ADHD and budgeting

[1hyuny]

Hi I've name changed for this as I haven't shared my ADHD diagnosis journey with anyone yet so don't want this linked to my other posts.

I've always know there was something amiss with me , procrastinating, crap with money, difficulty holding down plans and friendships, finding organising tiring and zoning out. I've now started the formal diagnosis journey through my GP after it all coming to a head recently when I visited the GP due to overwhelm.

Anyway this is by the by, my AIBU for traffic (sorry) is around budgeting. So many people have told me to just use a 'simple' excel spreadsheet or one of those fancy banking apps (starling?) To budget effectively. There is a chance I have Dyscalculia alongside ADHD so these are a struggle for me and I find it confusing and don't want to change banks.

I can't and won't ask anyone's help such as family or friends as I have some significant debt to clear which I don't want them knowing about but is manageable as I've recently had a promotion.

I just need something to help me clearly budget my income and outgoings and remember to include stuff like petrol and pet insurance etc which I usually forget about. Anyone have anything simple to suggest or a ready made excel sheet? The overwhelm with this small task is exceptional for me which I hope anyone with adhd will understand thank you.

I used YNAB when it was a one-time download for £60, it's now a pay monthly app. Tbh I saved the £60 in my first month of using it. The principles have stuck with me- give every dollar (pound) a job, build up to 3 months bills saved, make a budget, and track it.

I don't have a monzo account. I just know that the guy that set it up was the starling bank number 2, he left & pinched most of the staff, and ideas and set up his own bank. Anne Boden runs Starling bank and she is AMAZING. Hence I started out with a personal account at Starling. Then set up a limited company account, now I have a joint account with my husband. And we run our DD pocket money through the Kite account linked to our joint account.

The bank card arrives in the post like a greetings card, it's cute, everything is so well thought through. The 'CX' in tech speak, is marvelous.

You can access the info on the website or app. There's an iPad iPhone and Android apps. I have all and they update them all in sync (ie it's not primarily an iPhone app)

You get instant and I mean INSTANT alert on your phone when you buy something. Usually my phone has beeped before the receipt is printed at the till. So you would know instantly if your card was stolen and used fraudulently.

You can put all the spends into categories, and see where the money is going.

As a banking disaster zone (me) it's great. I have a credit card to pay off that I forgot about. I kept it to make payments online. However Starling have a new gadget that means you load up a 'card' with money, use that for the transaction. And if the website gets hacked they can't get any if your money. I think it's genius. And I can now finally move away from needing any credit cards.

That's my experience!

No great advice but following with interest as I've recently been referred for an ADHD assessment.

I have adhd, lots of debt etc so I get your predicament.

The app YNAB does cost but it is worth it. Set all your direct debits to go out within a day or two of getting paid. Literally everything that should get paid, does get paid straight away. Then pay a chunk off a credit card.

I started paying one credit card off fully, then putting all of my spend that month onto the same credit card and always paying it off. It made it easier to pay down my debt.

Calculate your interest rates per credit card or loan and pay the highest one off, then the second highest etc.

Good luck

You've asked for help with a spreadsheet to monitor and therefore control your budgeting but I wonder if this is what you really need. There are numerous online budgeting apps which you can tailor to your own needs and a pen and paper works well too. The biggest challenge I suspect will be using it....everytime, everyday. I think the app is the easy part. Start thinking about how it's going to work in real life. So you've just bought a Meal Deal at lunchtime. Do you pay cash, or with your card? Which card? When will you update your app? Is it on your phone? When will you analyse the data? Daily, monthly? Try to be specific....app will be on phone (which is generally with you). You will update at the end of thevworking day and review Sunday evenings. Where are your 'danger points'?
Eg I have tasks I do at the end of the working day. I actually sit for 20mins in my car to do them because once I'm inside I'll either get distracted or sit down and forget.
If you have calendars and diaries that dont work for you, excellent in itself isn't going to help. It's the bits in-between. It's also a trait of those with ADHD to over focus on topics....eg chosing the right package. The package isn't the issue!

