Money Problems & ADHD

This short video reviews the science on what is known about the increased risks for various money management problems associated with adult ADHD. it also provides various recommendations for addressing them including getting diagnosed and adequately treated for the ADHD and its symptoms that are driving the money management problems.

You can find more information on this topic in my book, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD.

[jonr]

Out of all the topics, this has to be one of the most important. And shows how significant ADHD is in terms of impact. Not a cute child being manic but severe long term damage.

No1 problem with the sensible tasks is the mental and emotional burden and barriers, exactly per DrB phrase: Performance Problem.

Knowing what to do but failing to execute.

The perceptions that finances are complex - and often this is true.

The shame & regret can be debilitating & overwhelming. The literal pain of having to face the numbers.

All together can be a major barrier to getting the simplest task done.

And in external contexts, the people you encounter in banks etc have zero understanding or sympathy, and in the poorer sectors are more likely to be sharks looking to exploit another mark.

But the biggest bomb in finance is the concept of COMPOUNDING. Which means that failure to tackle the norms of savings pensions property etc, after a year, a decade... that TIME can never be recovered.

The trajectory of life is set by the financial steps taken in your 20s & 30s.

Closely related to career trajectory, clearly you can't save what you don't EARN.

[patriciajump]

This is so valuable. I am 73, and I am one of those with less income now due to adhd. I plsn to share this with my dear grandson ❤

[Mightydoggo]

Yeah I feel that... For me the problem is, I don´t trust myself to be able keeping up with 8h+ of undesired work a day, without getting thrown back straight into depression. So I´m basically working just enough to get around. At least overspending isn´t too much of an issue for me. (inattentive)

I grew up in rural Eastern Germany and the mentality here is "If you can´t afford it in cash, you can´t afford it at all."

[iroc]

Burst out laughing at that intro. You were made for YouTube Dr. B!

[JohnnyPDisco]

I've found my earning potential hampered by being fired due to untreated adhd, and starting over in various entry level positions because i keep starting over with a career.

[ericscarpellinicamargo]

One thing that I think Dr. Barkley should consider is the effect of ADHD and other conditions have on the perception of other people. Just being different makes your odds of succeeding in life way lower than average. So it would also be nice to have you talking about prejudice against neurodivergent people as something that counts as a problem. Not just the condition itself.

[Finkeldinken]

Oooph, this one hurts.
Fortunately I was finally diagnosed in the beginning of my 30s and am now 45 - I am still not good at saving, but I got help to make a budget account and they put in more than I need for utilities, so if I get a bigger vet bill or my phone dies, I can deal.

But when I was younger and needed it the most, I had no help at all AND less money - the stress and guilt was horrible.

Thank you Boomer in Flannel!

[mystupidbrain]

This hit too close to home. I was diagnosed as an adult. What helped me with this is to automate all my bills and just focus on my job. I am still prone to impulse buying. But I am getting better. But my saving grace has been automatic with all my bills, savings and spending.

[_lil_lil]

I have pretty severe ADHD-primarily inattentive (severe bc I was diagnosed as a girl in middle school in 2003), but the problem isn't spending (I'm anxious about money), it's that I live paycheck to paycheck, with single digits left for basic necessities left the day before each paycheck, or slightly underwater, but I'm also too anxious to ever do anything to change my circumstances significantly (in which I'm dirt poor and hating life). Idgi, ADHD is supposed to be spontaneous but this "impulsive" thing be like "I'm going to try a different flavor of protein bar today bc it's on discount" (not actually spending more than I would have, just trying a flavor) 🙃🙃

[tankgirl]

As a late-diagnosed female, I love your research and balanced advice. However, I had to laugh at the idea of putting a sticker/note on a credit card - everything is electronic now (Apple Pay etc) who even looks at a physical card anymore!😂 We need the payment system to show the message "Are you sure? Please come back in 30 minutes to continue" by which time we will forget about the purchase! 🤣😂

But seriously, I have never saved in my life, I find 'controlled credit' works for me, so buy now, pay in 3 monthly instalments - that kinda thing. I also struggle with the need v want, when shopping. I got help for my money issues about 15 years ago, and I really try not to mess up so badly again. My ADHD clinic told me about a bank account (Monzo, in the UK) where you can divide your money into pots which can be done automatically when you deposit your wages etc.

