3 Ways People With ADHD Can Manage Their Money

Money is SO personal, and no matter how prepared you think you are to meet your money goals, there are many factors that can throw a wrench into your carefully designed plans. There’s perhaps no greater hurdle to overcome than being part of a community that is historically diminished in conversations about money: those with ADHD or a neurodivergent diagnosis. 

Today, more adult women than ever are getting diagnosed with ADHD or neurodivergence, which can impact everything from time management to our ability to complete tasks. Having ADHD can lead to impulse spending, but an ADHD or neurodivergent diagnosis doesn’t necessarily mean you’re bad with money, rather, it means your brain needs different techniques and tools.

That’s exactly why Ellyce Fulmore became an ADHD money coach. She shares her top three tips for managing money — and life. 

STEP 1: CREATE A FIVE-ACCOUNT SYSTEM

If you’ve been diagnosed with ADHD or as neurodivergent and find it confusing to have all your money in one account that does double duty for checking and savings, you’re not alone. Fulmore says when she had all of her money in one account, she found it difficult to keep her financial goals truly separate because she was continually relying on “mental math.” 

“As you can imagine, I made a lot of mistakes, because trying to do that math and not having a visual or anything that I was going off of, I would spend money and then a bill would come out and there’d be a fee,” Fulmore says.

But by creating a five-account system, Fulmore found that everything could have a place — and that pesky bill never got missed. To keep things straight, she recommends breaking down your individual accounts as follows: 

• A hub account: Where your paycheck gets deposited into and where all of your transfers to other accounts originate from.
• A bill payment account: The account from which you would pay all of your bills.
• A spending account: Think of this like your allowance card. It’s a separate account from all of your other banking accounts. Any leftover “fun” money you have should be transferred into this account to spend on whatever you want.
• A short-term savings account: This account is a great place to house your emergency fund. You could have several short-term savings accounts for any bigger-picture financial goals you may have coming up in the next five-ish years, such as a big vacation or a new car. To make sure you’re earning the most in interest, consider a HYSA.
• A long-term investment account/retirement account: Everyone needs to save and invest for retirement. Ideally, we’ll keep our retirement funds in a separate account that we won’t be tempted to touch until we reach age 59 ½, which is the age you can begin making penalty-free withdrawals from retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs.

STEP 2: USE VISUAL REMINDERS

People with ADHD or a neurodivergent diagnosis may be more motivated by immediate rewards, so keeping visual reminders and tracking our progress towards long-term goals can be great reminders to continue working towards our big wins. These visual reminders could be in the form of an app, the wallpaper on your phone, or a spreadsheet that you track. 

“It’s something called ‘delayed discounting’ where our brain tends to overvalue immediate rewards and undervalue long-term rewards,” Fulmore says. “So when we’re saving for a goal that’s a few years in the future or we’re paying off debt that’s going to take five years to pay off, it’s not exciting and motivating.”

As you’re tracking your progress, Fulmore suggests introducing a reward system for yourself, so for every hundred dollars or thousand dollars that you save, there’s some little treat that you’re getting to keep yourself motivated and excited.

STEP 3: KEEP A MENTAL HEALTH ‘SINKING’ FUND

Ever heard of a sinking fund? It’s essentially a savings account where you’re incrementally saving for a goal by putting aside a set amount of money each month. Whether you’re saving $10 a month to end up with $120 at the end of the year, or $200 a month to end up with $2,400, the goal is that you’re sinking the same amount into your fund, with consistency, in order to reach a goal. 

Having a fund dedicated to your mental health is important not only for people who are neurodivergent or have ADHD but also for anyone who struggles with any sort of mental health challenge. 

“If you are experiencing a mental health challenge, you don’t always know when that’s going to show up, how it’s going to show up, or how it might affect you,” Fulmore says. “For a lot of folks, it might result in a lot more spending. Having a mental health sinking fund for those times that you are really struggling relieves you of money stress during that time, so now you can use that money on other things that you need.”

The Bottom Line

Whether you’re neurotypical or neurodivergent, meeting your money goals takes time and planning that’s personalized to your life. By using strategies that work for your brain (like making money management fun!) you can tackle all of your short and long-term savings goals. 

MORE ON HERMONEY:

• 12 Free or Cheap Paths to Mental Health Resources
• Spending More? This List of Emotions Could Explain Why
• HerMoney Podcast Episode 431: 5 Ways To Save Money in 2024

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