What dictates whether a person votes for a l or r party?

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Economic or social factors?

Yes, and more.

It's better to vote for the person and not the party.

This is a complex question that has a lot of of potential answers. As in complex questions it is usually a mix of things.
I happen to subscribe to the moral psychology framework proposed by Johnathan Haidt.

Johnathan Haidt a moral psychologists proposes a six factor model for why people value certain things. The factors are Care/harm, fairness/cheating, loyalty/betrayal, authority/subversion, sanctity/degradation, and liberty/oppression. He breaks people up into 3 general groups: liberals/progressives, libertarians, and social conservatives. Liberals/progressives typically emphasize 3 factors: care/harm, fairness/cheating, and liberty/opression. Libertarians will typically emphasize just 2 factors: fairness/cheating and liberty/oppression. Social conservatives will emphasize all six more evenly. The difference being a relative emphasis on loyalty/betrayal, authority/subversion, and sanctity/degradation compared to their counterparts and relative disemphasis on care/harm, fairness/cheating, and liberty/oppression.

1) Natural inclinations. Haidt proposes that some people may have genetic inclinations to each of these morality paradigms.

2) Social upbringing. There is a lot of evidence that people mainly follow the same politics as their parents and upbringing. This is not in contrast with Haidt's proposal as any development proposes both genetic and environmental factors shape views. Furthermore, one inherits ones genetic factors from one's parents so this would likely correlate as well.

3) Political alliances. Party platforms are about building winning coalitions, so they are not always self-consistent. For example r-wing parties are both the parties of small government and authority. This is a contradiction that brings in both social conservatives and libertarians. This despite libertarians and liberals being more similar to each other than either to social conservatives.

In the UK, and Europe, folks probably vote as members of a social class (workers vote labor, management votes conservative) more than in America.

We Americans are certain that we each are millionaires in the making. We each are certain that we will someday...be rich enough to donate to the Clinton Foundation!...Just as soon as we finish our degrees....from Trump University!

My father voted conservative in the UK. Living in the States he is pro democrat . Although I'm not sure he can actually vote. My step mum was staunchly pro Clinton in 2016.

His father , from what I know , was a conservative voter. I have never voted conservative.

Narrow self-interest is the only factor.

After every election, there is always someone who lectures me on how my votes were wasted because I voted against candidates and propositions that lost when the person lecturing me had favored them.

Not always. Persons change their minds more often than parties do.

A party consists of many persons sharing the same common opinions. There's a lower risk of change of mind when voting for a party rather than a person because of simple statistics - ie. you'd have to change the minds of 10 or more politicians at the same time, in contrast to changing the mind of a single individual.

Which party you vote for depends solely on your source of income and whatever your way of life depends on.

For example, if you are a low wage worker, you get nothing from tax cuts as these are only handed to those with high income. Instead you'd want those with high income to contribute more to the welfare benefits you may recieve.

Forget about your thoughts of being a billionaire in the waiting. It most likely won't ever happen to anyone from working class.