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A card game designed to encourage deep conversations about money. The objective is to invite players to individually identify their financial archetypes and collectively explore past experiences and underlying emotions that influence their relationship with money. While talking about money is taboo for so many, the game works to break down barriers between money, power, shame, and guilt by leveraging mutual storytelling to encourage players to embrace vulnerability, understand differences, and deepen relationships. The Money Date asks: can uncovering unconscious relationships with money help players to build financial mindfulness, competence, and confidence?

The Money Date           
Julia Nguyen, Erin Beaudoin,   and Anna Chi
2023
Backed by Psychology
Special thanks to our mentor José Jaime Guerrero, CPA, Registered Clinical Counsellor, Financial Therapist and founder of the financial counselling center Currency of the Mind. This work was inspired in part by It’s Not About the Money, a book written by Brent Kessel, CFA, which introduces the theory of “Financial Archetypes” and explores the link between the unconscious mind and financial behaviour.


Financial Archetypes and the unconscious relationship to money



The Money Date is based off of the concept of Financial Archetypes, which are a set of characteristics or patterns of behaviour that individuals tend to exhibit when it comes to money.

Financial Archetypes Theory helps players to identify their unexamined beliefs and habits, which is the first step in uncovering the root cause of their relationship with money. Every archetype has its own weaknesses and strengths, and certain archetypes balance each other out.

HOW IT WORKS

Before the Game
Players take a quick online quiz on The Money Date website, to receive their top 3 Financial Archetypes. They do not tell the rest of the group what their archetypes are.


One way to play:

SCENARIOS
Players gather and take turns discussing how they would react to each scenario. The rest of the players listen, ask questions, and can discuss their hypothesis of other players’ potential archetype(s).

There are 3 levels of scenario cards, each level increasing in intensity. By talking through the same scenarios players are able to learn from each other, break down barriers, and reframe their financial perspectives.

MONEY STORY
Once all players have gone through 3 rounds of scenarios, they move onto the next component of the game: The Money Story. Players finally reveal their financial archetype to the group before responding to individual prompts that encourage them to dig deep and reflect on past events that created their personal financial archetypes.

Another way to play:
Players can have the Money Date with their balancing archetypes. For example, someone with dreamer/enthusiast tendencies can pair up with a saver/manager. Players review all the scenarios and select 2-3 scenarios from each level that they want the other’s perspective on, they can also write down their own scenarios. Each player takes turns describing how they would approach the same scenario while sharing what feelings or thoughts come up for them. Play the Money Story cards as normal, with each player reflecting on how the prompt contributed to their archetypes.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

Why this game resonates with players



Creating a space to voice what’s normally left unsaid regarding money breaks down barriers and deepens relationships. Players are excited by the concept of financial archetypes and gain self-awareness though diagnosing themselves and others. It’s not uncommon for players to get emotional after identifying certain life events that they didn’t realize had such an influence ontheir behaviours, and beliefs. The game balances vulnerability and playfulness in an exchange that leaves players feeling enlightened and curious to learn more.

All players who we’ve tested with (30 gen Z and younger millennials from various demographics) said that they want to play The Money Date with their friends, romantic partners, and family members and would buy the game if they could.

“Seeing how everyone deals with the same financial situation is wild. Its making me question my habits.”

“This game made me realize something needs to change.”

“I want to play with game with my parents and all my friends.”
ABOUT
Erin Beaudoin
Erin is an upper year SIAT student who has built a rewarding career while still being in school full time, demonstrating her passion for design and her dedication to instant noodles. One of her jobs was working as a Product Designer at Vancity Credit union where she saw first hand how gaps in financial literacy, learned money habits, and socio-economic status deeply affected the trajectory of people’s lives. She’s been curious about the intersection of money, psychology and wellness ever since. Erin is the cofounder of SFU’s largest design club, Tiny Design Society, which she started in an effort to create a low barrier space for designers to collaborate, share their work, and connect to industry. At the time of writing, Erin is currently at AllPurpose and IBM where she works as a Product Designer for clients such as Telus and leads projects for IBM’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. In terms of hobbies she likes alot of things, mostly anything to do with body movement, being outside, and playful creativity.


︎ ebeau
︎ erinbeau.com
︎ tinydesignsociety


Anna Chi
Anna is a recent graduate of the SIAT program, where she honed her skills in visual and product design. Growing up in an immigrant Chinese family, Anna has had first hand experience with her family’s attitudes and behaviors regarding money. Through her work on The Money Date, she has gained a deeper understanding of how these experiences have shaped her own relationship with money. Throughout her university career, Anna has held various roles, including graphic designer and UX designer at a local startup where she led the development of the company’s new design system. In her current role, she designs UX solutions and improvements for SAP’s Analytics Cloud product. Recently, one of Anna’s projects was selected as a finalist for Vancouvers UX Awards. As a recent graduate, Anna plans to use her newfound free time to further develop her visual art skills and explore her identity as a design mentor for early design students.


︎ ruoqichi
︎ annachi.ca


Julia Nguyen
Julia is a visual artist with a lifelong passion for creative thinking and imagination. She pursued a double major in Interactive Arts and Technology and Business at Simon Fraser University (SFU), specializing in Design and Marketing. Her UX design career took off when she placed as a Top 3 Finalist in SFU's Brandstorm competition, working with Moment Energy, a cleantech startup, as the client. Julia went on to complete a ~16 month co-op at MomentEnergy, where she focused on website strategy and created design materials for the marketing team. She enjoys learning from academic design projects and mentorship channels, and is always looking for ways to grow as a designer. One of her proudest academic achievements is her project, Neighbourhood Rescuer, which was recently nominated as a Top 3 Finalist in the BestStudent Project category at the Vancouver UX Awards.


︎ -julia-nguyen