Thankfully, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is becoming a much more talked-about and understood issue. It’s believed that around 4% of American adults have ADHD, and the impacts of ADHD on areas like mental health, relationships, and education are being more understood. But what about ADHD’s impact on finances and money management? This is an area that is often overlooked.
ADHD can impact physical behaviour and mental behaviour, and it can show itself very differently from one person to the next. When it comes to money management, living with ADHD means sufferers may exhibit several of the following behaviours:
• Find it hard to be organized
• Regularly miss payments
• Avoid setting up budgets
• Spend impulsively
If you’re someone who finds it hard to organize your finances or you find yourself unable to curb your impulsive spending, here’s a range of strategies and techniques that you can implement to better manage your money as an ADHD sufferer.
Effective money management strategies
Monthly planning
The first thing you should do as someone struggling to manage their money as a result of ADHD is set aside some time every week, or every month depending on the extent to which you’re struggling. Rather than saying you’re going to do this, put it in your calendar as a recurring event.
When the time comes, heading to a local coffee shop or library on your own can ensure you’re not distracted by other things. You’ll also want a checklist of how you’re going to spend that time each week/month. Here are some areas you can cover in your regular budgeting meetings with yourself.
Review expenses and incomings
It’s crucial to be aware of how much money you’re spending, only then will you be able to curb unnecessary spending. Start by listing all your expenditures and incomings to see if you’re saving money or losing money each month. If you’re losing money, check to see where you went off budget.
Budget for the month ahead
There are many budgeting templates online. Download one and go through it at the start of every month when you’re checking your finances. This allows you to flag any cash flow problems you’re going to run into before they happen.
Review your investments
People with ADHD often invest impulsively and then forget all about their investments. While this isn’t always a bad thing as it allows investments to passively increase, you should have an eye on your investments in case the time is right to withdraw your funds. A quick review every month should be enough to keep you on top of your investments.
Read: Invest Today: Is Property Investment Profitable In 2024?
Take advantage of online banking
If you’re living with ADHD in 2024, you can thank advances in technology for making your life slightly easier. All major banks now have digital banking apps and some banks like Monzo and Revolut even operate fully online without physical branches.
Savings pots
The advantage of this is the helpful features that make saving a whole lot easier. Monzo, Starling, and Revolut all offer savings pots to their customers. Pots, or pockets as they’re called on Revolut, act as virtual piggy banks and allow users to break down their spending.
For example, your savings for a house could be kept separate from your general savings for a rainy day. Making it easier for customers to organize and view their savings can be key for people with ADHD as organization is a skill that they usually lack.
Roundups
Another modern-day feature of online banking is providing users with the option to round up their transactions with the excess funds being put aside as savings, similar to the old-school action of putting loose change into a piggy bank.
As anyone with ADHD will tell you, simple tasks like these are the ones that often get forgotten about. The roundup feature offered by many banks makes this task autonomous which is a massive help for people living with ADHD.
Autonomous payments
Speaking of automating tasks, one of the biggest benefits of online banking is that regular or one-off payments can be scheduled. Any direct debits or standing orders can be set up via online apps for a certain date every month which means users don’t have to worry about setting reminders or making payments manually.
ADHD Centre
Finally, if you’ve tried to implement all of the above and you’re still struggling to manage your finances, you might benefit from picking up the phone and speaking to an expert. The ADHD Centre exists to support people living with ADHD, you can find their contact details on their website.
Whether you’re just looking for some general guidance on how to manage your money better, or you’re someone with ADHD who needs full-scale debt help as a result of your ADHD-driven spending, speaking about your problems out loud can be a great starting point.