Financial adviser here. I wouldn't personally go for a spreadsheet, just keep things simple. I think the most effective way of managing finances on a day to day level is to have have pots for different purposes as mentioned above. Have a bill account with all of your direct debits comming out of, these are your fixed costs. Have savings pots for different purposes and budgetting, such as car account (to cover any maintenance and insurance costs if paid annually) holiday pot, Christmas pot (so you have funds for xmas etc), emergency savings pot etc, when you get paid transfer amounts to each of these accounts, what is left over is your discretionary spends for the month. Prioritise clearing down your debts and getting into better financial shape.

You can use your hyperfocus for this. I'd actually suggest having large paper and marker pens to draw out the process first, so you can see how your finances work - I don't find that things on a screen register with me in the way that physical paper and BIG BRIGHT LETTERS AND ARROWS do.

Streamlining things and automating processes works. I'll give examples with random numbers

1.0 MONEY IN

Bank NAME and DATE of pay (eg, 27th of month, 26th - 28th of month) AMOUNT £2800.00

2.0 MONEY OUT

2.1 Arrow to a box labelled PRIORITY BILLS (the ones where you'd end up on the streets/in prison/out of work if you didn't pay them)

RENT/MORTGAGE 1st of month Standing Order/Direct Debit £750.00
COUNCIL TAX 1st of month Direct Debit £200.00
Car Tax 1st of month Direct Debit £whatever the fuck it is to run a car
Car Insurance 1st of month Direct Debit Company Name and Renewal date of a month before it runs out £whatever the fuck it is
Parking fees/tolls/whatever the hell it costs
TV Licence (if you watch live TV) £whatever

Subtotal for box 2.1 £WHATEVER

2.2 Arrow to bills that make your house fit for habitation

Box of UTILITIES & Communication

Gas Direct Debit Company Name £100.00
Electricity Direct Debit Company Name £100.00
Water Direct Debit Company Name £50.00
Mobile Phone Direct Debit Company Name and renewal date (month early to give you time to reassess alternatives (£30.00)
Broadband Direct Debit Company Name and renewal date (month early to give you time to reassess alternatives) £40.00

Subtotal for box 2.2 £WHATEVER

2.3 Arrow to a box labelled common sense bills (the ones you'd be stupid to not pay)

House Insurance Direct Debit Company Name and renewal date (month early) £50.00
Animal Healthcare (Insurance or prepay plan) Company Name and renewal date (month early) £50.00

Subtotal for box 2.3 £WHATEVER

2.4 Arrow to a box labelled DEBT REPAYMENT

Name of Company and Total amount outstanding £50.00
Name of Company and Total amount outstanding £50.00

Subtotal for box 2.4 £WHATEVER

2.5 Arrow to box of ESSENTIAL EXPENSES

Food (Estimate)
Travel to work (Tank of petrol, cost of bus pass)
Cat Food (I suggest ordering it in bulk, three months at a time from somewhere like Zooplus, but in any case, you've got to feed the animals)
Cat Litter (Same, they're going to have to shit somewhere)
Washing Powder
Fabric Softener (if you use it)
Washing up liquid
Dishwasher tablets (if you have a dishwasher - also suggest a 3 month supply at once)
Cleaning materials (sprays/bleach/sponges/whatever)
Toilet Roll
Kitchen Roll (if you use it)
Shampoo
Conditioner
Soap
Shower gel/bubble bath
Deodorant
Toothpaste, Mouthwash and Toothbrushes

Subtotal for box 2.5 £WHATEVER

Everything else is to some extent optional.

At the right hand side, give the amount left after each boxes' total has been subtracted from the money in. Make it large so you can see it clearly at a glance.

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If you are still focused at this point (or at a later date once you're comfortable with this and can look at tweaking the system), you could use the other accounts for specific things -

One could be CAR EXPENSES - if so, you could set up a Standing Order for the Tax DD, the Insurance DD, Parking if it's a set amount and an amount to cover MOT and towards servicing/repairs to go into it, so that you know everything in there is essential for your car and must not be touched for any other purpose.

