ADHD + Impulse Buying + Time = lifelong financial challenges. Build up your runway.

The numbers are grim. I make no apology for presenting this as it is, I think, one of the things we miss out of the usual discussions about ADHD, especially in late diagnosed adults.

The struggle to manage personal finances and guilt felt from impulse spending; three-quarters (76%) of people with ADHD said that dealing with their personal finances causes them mental-health issues – twice as many as those without the condition (38%).

(Monzo Study - details below).

The long term impact of ADHD on your income could be as much as a 75% reduction at retirement (Pelham) - or it could leave you unable to borrow money and at a high risk of early self inflicted death.

There’s no way to make these statistics pretty - I won’t even try. The horrible thing is if you’re diagnosed in your 40s, 50s or 60s - you may already feel it is too late for this knowledge to be any use to you. It’s never too late.

The big 4

We can break the biggest challenges of ADHD and finances into 4 main areas:

• Impulse buying

• Time discounting & financial forecasting

• Emotions: the ripple effect

• Dyscalculia - the hidden disability

The Impulse Buying Quandary

Impulse buying is a frequent hurdle for people with ADHD. Research shows that impulsivity is a core symptom of ADHD, which often extends to financial decisions. While splurging on a whim might seem unimportant in our younger years, the inability to rein in these impulses can lead to significant long-term problems. As we mature - don’t forget, we have a 3-5 year lag in some areas of development - the absence of a financial safety net or retirement savings morphs from a mere financial concern into an emotional burden. The ‘F it’ Button on your PayPal account is going to hurt you.

Time Blindness and Financial Foresight

ADHD is often accompanied by a "short time horizon," a cognitive bias that makes future planning a challenge. This phenomenon, known as time discounting, can make financial goals and deadlines appear distant, even when they're just around the corner. The outcome? Missed golden opportunities to save, invest, and secure our financial future. If you started investing and saving for your pension in your 30s, it’s unlikely that you have unsupported or undiagnosed ADHD.

The Emotional Ripple Effect

Financial stress doesn't operate in a vacuum; it has a domino effect on our emotional well-being. Studies indicate that financial stress can exacerbate ADHD symptoms, creating a self-perpetuating cycle that's difficult to interrupt.

We become stressed when realising we have ten years to retirement so it could go two ways: spend big (and go into debt) on the perfect solution that will solve everything (sorry… that’s usually our illusory positive bias) OR panic and buy something that makes you feel good.

Advertisers sell you an emotion: that perfume, that big coat, that car, that holiday - it’s the EMOTION that you want, rarely the actual function of the item. So when you are emotionally disregulated - it’s so much easier to sell to you.

Dyscalculia: The Overlooked Obstacle

For some individuals with ADHD, the financial puzzle is further complicated by dyscalculia—a learning disability that impairs numerical comprehension and mathematical reasoning. This adds an intricate layer to financial management, underscoring the importance of specialized professional guidance. Don’t dismiss this too quickly - many people have a slight impairment that makes it hard to manage finances even if they are not across the diagnostic threshold. The relationship between ADHD and dyscalculia is bidirectional, although the specific statistics can vary depending on the study. One study published in the Journal of Attention Disorders found that among children diagnosed with ADHD, approximately 11% also had dyscalculia. Another study in the Journal of Learning Disabilities suggested that the co-occurrence could be as high as 17-26%.

I could go on here - inability to create and stick to a budget (EI - emotional impulsivity); poor planning and budgeting; forgetting to pay bills; organisation and paper management - and yes, that includes your email inbox and google drive.

Strategies to support ADHD & Finances

Create a visual resource collection

• that shows you VERY clearly how your current situation is looking: You may get help from this through a charity or other neurodivergent affirming financial adviser.

• For example: I am 60% through my lifetime - if I had created a few more resources in my early to late 30s, my outlook would have been informed by recognising that I was already half way through my potential working life! If you are feeling overwhelmed, find a trusted friend, family member or supporter from a charity who can help you look at these and NOT PANIC. Everything can be figured out - even if it means adjusting our plans.

Budgeting Apps - Leverage Tech:

There are now many apps and platforms specifically engineered to help you monitor your spending and savings. These can be provided by your bank or a third party.

Helpful ones for managing debt include YNAB, PocketGuard, Money Dashboard and Freedom (which can BLOCK you making purchases.) You might want to try apps for sobriety, that can give you a dopamine dash for creating a ‘no spend’ streak.

You could also use tech to help you ‘see’ your money matters more clearly. These apps all help manage the processing load of keeping an eye on income, expenses and planning. I cannot recommend one in particular and suggest making sure the apps are maintained, use bank level encryption and are regularly updated for security.

Use prepaid budgeting cards - for example HypeJar, GoHenry etc - which give a visual app that helps you limit spending AND see how much is available for each budget category.

Financial Advisor:

Seek out a financial advisor who has experience with the unique challenges posed by ADHD. I cannot recommend individuals and please, make sure that they are registered with your local authorities and regulatory bodies. It is so, so important to get trustworthy advice. When in doubt, contact a charity or group listed below (I have chosen to focus on UK and USA based charities).

