast that I listen to. At some point I added this book to my "Interested in Reading" list, so I must have enjoyed whatever I heard the author saying in the interview.

Pretty quickly after I started this book, I realized that the main concept for the creation of the Money Types didn't resonate with me. The author used seven characters from the Old Testament as the outline, talked about how they each handled money, and then attempted to apply what he could extracted from their lives to our lives today. Here are the Seven Money Types:

1. Abraham Type

2. Isaac Type

3. Jacob Type

4. Joseph Type

5. Moses Type

6. Aaron Type

7. David Type

There are so many books that I am interested in reading, so once I realized that there was something bothering me about this book, I decided to stop reading it. To be fair, I did not make it very far into the book before stopping.

[Prisacariu Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

,,Primii părinţi au nesocotit căile Lui Dumnezeu folosind resursele disponibile (cine poate uita de fructul interzis) contrar dorinţelor celor mai adânci ale sufletului lor: să Îl cunoască şi să Îl iubească pe Dumnezeu pentru totdeauna. Felul în care au tratat resursele disponibile a afectat relaţia lor cu Dumnezeu. De atunci, Dumnezeu lucrează la restaurarea imago Dei, la reîntregirea omenirii, fololsindu-se de felul în care umanitatea administrează resursele pentru a întări credinţa în Dumnezeu şi a reflecta dragostea Lui Dumnezeu pentru omenire."

,,Tipul Avraam ne arată dragostea ospitalieră a Lui Dumnezeu.

Tipul Isaac, cu înmulţirea echilibrată, disciplinată, a resurselor, restaurează ceea ce este deteriorat, făcând totul nou.

Tipul Iosif ne atrage atenţia spre ceea ce este cu adevărat frumos, aducându-ne o frântură a cerului pe pământ, cheltuind banii pe ceea ce este frumos.

Tipul Iosif ne pune în legătură, relaţii cu ceea ce avem nevoie şi când avem nevoie.

Tipul Moise ne aminteşte că banii ne pot conduce viaţa, dacă noi nu ne conducem casa, din punct de vedere financiar, decent şi în ordine, punându-L pe Dumnezeu pe primul loc.

Tipul Aaron ne aminteşte de dragostea jertfitoare a Lui Dumnezeu, aţintită spre cei din jur, arătată în felul în care este folosit banul.

Tipul David ne îndeamnă, cu speranţă, spre un viitor mai bun, chemându-ne sa ne folosim banii în scopuri nobile."

,,Modul în care cei de tip Aaron gestionează banii este inerent spiritual, dar obligatoriu social, în preocupările şi implicaţiile acestuia. Să negi accesul liber al credinţei în finanţele unui om, după cum a observat clar Rauschenbusch, înseamnă să negi puterea de vindecare a Evangheliei, în toata raza ei de mişcare. Religia care nu ajunge la portofelele şi la poşetele noastre nu este deloc o religie bună."

,,Stabilitatea nu este inamicul aventurii, ci ar putea fi platforma acesteiaş cele două nu sunt forţe opuse, ci se pot susţine şi întări una pe alta."

,,Cum se deosebesc nevoile precepute de cele reale? Ce ne învaţă Scriptura despre nevoia apărută? În ce măsură implicarea mea în această nevoie va aduce soluţii pe termen lung? Ce se va întâmpla dacă nu mă implic în această nevoie urgentă şi vizibilă? Cin cunoaşte mai multe despre această situaţie şi m-ar putea învăţa cum să ajut financiar (sau în orice fel)?"

,,Jean Vanier scrie:

Inima matură pleacă urechea la felul în care este menită inima altui om. Aceasta nu mai judecă şi nu mai condamnă. Ea este o inimă iertătoare. O astfel de inimă este plină de compasiune şi vede prezenţa Lui Dumnezeu în ceilalţi. Ea se lasă condusă de aceştia într-un teritoriu necunoscut. Aceasta este inima care ne cheamă să creştem, să ne schimbăm, să evoluăm şi să devenim pe deplin oameni."

[Monica H (TeaandBooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Seven Money Types by Tommy Brown is a different kind of money book. If you have been feeling guilty about how you want to handle money and that you don't seem to fit certain money management formulas in with your personality very well. . .then this could well be a book that is right up your alley.

