Let’s be honest here: money management is hard at the best of times, and if you have ADHD? It can feel damn near impossible. Trust me, I’d know because I was diagnosed at 26, and am I good with money? Sort of. Am I better than I used to be now that I know how my brain works? Absolutely!
Here are a few tips that work for me that can help you too.
Cash Binders: The Answer to ADHD Forgetfulness
Make your lack of object permanence work for you. “Out of sight, out of mind” is never more accurate than for someone with ADHD, but for once, it’s not a bad thing. I’ve found that moving my savings for small things like a new tattoo or something else to a cash binder is a game-changer.
Can’t spend money you don’t have access to, right?
This is the cash binder* I use (with these inserts), and it has the added bonus of holding credit cards I have but don’t want to use. If I leave them in the binder, I can’t just use them. Personally, I find that helpful because it has to be a conscious decision to take it out of the binder and use it.
The hardest part of setting up the cash binder is remembering to take cash out and actually putting it in the binder. Setting calendar reminders helps me with part one, and part two is fixed when I complain enough about having cash in my wallet.
Budgeting Can Be ADHD Friendly
It sucks, but it’s a must for someone with ADHD. It can look different for you than it does for someone else. Don’t let the James whatevers of the world shame you for budgeting differently than what they think is best.
Personally, I use a spreadsheet that gamified my money with fun cats! It’s the Ultimate Annual Budget Spreadsheet from Pawfect Plan. If you’re better at keeping track of things when you make time to update something manually, this is probably for you! We would have loved the days of balancing checkbooks.
If manually updating spreadsheets isn’t for you, you could try Rocket Money. It has the added bonus of negotiating bills for you, a service I’ve used and love. It can also cancel subscriptions you’ve forgotten about. It’s like a non-judgemental friend helping you right your finance ship.
Set up alerts through Rocket Money or your bank for low balances, big purchases, bills, and possible fraud. This will help you adjust your budget to what actually works for you, not just what sounds good when you set it up.
Automation is Your Friend
Automate as many of your bills as possible. Automate your rent. Automate your car payment. Hell, automate moving money to your savings account.
The less you, a person with ADHD, have to remember to do, the better. Having money automatically withdrawn from your account will save you from late fees and non-payments. I personally keep a list of everything on autopay and the date it’ll be withdrawn from my checking account, just to be safe.
Don’t Overwhelm Yourself
Keep it simple! Having separate accounts for separate reasons can seem like a fantastic idea, but losing money in the shuffle is easy. Keep it to a primary checking account and savings account. If you can keep track of it, maybe a spending account just for shopping and personal care.
Trust me, it’s really easy to decide to have a new account for a new reason. I’ve done it. Before I knew it, I had three checking accounts and two savings accounts, and I was paying maintenance fees for all of them because none of them got my full paycheck. I was underwater before I realized what was happening, and I had good intentions.
Body Doubling for Financial Gain
Choose someone you trust and who won’t judge you when you slip up—unless that’s something you need. I find that talking to my partner once a month about how I’m going with budgeting keeps me accountable. He calls me out when I start impulse buying, which is what I need.
Maybe that looks different for you, but more or less “body doubling” your finances can help a lot. When you have to explain something to someone, and when it seems like someone else is as invested in your financial well-being as you are, it can really help keep you on track.
Remember, your brain is actively working against you. It wants to spend all your money on a dopamine hit, and it forgets everything important. Stop blaming yourself and letting other people shame you for struggling. Examine how your ADHD affects your relationship with money, and then figure out what works for you and forget everything that doesn’t.
* Paid link