Most of us would think of feminist pioneer Gloria Steinem and womanizing ’30s movie idol Errol Flynn as polar opposites.  While one dedicated her life to pursuit of women’s rights and the defeat of sexism, the other spent every spare moment drinking, carousing and pursuing women like trophies.

I think it’s safe to say that there’s a paucity of common ground between Steinem and Flynn.  There is one place, however, where their thoughts seem to have converged–money.

When you see people from opposite sides of the spectrum agree on something, it’s probably worth noting.  Odds are that the shared position is hard to argue against.  With that in mind, let’s look at a few personal finance-related comments from these two opposites.

Gloria Steinem said, “We can tell our values by looking at our checkbook stubs.”

Errol Flynn said, “My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.”

Both agreed our habits and principles have a substantial impact on how we save and manage our resources.  That’s a sentiment we’ve touched upon before.  I’ve mentioned the fact that the psychological component of money management can be just as important as proper number-crunching.  I guess that lines me up with Flynn and Steinem, doesn’t it?

Others, of course, would concur.  Steven Sashen, for instance, has written an interesting perspective on how our beliefs influence the way we relate to dollars and cents.  Sashen maintains that our beliefs lead “to all sorts of financial stress and difficulty” and that one of the keys to resolving our personal finance issues is to address that underlying psychology and our belief systems.

While some advocate for a reconsideration of perspectives based in religion, others believe that an introspective evaluation of our personal beliefs and the histories that have shaped them can point us in the right direction.  Regardless of the proposed methods, it seems like everyone who’s considered the role of habit and personal psychology has reached the same conclusion as Steinem and Flynn. Ann Field provides a great perspective in an article that appeared in the industry magazine, Rep:

Most reps view themselves as some combination of stockpicker, number cruncher, relationship builder and financial advisor. But it’s increasingly helpful to throw a dash of psychological expertise into the mix.

This is not to say a rep’s job should be talking to clients about their relationships with their mothers. But for many people — financial advisory clients included — money is about a lot more than just dollars and cents or the vagaries of the market. It’s a symbol of love, self-esteem, power — you name it. The symbolism runs deep and is shaped by all sorts of complex childhood forces that exert a powerful hold over clients’ psyches.

As a result, many clients have highly irrational approaches to money. They can’t save. They procrastinate. They overspend. They fear even the most conservative investments, or want to risk it all every day.

So, does this mean that we should all start thumbing through the Yellow Pages in search of a good psychiatrist who moonlights as a financial analyst?  Probably not.

What it does mean is that we need to approach financial decisions with a clear recognition of our biases and tendencies–and their underlying motivations.  Awareness gives us the opportunity to hold in check those aspects of our personality that “naturally” work against smart money management.

It also means that we need to understand that, for some of us, getting a grip on our personal finances will require an ongoing battle against mindsets that have been in place for a long time.  When we really comprehend that, it gives us a much better idea of what we need to do to structure a system that will really work for us.

As Steinem/Flynn might say, “We need to look at our checkbook stubs to see which of our gross habits we’re valuing to the detriment of our net income”.