I like to read books about money management and learn how I can help our family better manage resources for God. The Seven Money Types offers a different look at how we handle money. Tommy Brown looks at seven money types based on seven Biblical people--Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David. Each of these Biblical people feature certain positive and "shadow" characteristics that show their money handling personality. At the beginning of this book, the reader takes a test to see which type they best relate to--and there may be two types that they are closely related to. I found this to be fairly accurate in relating to my own money type. From there you can just go on and read about the type(s) that you best relate to or you can read through the whole book and learn about all of the money types. I read through the whole book and found it to be interesting and it is an easy, down to earth read.

Besides Biblical stories to relate to each character, Brown shares a lot of stories from people he knows that relate to each character so I found The Seven Money Types to be fairly interesting.At the end of each chapter about each Biblical character, he shares a Blessing written for that type, Scriptures he feels are specifically relating to that character, and reflection questions for each Biblical type.

If you are married, it would be a good book to discuss how to best fit your types together to make your money team work best as a couple. The Seven Money Types would be an interesting book to do for a Book Club or Bible Study too. It might be fun for singles to do together as they would have accountability and support in handling their finances. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone.

I received a PDF of this book to read early from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for the book.

[Jeremy Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

My father-in-law mentioned this guy talking about different "money types" on Focus on the Family radio, and it seemed interesting. My wife and I were traveling at the time, so I picked up the Kindle edition since it was cheap and short.

I decided to speedread* it during a flight and set my expectations to merely learning a new lens to view people's financial perspectives--not "the" ways revealed in the Bible that people relate to money. From the description, the book seemed pretty clearly eisegetical rather than exegetical, and that proved to be the case. At least the author is honest about reading his money types into biblical characters:

"as a pastor seeking ways to convey these important truths to others, I extensively explored the Scriptures in search of the biblical characters who best represented the particular money types I saw in my everyday work in the area of faith and finances." (p. 19)

That being said, I found the seven money types presented by Brown to be reasonably insightful. My results showed I am a Moses (endurance/long-range planning + organization) type, and the description, strengths, and "shadow side"/weaknesses of the type describe me well, while the Abraham/hospitality type describes my wife quite accurately. It's sort of like a less useful, narrower scope version of the five love languages by Gary Chapman (although still of value). There's a table near the end of the book that nicely summarizes Brown's most important content--basic belief, key characteristic, weakness, and area of growth for each type.

All that to say--read this book, but quickly and with limited expectations.


*more precisely, Inspectional Reading for about 2 hours (cf. How to Read a Book)

[Alisha Greenlaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is personality type-meets-Bible characters with money. Pretty unique concept to have one's usage of finances interwoven with personality type, especially within a religious context. This is a very specific text- if you're not a Christian you probably won't appreciate it. I definitely think there could've been some information from psychology's forefathers thrown in, like Jung's archetypes or really any basic personality principle that these ideas may be stemmed from. But overall this was a great book. I can't stand money books that want to give me a specific plan or outline of how to manage my finances. This book doesn't do that though. You take the quiz at the beginning of the book and it tells you your money type, then you can learn a little bit about your probable tendencies. Think, "How would an Enneagram 6 most likely handle their savings?" or "What would the bank account of an ESTJ look like?" This book is somewhat similar. I was impressed at how accurate most statements were; I'm definitely a Jacob. "Jacob types discern beauty all around them." Super accurate. "Jacob types' passions and compassion are focused...They know what they want, and they want it with all their hearts." Again, accurate. Also, why I struggle when I reallly want things sometimes. Definitely recommend this if you're trying to learn more about yourself but in the context of your finances.

[Scott Wallis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relational Money - Viewing Money Through a New Lens

The author does an excellent job of conveying to the reader how different people view money differently. I liked this. With so much emphasis on how much money someone has nowadays, it’s easy to lose sight that money is just a tool. But, as the author writes, it is more. How we view money does impact the quality of our lives and money is a vital part of our spiritual well-being.

The author groups how different people handle money into seven different groups based on seven different Biblical leaders. Although I liked looking at these Biblical leaders through a different lens, it did seem some of the analogies were a stretch. That’s why I gave this book 4 stars not 5 stars.