Mindfulness Techniques:

A lot of our money behaviours are rooted in self-soothing, emotional regulation needs that are NOT being met elsewhere. Engage in mindfulness practices to heighten your awareness of impulse buying triggers. Research supports the efficacy of mindfulness in improving self-regulation. Also, try and identify what unmet needs are pushing your ‘buy now’ button. (I will be running webinars monthly that cover topics like needs, values, etc - make sure you have signed up for my mailing list to be notified of them).

Peer Support:

Participate in ADHD-centric financial management groups to foster a sense of community, support, and accountability. ADDA have several peer support groups that focus on different topics, including late diagnosis, finances, etc.
The burden of SHAME that so many ADHD adults carry around money is horrendous - there is still such stigma in admitting that finance is not a strong point even when - as we talked about earlier this month - adults can be successful in many other areas.

Please - don’t be ashamed and leave things to drag on. Get in touch with the charities listed below. Share this blog post. Talk in your families - especially with young people - and let’s educate ourselves and others about the huge implications for our financial future of ADHD.

Want to learn more?

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Together, let's uncover the secrets to living a fulfilling life with ADHD.

Warmly,

Katherine

RESOURCES:

ADHD UK debt help letter

StepChange (UK debt charity - not for self employed people)

Business DebtLine (UK debt charity for self employed, sole traders and business owners)

Money Saving Expert - free financial education materials for children and adults

Monzo - survey looking at ADHD and money.

 Organizations for ADHD and Financial Impact:

UK:

(I highly recommend joining ADDA even though it is mostly a US based organisation. Their resources and support are second to none for a very low monthly fee - see the USA section).

ADHD Foundation: They often publish reports and studies on the impact of ADHD on various life aspects, including financial well-being.

   - [ADHD Foundation Website](https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk/)

Mind This mental health charity covers a range of conditions, including ADHD, and often discusses the financial implications of mental health.

   - [Mind Website](https://www.mind.org.uk/)

Rethink Mental Illness: They offer advice and information on mental health conditions, including ADHD, and their impact on daily life.

   - [Rethink Mental Illness Website](https://www.rethink.org/)

USA:

ADDA (Attention Deficit Disorder Association) - A very large resource library, courses, regular webinars, peer support groups and a lively community - https://add.org

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): They offer support and education on mental health conditions, including ADHD, and often delve into the financial challenges faced by individuals.

   - (https://www.nami.org/)

Mental Health America (MHA): This organization focuses on the overall mental health of Americans and provides resources that include financial aspects of living with conditions like ADHD.

   - (https://www.mhanational.org/)

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Further Reading:

(Living With ADHD Can Cost You an Extra £1,600 a Year Because of Difficulties Managing Your Money, Monzo.com, June 2022 (from a survey of 506 people living with ADHD, with a shorter survey of 2,068 UK adults to provide comparison answers).

Beauchaine TP, Ben-David I, Bos M. ADHD, financial distress, and suicide in adulthood: A population study. Sci Adv. 2020 Sep 30;6(40):eaba1551. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aba1551. PMID: 32998893; PMCID: PMC7527218.

Altszuler AR, Page TF, Gnagy EM, Coxe S, Arrieta A, Molina BS, Pelham WE Jr. Financial Dependence of Young Adults with Childhood ADHD. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2016 Aug;44(6):1217-29. doi: 10.1007/s10802-015-0093-9. PMID: 26542688; PMCID: PMC4887412.

Koerts, J., Bangma, D.F., Fuermaier, A.B.M. et al. Financial judgment determination in adults with ADHD. J Neural Transm 128, 969–979 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-021-02323-1

Chi Liao, ADHD Symptoms and Financial Distress, Review of Finance, Volume 25, Issue 4, July 2021, Pages 1129–1210, https://doi.org/10.1093/rof/rfaa013

Beauchaine, Theodore P. and Ben-David, Itzhak and Bos, Marieke, ADHD, Financial Distress, and Suicide in Adulthood: A Population Study (September 30, 2020). Fisher College of Business Working Paper No. 2020-03-025, Charles A. Dice Working Paper No. 2020-25, Science Advances; Vol 6, no. 40, eaba1551 September 30, 2020, Swedish House of Finance Research Paper No. 20-26

Theodore P. Beauchaine et al. ,ADHD, financial distress, and suicide in adulthood: A population study.Sci. Adv.6,eaba1551(2020).DOI:10.1126/sciadv.aba1551

Pelham WE, Page TF, Altszuler AR, Gnagy EM, Molina BSG, Pelham WE. The long-term financial outcome of children diagnosed with ADHD. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2020 Feb;88(2):160-171. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000461. Epub 2019 Dec 2. PMID: 31789549; PMCID: PMC6940517.

Gross-Tsur, V., Manor, O., & Shalev, R. (1996). DEVELOPMENTAL DYSCALCULIA: PREVALENCE AND DEMOGRAPHIC FEATURES. DOI

Shalev, R., Auerbach, J. G., Manor, O., & Gross-Tsur, V. (n.d.). Developmental dyscalculia: prevalence and prognosis. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 9 (Suppl 2), S58–S64 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s007870070009

Monuteaux, M., Faraone, S., Herzig, K. A., Navsaria, N., & Biederman, J. (2005). ADHD and Dyscalculia. DOI

Kuhn, J.-T., Ise, E., Raddatz, J., Schwenk, C., & Dobel, C. (2016). Basic numerical processing, calculation, and working memory in children with dyscalculia and/or ADHD symptoms. DOI