[sallyunderwood]

So true. My financial life has been a catastrophe - even though I have a degree in economics!!! Since taking the meds, I am working again and enjoying it.
Before, I was always i debt, no matter how much I earned. When I suddenly got a lot of money, part of me enjoyed it, but the other part had to face up to the reality that my issue wasn't not having enough money, it was something to do with me, which led to depression and self-hate. Then I started day trading .... and lost lots of money. I became completely obsessed with myself and what was wrong with me. With such a chaotic internal world, it was impossible to make rational investment decisions, as to me, nothing looks at all stable or predictable.

[samuelognenis]

Thanks for all your insights and videos, Dr Barkley.


I find the idea of “growing out of” ADHD so stigmatising and unscientific. It just shows that the assessment criteria, especially of adults, remains woefully inadequate and/or inconsistent.

You don’t grow out of ADHD. The challenges and struggles evolve, and hence the treatment and focus of support also needs to evolve.

[ericscarpellinicamargo]

Don't get me wrong, I think people should get treated at an individual level as well, if they are suffering. But there is a lot of things wrong with our social structures too.

[educacionylenguas]

My family doesn't want to help me with the diagnosis (childhood symptoms) they don't believe in labelling and do not want me tk get medication. I mean, it's not that I want medication, I judt eant answers and tools. Then a professional advised me to control my stress for 5 months in order to continue with the diagnosis, which is hard because I live in Argentina. I am sure my perfectionism hides my ADHD, which is painful because thst is another problem, but at the same time it is my go to mechanism to get thing done.

[salparadise]

Because we get these ideas, that on paper seem so good, and so logical, and they blow up in our faces and cost so much.

I thought to buy a boat. Wanted to rent one for a few months but they don't rent them for those sort of time periods and renting one for 8 weeks at tourist rates would cost thousands. Every penny dead and not coming back.
So? Buy one and then sell it afterwards and that way I won't lose too much money, or so I thought. Only many such narrow boats are a bit dark and dingy inside so I looked and looked and found one that was full of light. I fell in love. I bought it at a good knocked down price, after being told that the repairs would cost around £16k. Except they didn't cost that, they cost nearly £50k, putting the final price for a still not functioning correctly boat at nearly £100k and a new one would have only cost £80k. And I lived aboard for 3 months, because stupid wife refused to set foot aboard it. And this was the first time I'd lived alone since I was in my teens (nearly 60 now) and without her routine to keep me in check I spiralled into full blown ADHD chaos. Stopped eating properly and lost over 30 pounds in weight and I was thin to start with. Smoking like a Soviet industrial zone, eating sporadically at take aways. Trying to sell the boat now, having already lost many thousands and by the time the dust has settled I'll be lucky to have lost less than £70, 000. Over.a period of a little over 2 years, of which I had the boat to live on since late September last year (2023). A total and utter disaster.
I inherited a modest sum, under £200k. And family said, "we're worried about you having this amount of money." and I said, "so am I", and then they sat and sneered at me losing it hand over fist. Oh I have some nice things. Several MacBooks, 8 replica swords, 3 replica axes, half a dozen leather jackets. Enough craft stuff to equip a small school. Don't know what to do with any of it. It's horrible, just horrible. Several people knew precisely what I was like with money and did nothing. One even saying to my face, "I could help you, but I'm not going to." Destroyed my old age. Been on welfare or just zero income for much of my adult life. No support. No understanding. (Diagnosed a little over 2 years ago.)
ADHD Tax!

[Alex-jslg]

Don't forget the "ADHD tax" - buying multiples of the same thing because... 1. You won't use it unless it's immediately accessible when needed; 2. You broke/lost your first one almost immediately after opening it; 3. You forgot you already got the thing you needed and are too embarrassed to return it; 4. You accidentally clicked "add to cart" twice.

Am I missing any?

[publius]

Has anyone looked at how many people were not just affected by their impulsivity in purchases, but the costs of the various comorbidities like autoimmune diseases and automotive accidents? While my mother had the issues with unneeded purchases, my problems have largely been health related and the effects of unemployment or underemployment. Everything stacks. An auto pay system is also a disaster if the decision is which bill shouldn't be paid that month. I wish this wasn't a reality, but it is.

[jimwilliams]

I was diagnosed in my early 60s. I was never an obvious impulse buyer, but I noted over the years that, in spite of making about what I did, my wife managed to save about three times what I did. I was never sure why, but my diagnosis provided a rather big clue. I didn’t do that terribly through my life, though owing to my academic credentials and limited ambition, I certainly never made a lot. In the last couple years I’ve started to sense what the arc of my life might have been had I been single.

[rickturnr]

Milwaukee has a lot of minorities, who tend to be poorer, did this study control for poverty?

[PikaLeeMedia]

Always a pleasure listening (and re-listening😅) to your talks Dr. Barkley!