That being said, I wholeheartedly endorse this book as a great read. I did read it, all of it. And I wanted to print the chart in the book to aid in my understanding of the different money types the author proposes in the book.

I enjoyed this book, learned from it and am grateful for the author taking the time and energy into the writing and publishing of it.

[Latashia · Rating 3 out of 5]

In The Seven Money Types, Pastor Tommy Brown leads readers on a journey of personal discovery as he reveals the seven money types found in Scripture. Those who take the 35-question assessment will be able to identify which type best fits them. The book then goes on to coach readers on understanding, affirming, developing, and enjoying their unique approach to money.

Brown walks readers through each of the seven money types:
1) Abraham Type
2) Isaac Type
3) Jacob Type
4) Joseph Type
5) Moses Type
6) Aaron Type
7) David Type

Each type is accompanied by biblical references and real-life examples. Brown offers insight into why each type behaves the way they do when it comes to money and how they can better steward their resources.

Pastor Tommy Brown's book, The Seven Money Types, is a helpful guide for those who want to improve their relationship with money. If you are struggling with your finances, I recommend reading this book and taking the accompanying assessment. You may just find out what type of spender/saver you are and how you can better steward your resources!

[Toyin Spades · Rating 3 out of 5]

​
Different theories about money exist and the more you read books about money, the better educated you are to make an informed decision about how you interact with money.

Tommy writes about money and financial well-being based on the Biblical/ Jewish characters of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David.

He provides an assessment of 35 statements for the reader to discover their money type. The he proceeds in following chapters to define what each money type is. I found out I was the Abraham Money type (which is focused on hospitality).

I also learned about my shadow side - self sufficiency. This is basically when one finds it difficult receiving generosity from others. Tommy cautions that this may morph into a superiority mindset.

Rating: 3/5

Favourite quote: “Your financial leadership is about more than your own life, and whether or not we catch your vision at the onset, we need you to keep pressing on. Embrace your desire to create new futures with money.”

[Valeri Gungor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uniqueness finds affirmation and hope

The Seven Money Types begins to answer the haunting questions of why we differ in our relationship to resources in light of God's plan for our lives. After years of working with families, facilitating Biblical financial literacy studies, workshops, seminars, and empathizing with their complex financial struggles, I sensed a need for identifying and defining the different personas, their needs, attitudes, motivations, problems and goals, in order to design solutions they would find useful,usable and desirable. The Seven Money Types does just that. I am grateful to Tommy Brown for sharing his insights and laying the groundwork for further research and exploring solutions.

[David Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fresh approach in understanding the different ways we think about and use money. Tommy Brown attaches his insights to seven Old Testament Bible characters. While perhaps sometimes pressed beyond a biblical hermeneutic (“this is what the text says”), Brown is nonetheless generally on target and his insights are valuable. While doing a four-part sermon series on Financial Wisdom, I preached one sermon adapted from his material on the seven money types (and gave appropriate credit to this book and author). His insights are also useful in premarital and marital counseling when talking about finances. An online quiz is available to help you begin discovering your money type.

[David King · Rating 1 out of 5]

I try to read/listen to one or two money books each year, and having finished listening to a fiction, I thought this might be a good filler for the end of the summer. This is such a formulaic book. Take out the personality type, or the enneagram type, and insert money type and you have the book. A couple of generic descriptors are explained, an example from the Bible is yanked out of context, then add in a section of strengths and weaknesses of this 'money type.' rinse and repeat for each chapter.

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

On a positive note, this book helps you understand a little more about yourself and about how others in your life relate to and see money’s use in their life. A person picking this up should not expect a how to financial book so much as a personality type book. On a negative note, though this book was interesting at first, the more I read, I it felt slow, and I just muddled through to get it read. I really needed to be at a place where I was serious about looking at each money type to get more out of it. Perhaps, even using it like a book study with others would have helped me.

[Nanci J Larkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book with new and unique idead

Enjoyed this immensely. Recommended it to many. Learned a lot. Can see my strengths and weaknesses better. Interestingly, of the examples of excellence, 2 out 7 were woman, but in the examples of shadows, 6 out of 7 were women. Maybe women ought not handle money.???? Though the majority of women I know, myself included, are completely responsible for the family finances, and we do well.

