A survey of Australian’s financial position conducted by the Financial Planning Association (FPA) found that around one in four believed themselves to be “living the dream” – which they defined as having the lifestyle of their choosing, having financial freedom, and having safety and security.

Digging deeper into their data, the FPA found four distinct personality types when it came to managing finances — the cruiser, the daydreamer, the builder, and the go-getter, and the percentage of each of these groups that had achieved that ideal lifestyle differed greatly between personality groups.

Only 8 per cent of cruisers were living their ideal lifestyle, with twice as many daydreamers (16 per cent) having achieved their dream life, marginally behind the builders, of whom 18 per cent said they were living the lifestyle they wanted.

Go-getters, however, were much more likely to report that they were living the dream, with 37 per cent saying they had achieved their ideal lifestyle, and 72 per cent saying they were financially secure (followed by builders with 62 per cent saying they were secure).

Interestingly, the research highlighted five personal characteristics that these go-getters were more likely to display than any other of the personality types, noting members of this group were more likely to do the following at least five times in any giving week:

1. 50 per cent of go-getters wake up before 7am.
2. 44 per cent of go-getters spend quality time with their family.
3. 19 per cent take time to plan out their diary.
4. 16 per cent take part in some kind of spiritual activity or meditation.
5. 11 per cent eat out at restaurants.

Additionally, go-getters were the most likely to believe they had the personal capacity create the life they wanted, but were less likely to attribute success to natural intelligence than daydreamers and builders.