Everyone’s psychological attitude toward money is different — it’s what JD Roth, founder of the popular personal finance blog Get Rich Slowly, calls a “money blueprint.”

“Money blueprints are basically just these invisible, psychological constructs in our heads that affect how each of us individually deals with money,” Roth tells NBC News BETTER.

The “miser” buys only the bare essentials, the “spendthrift” spends too much because she thinks there will always be more to spend, and the “collector” buys whatever he’s convinced he’ll need some day, explains Roth.

“Sometimes financial blueprints are faulty, and they lead us to be in debt, to have poor relationships with money, or to have poor attitudes about money,” he says.

JD Roth Roth paid off $35,000 of debt over a decade ago by learning to differentiate immediate needs from potential needs. Amy Jo Woodruff

A “compulsive collector”

Roth, who grew up poor, says his own money blueprint stems from the “scarcity mindset” he developed during childhood.

“If you have a scarcity mindset you believe time is limited, or money is limited, or love is limited,” explains Roth.

In adulthood, Roth became a “compulsive collector” — he would buy anything he thought he might need in the future. But he says he rarely used any of it.

For example, he would buy woodworking tools, many which he never used. His bookshelves overflowed with “thousands” of books and movies, most of which he never read or watched. His compulsive collecting extended to clothing, as well.

“I’d have a bunch of cheap T shirts,” Roth says, “and I didn’t love any of them especially.”