[James Keogh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been interested in money and finances for most of my life. Most people that I had an unusual obsession with money, but I never desired money for money's sake. I always looked at money as a tool to get other things done. Brown's book made a lot of sense and I am glad to know that my "obsession" with money is not only natural but it is exactly how God made me. Learning about all the money types helps me to relate better to my money mismatches too.

[Christopher Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moses Type, Lighten Up!

In THE SEVEN MONEY TYPES author Tommy Brown identifies seven Biblical figures—each with a certain strength. Here’s the point: If you can understand your “money type,” you will better understand why you approach money in a certain way, and why others don’t.

There is a separate chapter for each Old Testament figure.
Abraham—Hospitality
Isaac— Discipline
Jacob—Beauty
Joseph—Connection
Moses—Endurance
Aaron—Humility
David—Leadership

Each of the O.T. figures illustrate a certain attribute of God’s influence. So, “Abraham offers God’s hospitality. Isaac demonstrates God’s discipline. Jacob reflects God’s beauty. Joseph depicts God’s connection. Moses manifests God’s endurance. Aaron embodies God’s humility. David influences with God’s leadership.”

I first took the quiz to see which basket I fit in. The quiz is called, “Discover Your Money Type: The Seven Money Types Assessment.” There are 35 easy questions.

Well, it turns out I am a “Moses” type with David a close second. Not surprisingly, as an engineer-type, I discovered that I really liked strong budgeting and control: “A Moses type’s life reeks of order, and those who need order are drawn to Moses types to glean their wisdom.”

Yea!

On the other hand, we Moses types have a tendency to be overly critical to others. Ouch! The author calls these negative aspects the “shadow side.” Each famous Biblical figure had “deep flaws that flowed from the shadow side of their lives.”

So all in all, I found THE SEVEN MONEY TYPES a useful, easy read. The seven money types remind me a lot of personality types. It doesn’t seem critical to appreciating the book to actually believe there are literally these seven types. The book is filled with useful stories about real-life folks who have a certain money type. Each story relates a tale of strengths and struggles. I found these anecdotes useful and encouraging. The appendix contains “Prompts for Group Discussion.”

Advance Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

See also Bassocantor.com

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book talked about how different people can view money in different ways and how that's okay. It illustrated how the different ways of viewing and utilizing money relate to us the great qualities of God. Likewise it showed how the common pitfalls of how that same person can trap themselves with how they view and abuse money if not careful. All in all it was helpful as a reminder that there's no one right way to approach money. It also had some decent commentary on the first few books of the Bible and for that alone it was worth it.

[Joel Mcminis · Rating 2 out of 5]

The content is more than compelling, however the way it was written left me wandering. I found myself drifting away and struggling to read smoothly. It certainly didn't hold my attention. I wish Icouls have finished it to extract the information but after 3 weeks I have totally lost interest.

[Rebecca Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!

I loved this practical book that discussed how each person relates to money. It discusses how each type has a positive and Godly attribute and a shadow side that the type can work on. Great read!

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, helpful book if you're a Christian who is into personal finances and personality types. At times it seemed the author stretched biblical examples to fit his points, but overall it was well done.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of borrowed language from the enneagram; unlike the enneagram, I just cared more about learning my own “type” than learning about the others. However like all “personality tests,” I prefer to view this as a framework rather than take it as gospel, pardon the pun.

[Ask TPJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend everyone read this book.

[latricia y. roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine

It was an interesting read to compare how we use and give our money to biblical figures such as Abraham and Isaac.

[H.L. Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise on why you handle money the way you do based on people from the Tanakh.

[Philip Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cool method for understanding other people and how we all handle money differently

[Andrea Cochran · Rating 3 out of 5]

good read, very insightful

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting ideas using biblical people as archetypes for how people handle money. The book itself is rather short and repetitive.

[Rylie York · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! It gave me a newfound perspective on not only my approach to finances in general but also how to steward and serve with the resources the Lord has provided me with.

[Oliviana Tugui · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found it informative but weak, was not really worth the 240 pages put into it.