Core Values List: 50 Examples and How to Find Your Own (Plus a Money Check)

Your core values are the handful of principles that matter most to you: the things you'd want your life, and your choices, to reflect. When you know them, decisions get easier. When you don't, it's easy to spend your time and money on things that look good but feel empty. This guide includes a core values list, a simple exercise to find yours, and a way to check whether your money is actually going where your values are.

What are core values?

Core values are the deeply held beliefs that guide how you want to live. They aren't goals you finish, like "buy a house". They're directions you keep moving in, like security, freedom or family. Most people have somewhere between three and five that matter most.

Why your values matter for money

Money is one of the clearest mirrors of what we actually prioritise. Many women discover a gap between what they say matters and where their money goes, not because they're careless, but because spending is often driven by habit, pressure, guilt or other people's expectations. Knowing your values helps you spend with less regret and say no with less guilt.

Core values list: 50 examples

Read through the list and notice which words create a small "yes" in your body.

• Security & stability: security, stability, safety, independence, preparedness, order
• Freedom & growth: freedom, adventure, curiosity, learning, growth, creativity, flexibility, courage
• Connection: family, friendship, love, community, belonging, loyalty, generosity, kindness
• Wellbeing: health, rest, peace, balance, calm, nature, simplicity, joy
• Achievement: ambition, excellence, success, mastery, recognition, leadership, impact
• Integrity: honesty, fairness, justice, responsibility, respect, authenticity, faith
• Self-expression: beauty, style, playfulness, humour, spontaneity, self-respect, autonomy, pleasure

How to find your core values (a 15-minute exercise)

1. Circle 10 words from the list that feel true for you.
2. Cut to 5. Imagine you could only keep five. Which would you fight for?
3. Test each one with this question: "If I lived by this value every day, would I feel more like myself?"
4. Define them in your own words. "Freedom" might mean travel for one woman and never having to ask permission for another.
5. Rank your top three. These are your compass.

The values vs. prices check

Now look at your last month of spending. Pick your ten biggest or most frequent purchases and, next to each, write which of your core values it served, if any.

• Spending that matches your values: keep it, enjoy it, protect it.
• Spending that serves no value: these are your easiest cuts.
• Spending that serves someone else's values: notice where guilt, comparison or people-pleasing are deciding for you. (See people-pleasing and money.)

This simple check often frees up money without any feeling of sacrifice, because you're only letting go of what never mattered to you.

Living by your values when money is tight

Values don't require big budgets. Connection can be a walk with a friend. Beauty can be fresh flowers from the market. Security can be one small transfer to savings. The point isn't to spend more on your values, but to spend on purpose. This idea sits at the heart of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which uses values as a guide for action, even when anxiety is present.

Frequently asked questions

How many core values should I have?

Most people find three to five core values easiest to remember and use. Too many and they stop guiding decisions.

Can core values change over time?

Yes. Values often shift with life stages, such as becoming a parent, changing careers or going through a divorce. It's worth revisiting them once a year.

What's the difference between values and goals?

Goals can be completed, like paying off a credit card. Values are ongoing directions, like security, that the goal serves.

How do core values help with money?

They give you a clear reason to say yes or no to spending, which reduces guilt, regret and impulse purchases.

Educational content only. Not therapy or financial advice.