6 Types Of Spenders You Meet In Your 20s

Graduating college and becoming a financially independent adult has its share of growing pains. Some celebrate their first taste of freedom by high-tailing it to the club and making it rain, post-haste. Others do so by obsessively tracking every dollar and growing their savings account. One thing’s for sure: there are many distinct money personalities that you encounter in your 20s, from penny-pinchers to big spenders.

There's even math to back this up. Capital One's Millennial Mindset on Money Survey breaks down the financial habits of post-grad millennials. Among other findings, the data showed that nearly a third of twenty-somethings (27 percent) were motivated to save up for the future and pay off their student loans. (These are probably your super-diligent friends who could teach a master-class in saving dollars.) In your life, there might also be the people who only spend money on alcohol, the rare Good Samaritans who donate to public radio, and those who manage to spend recklessly while also complaining about how they're "super broke."

At the end of the day, most of us just want to get out of the paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle. (Data found that "not living paycheck-to-paycheck" was the number one goal among millennials, at 55 percent of those surveyed.)

We've teamed up with Capital One to bring you an illustrated list of the kinds of spenders you meet in your twenties. What do all of these personalities have in common? Whether you yourself are a broke baller, a penny saver, or a discount queen, we're all figuring out how to save like grown-ups.

1. The Broke Big Spender

Hobbies: Broadcasting her broke-ness over Instagram by sharing shots of her paycheck, spending like crazy anyway. (Fun fact: survey data finds that over half —58 percent— of millennials are more likely to snap a picture of their paycheck than share their Facebook or Google search history. Go figure!)

Where The $$ Goes: Everywhere, for everything. Fancy cocktails. Ambiguous exotic produce at fancy grocery stores. Bizarre pieces of artwork and furniture that will live in storage, which she will pay for in perpetuity.

Where her tax return goes: An extremely fancy dinner, followed by a round of drinks at the swankiest bar she can think of where she proceeds to buy EVERYONE a round.

2. The Blissfully Ignorant

Hobbies: Refusing to check online banking, refusing to open her bills, praying that she doesn't overdraw.

Where The $$ Goes: Rent, streaming services, pizza, cabs, candy, drugstore makeup, multiple "box" subscriptions, spontaneous online shopping sprees. Also, overdraft fees. Lots of overdraft fees.

Where her tax return goes: The minimum monthly credit card payment and a really nice handbag.

3. The Model Citizen

Hobbies: Stopping for sidewalk canvassers, giving to their alumni associations, sharing their very meager wealth, amassing tote bags.

Where The $$ Goes: Philanthropic organizations, public radio pledge drives, food for their foster cats.

Where her tax return goes: Charities, charities, and more charities.

4. The Vault

Hobbies: Saving, keeping a ledger, paying her monthly student loan bills, researching ways to use her money responsibly.

Where The $$ Goes: 401K investments, saving for a house, life insurance, retirement fund.

Where her tax return goes: Right back into the savings account.

5. The Deal Savants

Hobbies: Researching deals, never paying full price for anything, checking in on social media to unlock deals.

Where The $$ Goes: Coupon websites, Black Friday sales, BOGO food.

Where her tax return goes: A luxurious vacation — bought for half the price of the estimated value online.

6. The “Beer & A Shot” Spenders

Hobbies: Saving money on everything except drinks, always flaking out on dinner, finding great happy hours.

Where The $$ Goes: Beer-and-a-shot-deals, buy-one-get-one happy hour, Two-Buck Chuck.

Where her tax return goes: Uhh, drinks! Is that even a question?

Here's to discovering the mystical secrets of being an adult— one bagged lunch at a time.

This post is sponsored by Capital One.

Images: Caroline Wurtzel/ Bustle (6)