Psychographic Profile

Why do people spend the way they do? That is a question that is very interesting to advertising experts. There is a system of classification made by VALS™, a consulting and consumer research service. According to VALS™, there are eight types of spenders.

The VALS™ Types:
Innovators
Thinkers
Believers
Achievers
Strivers
Experiencers
Makers
Survivors

When I participated in the survey, my results were that I was most like a Maker and second most like an Experiencer.

Makers
Like Experiencers, Makers are motivated by self-expression. They express themselves and experience the world by working on it—building a house, raising children, fixing a car, or canning vegetables—and have enough skill and energy to carry out their projects successfully. Makers are practical people who have constructive skills and value self-sufficiency. They live within a traditional context of family, practical work, and physical recreation and have little interest in what lies outside that context.
Makers are suspicious of new ideas and large institutions such as big business. They are respectful of government authority and organized labor but resentful of government intrusion on individual rights. They are unimpressed by material possessions other than those with a practical or functional purpose. Because they prefer value to luxury, they buy basic products.

Experiencers
Experiencers are motivated by self-expression. Young, enthusiastic, and impulsive consumers, Experiencers quickly become enthusiastic about new possibilities but are equally quick to cool. They seek variety and excitement, savoring the new, the offbeat, and the risky. Their energy finds an outlet in exercise, sports, outdoor recreation, and social activities.
Experiencers are avid consumers and spend a comparatively high proportion of their income on fashion, entertainment, and socializing. Their purchases reflect the emphasis that they place on looking good and having "cool" stuff.

I found these results very accurate.

I am very into self sufficiency, such as growing my own food. I also am quite the bargain hunter. However, I am not a afraid to spend money on a quality item that will last. I spend the majority of my money on activities and "fun stuff" with my friends, but I always try to find the least expensive option. Basically, I like to have fun, but I do it with the smallest amount of money possible.