Autism, ADHD and Money: How to Easily Manage Your Finances With AuDHD

Autism, ADHD and money? That sounds like a recipe for disaster. ADHD means impulsive financial decisions ⁽¹⁾, rash judgments, and ADHD tax ⁽²⁾. (Oh, the ADHD tax!) You may feel in over your head when it comes to finances. It’s chaos! There is always too much of the month left at the end of the money! Luckily, you can call on your autistic side to help.

(But first, to my American readers: Being from Europe, I don’t know the first thing about credit, sorry. No advice from me on this front. But I know a thing or two about budgeting, and that’s what we are going to talk about today.)

Now it’s time for your autistic side to shine. Spreadsheets! Planning!

AuDHD and money: Budget like a pro

Sit down and make a monthly spreadsheet with the following categories. Note every expense in the category in a new row.

Write down how much money you have for a month. And then, write down your expected expenses ⁽³⁾:

1. Bills like rent, utilities, etc. This is the absolute basic,s and you always need to have enough money to pay for it. Add all your monthly subscriptions and recurring payments as well, or make a separate category for them. 
2. Groceries. Estimate how much you spend on them for a month.
3. Savings. You should set aside 15% of your income (until you have 3–6 months of expenses saved) to your savings account so that you always have a fund in case of emergencies – your glasses break, your mobile phone stops functioning, or your washing machine decides to give up. This is your safety net.  If you can afford less, save less, but save something! If you have debt, pay it off first, then start saving.
4. Investments. If you can afford it, you should invest at least 15% of your gross income (before taxes) for retirement. Yes, I know it seems like a lifetime away now, but in 30 years, you will be glad you did it.
5. And what is left when you subtract all the above expenses from your income is your fun money. (Yes, I realize that having disposable income is a privilege.)

You can also use ADHD-friendly apps like: YNAB (You Need a Budget), which is great for intentional spending, Simplifi or Rocket Money, which are good for tracking subscriptions and habits. Tracking your expenses provides insight into your spending habits. 

Tip: Set up automatic payments for rent, utilities, phone, insurance, etc., so you never miss them. Pay these first before spending on non-essentials. Set up automatic transfers to your emergency fund as well. Set them for the beginning of the month, as soon as you get paid, not for the end of the month.

Spend less than you earn

Do anything you can so that you are always in the black numbers. Avoid or limit credit card debt. Only spend what you can afford to pay off in full. If you have debt, plan to pay more than the minimum each month.

Have multiple accounts for different kinds of expenses

A lot of people with ADHD swear by having multiple accounts for different kinds of expenses. (With a debit card, not with a credit card! The point is to have only the money you can safely spend for that category of expenses there.) I keep the “fun money” on a separate account. At the beginning of the month, I send them to my second account. This way I always know how much I can spend. When it’s gone, I know it’s gone and that’s that.

Create separate savings accounts for yearly expenses

ADHD and AuDHD brains often forget non-monthly costs like car repairs or holidays. Set up envelopes in your savings account (if your bank allows it) or separate savings accounts ⁽⁴⁾, one for every purpose. Send a set amount each month there. For example, I have an envelope for my public transport pass that I buy once a year, an envelope for Christmas presents (so that I don’t have to try to find money in my budget for that in December), an envelope for holidays, and so on. Set up automatic transfers from your checking account to your savings account at the beginning of the month (same as your bills). 

Tip: Always determine what you are saving for. That sets a real goal for your AuDHD brain. 

ADHD and money – other tips:

• Check your spending every week ⁽⁵⁾. Set up a reminder in Google Calendar or another app. Make small corrections instead of waiting for the end of the month.
• Keep a small buffer ($100–$300) in your checking account. This protects you from overdrafts or timing issues with bills.
• Make shopping lists. Always know what you are going to buy before you go to a store. 
• If your income goes up, avoid increasing your spending just because you can. Instead, increase savings or pay off debt faster.
• You can set daily spending limits, like “I can spend $15 on fun stuff today.” Just make sure how much money you have for that in your budget (Take the monthly amount of “fun money” and divide by the days of the month.)

Tip: When you want to impulse-buy something, save it in your bookmarks instead. Get back to it after a day or a week. If you still want it and you can afford it, you can buy it. But often, just the act of saving the thing satisfies the impulse and gives you enough dopamine to move on.

Review, review, review!

At the end of each month, review what went well and what didn’t, and adjust your next month’s budget based on your real-life needs.

Paying off debt

First, create a repayment plan ⁽⁶⁾. There are two strategies for paying off debt that can be useful for the AuDHD brain:

• The Snowball Method – pay off the smallest debts first, while you make a minimum payment on the larger debts. This way, you will see quick wins, which will give you motivation and the dopamine our brains are endlessly seeking. 
• The Avalanche Method – pay off debts with the highest interest rates first. This way, you minimize the totálně interest paid over time. This method may appeal to your logical, autistic part. 

Consider also consolidating multiple high-interest debts into one loan with a lower interest rate. 

And, most importantly, while you are doing this: avoid new debt! Use credit cards responsibly and don’t take any new loans. 

If you struggle with repaying debt, a financial advisor or credit counseling services can help you create a structured debt repayment plan. 

ADHD and money – it doesn’t have to be so difficult

Autism, ADHD, and money can look like a daunting combination. It seems so easy to forget the bills, make impulsive purchases, and hope it all works out in the end,  but it is possible to do it in a different way. You can learn to manage your finances well when you pay attention to them and when you have the right systems in place. So try one or two of these tips, see what sticks. Don’t be afraid to experiment to find what works best for you. You may be surprised at the transformation you will see.

Sources:

(1) https://augmentive.io/blog/adhd-impulsive-spending
(2) https://retirement.fidelity.co.uk/news-insights/workplace-investing/saving/the-adhd-tax-paying-the-price-of-neurodiversity/
(3) https://ldadhdnetwork.ca/money-matters-simple-budgeting-strategies-for-adults-with-ld-or-adhd/
(4) https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/reasons-multiple-savings-accounts/
(5) https://moneysmart.gov.au/budgeting/track-your-spending
(6) https://www.cnbc.com/select/guide/debt-payoff/

Did you find this blog post useful?

Here is more! I’m currently working on an ebook, Not Broken: Working With Your AuDHD Brain, a collection of the best and most useful AuDHD tips and lifehacks from my blog. It will be out soon! If you want to get notified, join the waitlist here.

Be part of the process and grab my ebooks for an amazing price!

You can also be part of bringing this book to life! Soon I’m launching an Indiegogo campaign to help cover the cost of professional proofreading (which I need because I’m not a native English speaker). In the campaign, you can get this book plus all of my current ebooks and courses at an unprecedented price! I will probably not be repeating a major sale like this. The campaign will be running from 1st October here.