Managing your money can feel overwhelming, especially if you add the challenge of ADHD or a learning disability (LD.) With the right strategies and tools, you can create a budget and build good money habits that work for your brain.
Let’s look at some practical tips and tools to help simplify budgeting and build financial confidence. Building financial confidence can spill over to build confidence in other areas of your life, too.
Why is Budgeting Challenging?
For LD and ADHD brains, managing money can be a challenge. It often involves extra hurdles. The challenges of LDs or ADHD can affect how you process information, plan, and make decisions. All of these are essential for budgeting.
Challenges
Executive function challenges like planning, organizing, prioritizing, and staying focused can leave you overwhelmed by details. This can make tasks like balancing a chequebook, reviewing bank transactions or tracking expenses seem even more overwhelming.
Impulsivity and Emotional Spending
People with LD and ADHD often find themselves making impulsive decisions or engaging in emotional spending. That must-have purchase can lose its shine very quickly leading to guilt and regret. Emotional spending might also be a coping mechanism for stress, boredom, or because you are frustrated with money-related tasks.
The Overwhelm Factor
Traditional budgeting methods can often rely on detailed calculations and precise tracking. You might find it difficult to keep track of purchases or understanding interest rates. For those who are overwhelmed easily, these complex tasks can quickly lead to avoidance. The result? Missed payments, overdrafts, or too much month at the end of the money.
There is Good News
Despite these challenges, there are ways to create a budgeting system that works for you and your brain.
- Keep tasks simple.
- Use visual tools.
- Build in supports.
If you follow these steps, you can take control of your finances one step at a time.
Foundations of ADHD & LD-Friendly Budgeting
Creating a budget that works for different brains starts with keeping things simple and focusing on small, realistic actions. These simple tips can help to reduce the overwhelm and look at your needs.
Start Small
Begin with small steps to build your confidence:
- Start with one task. Track a single category, like groceries, instead of your entire budget.
- Plan to do a quick, weekly check-in on that one area instead of trying a full monthly review.
- Try using round numbers. Keep it simple. You can round up or down depending on the amount.
- Track you spending on a piece of paper. Tape it to your fridge to keep it visible.
What Tools Do You Need?
Choose tools to keep budgeting easy for you:
- If you are ready to try an app, look at apps like YNAB, Goodbudget and Mint. They can help with the math and give clear visuals.
- You can use spreadsheet templates with pre-set formulas that do the math for you.
- If you prefer a paper-based system, use large-font and color-coded templates to make them easier to work with.
Make It Visual
Both LD & ADHD brains might find that visual systems help keep information simple:
- Use color-coding for different expenses. For example, green for essentials, and red for extras.
- If you are comfortable with Excel, you can turn numbers into visuals using pie charts or bar graphs that show your spending instantly.
- You can try keeping your budget visible by keeping it on a bulletin board or on the fridge. You can also try using sticky notes as reminders.
Start small, use simple tools, and lean into visuals. You can create a budgeting system that feels possible and easy for you to do.
Managing Your Money
Managing money is not about perfection. It is about creating systems that work with your unique way of thinking. Here are some strategies that are simple and flexible. They are designed to make budgeting less overwhelming and more doable.
The “Rule of Three” Method
Instead of tracking every single expense, focus on three main areas:
- The Essentials: These are things like rent/mortgage, utilities, groceries, and other must-haves.
- Your Savings: This is about building your emergency funds or saving for a vacation or a big purchase or special gifts.
- Fun Money: Use this for things you enjoy, like a coffee or something you might want.
This method helps you concentrate on the important things without feeling bogged down by details.
Automate When Ever You Can
This will reduce the chance of forgetting:
- Set up automatic bill payments. Start with the bills that are the same amount each month. Think of how great it will be to never miss a due date.
- Set up a direct transfer into your savings account as soon as you are paid.
- You can use apps that track your spending and send alerts when you are near your limit.
Create a Spending Plan for “Fun Money”
Impulse spending happens, and that is okay! Give yourself permission to spend on fun things but set a limit ahead of time.
- Withdraw cash for fun money each week. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Did you know that the experience of physically handling cash makes us more mindful? It can help you develop a stronger sense of what you are spending compared to debit or credit card.
- Try using a prepaid debit card for fun expenses. This can keep you in your budget without relying on willpower.
Set Financial Reminders
Time blindness can make it tricky to stay on top of deadlines. Use reminders!
- Use a reminders app on your phone or a calendar app to set recurring reminders for bill payments, budget check-ins, or adding to your savings.
- Choose a specific day each week for a quick “money moment” to review your accounts and spending.
A Quick Look at Emotional Spending
Emotional spending can sneak up on anyone. For LD & ADHD brains, it is often tied to moments of stress, boredom, or struggles with number-related tasks. Understanding your patterns can help you stay on track.
What are Your Emotional Spending Triggers?
Be aware and notice when and why you are spending. Are you:
- Feeling stressed or overwhelmed about managing your budget?
- Looking for a reward after a tough day?
- Avoiding an unpleasant task or emotion?
When you can name your triggers, you can learn to pause and decide whether that purchase supports your goals.
Simplify the Numbers
If tracking your spending feels like too much, try these ideas:
- Use budgeting tools with visual aids or automated features to avoid the calculations.
- Focus on one number and area at a time, like weekly spending. Don’t try to manage several areas.
- Stick to round numbers, like $100 for groceries, to make the mental math easier.
Pause Before You Purchase
When the urge to spend strikes, try these simple pause techniques:
- Wait 24 hours before making non-essential purchases.
- Ask yourself, “Do I really need this right now?”
- If you find it challenging to remember, set up a digital reminder to revisit the purchase later.
Replace Emotional Spending with Other Options
Find other ways to meet the emotions behind your spending:
- Stressed? Take a short walk, practice deep breathing, or listen to calming music.
- Bored? Dive into a hobby or engage in hands-on activities like cooking or crafting.
- Feeling down? Treat yourself in a non-financial way, like journaling, watching a favourite show, or connecting with someone you trust.
Building Accountability
Having someone to share your financial goals with can make a big difference. You can:
- Work with a coach, financial counselor, or someone experienced in working with LD & ADHD brains.
- Share your goals with a trusted friend or family member who can check in with you.
- Use a budgeting tool that works with your brain.
By combining strategies for emotional regulation and practical tools that make budgeting easier, you can create spending habits that are encouraging and doable. These strategies won’t solve everything overnight, but they can make budgeting feel less overwhelming and more achievable. Start with just one idea and build from there—you’ll be surprised how much progress you can make!
Resources
NerdWallet : Comparisons and reviews of budgeting apps.
Mad About Money App – For Android and iOS. An app built to help neurodiverse brains talk about money.
Attitude Magazine – this website focuses on ADHD brains, and it has many resources on finances.
Understanding the financial challenges faced by neurodivergent people – article by FT Advisor
About the Author: Laura Godfrey has worked with families and individuals as an ADHD coach for over 8 years and is an ICF and PAAC-credentialed ADHD Life Coach, an AudHD Coach (Autism), and an ADHD Parent Coach. She holds a Self-Reg® Foundations Certificate through the Mehrit Centre. Her ADHD Coach training is through the ADD Coach Academy, and she also facilitates ADHD support groups at CanLearn.
