A financial planner outlines the 3 mindsets that dictate how you approach your money

Cary Carbonaro moved speedily up the corporate ladder, and was making $500,00 a year by the time she was 30.

Today, she's a certified financial planner, who uses her own experiences and knowledge to help clients make the best choices with their money.

"We all need to make sure we're taking our dreams past the instant gratification stage: past that sign, through the front door, and into the years that will follow," she writes in her book, "Money Queen's Guide: For Women Who Wants to Build Wealth and Banish Fear." "It all begins with a hard look inward. To embark on any plan, you should first be real and honest with yourself. You need to know who you are, and where you're going."

The key to making our dreams a reality comes down to three mindsets that all of us possess to varying degrees, she says: commitment, fear, and happiness.

She writes:

The purpose of considering where you fall is to help gain a better understand of your tendencies and historical behaviors when it comes to finances. Through acknowledging your trends, you can consider which ones should be celebrated and which ones can be changed. Building a life with financial security is an ever-changing and moving target. What works today may be a recipe for disaster tomorrow. So, it is important to consistently be aware and cognizant of who you are and where your tendencies fall.

If it still isn't apparent where your tendencies lie after reading about these three mindsets below, you can take her firm's online quiz to determine yours.