The others could be set up for specific things, but it might just overcomplicate matters.

Use Direct Debits and Standing Orders so you don't have to put any mental energy into fulfilling those financial obligations - the money leaves on the 1st of the month, you don't see it, you don't think about it, you can't spend it.

Remember that the amount on the right hand side is a fact, not a minimum target.

I know that people will think 'but you can do this electronically?' - seeing it in big letters in a diagram makes more sense for some people; it can be used as a structure for introducing a spreadsheet or understanding how to set up computerised systems in any case.

Absolutely agree, I do so much planning on A3 with real pens and pencils.

Thats a great tip thank you 😊 I'll have to wait til a time I have some privacy but that might work better than a screen.

Just bumping this back up as I've opened a starling account but I find the app a bit overwhelming. Anyone with this account please can you explain to me in layman's terms how to set up different pots etc to help me budget. Thanks

The savings pots are called spaces

Any use?

m.youtube.com/watch?v=St9H1hrNnmo

I also have ADHD and recently discovered Monzo.

I do run out of money but my bills are paid from the account I get paid into. Spending money goes to Monzo

I'm wondering about moving money into another pot for later in the month when I start getting low

I find standing orders and DDs for bills are the only way. I also have a standing order into a savings account on pay day and try not to touch it

I use multiple accounts. Apparently Monzo give you different ‘pots’ to split your money up. When my wage comes in I transfer the amount need for bills plus a food budget etc over to the bills account. Then I see what’s left and give myself £50 a week spending money for lunches, personal shopping etc. (I really want to be better at making my lunch for work but ADHD brain makes that hard.) once I have my spending calculated all the extra goes into my savings.

If I know my bills are coverec and have money for weekly food bill in one account it makes me feel safer as that money is ‘tucked away’. All my Direct debits cone out of the bills account and I use that debit card for food shopping. That way I keep track of the important stuff in one place. Every bill is paid from there (even the wheelie bin cleaner people). I can then look at all my direct debits in one place.

I also keep a daily track of my spending account. So I know I have x amount be and get paid in y weeks. So x divided by y is my fun money. (Some weeks I spend less than my £50 budget)

Piggybacking on this because my autistic elder son (44, lives independently, works as a builder's labourer) who also has ADHD is constantly in financial difficulties. A lot of advice here depends on being paid monthly, but he gets paid weekly which makes monthly bills awkward for him, and there's no paid holiday or sick leave, so no work means no pay.

A spreadsheet never worked for me, because I go through feast and famine in terms of interest - I'll either be updating it several times a day impatient for the next transaction, or I'll ignore it for 3 months. The problem with ignoring for 3 months is then it's totally and utterly out of sync and it's a real headache to get it working again.

I use YNAB now. It's a pain because it's expensive, although I do find it saves us more than it costs (never thought it would, but it does) - there are some decent alternatives, though, look up "YNAB alternatives" and have a look.

The specific bits that help with my ADHD and why:

It's an envelope system. It forces me to look at what we have, now. What I will need by the next pay period. It's not forecasting and it's not saying "Well I planned to spend X but I spent Y" it forces you to account for the amount extra that you spend. I HAVE to take it from another "envelope" and if I do not then it takes it for me out of the next income that comes in. With forecasting or where you generally think OK I get 500, I need 300 for bills, I have 200 left over - I am liable to mentally "spend" that £200 several times over, often £20 here, £20 there, not realising that I've already gone over it. An envelope system prevents that kind of magical thinking.

It has cross-checks, in YNAB speak "reconciliation" - periodically (and this doesn't need to be on a regular schedule - it works as well after 3 days as 3 months) cross check with the actual bank and ensure everything is up to date and nothing is missing. This ensures that it always makes sense.

Some level of automation. I didn't always use the bank connect feature and it worked just as well without it, but being able to enter recurring bills as recurring for instance rather than remembering them every month. I do use the bank connect feature now I'm used to it and it helps getting DH's transactions through directly because I manage his bank as well now. But anything that cuts down on the stuff that is boring when the shine wears off is helpful.

It has pretty graphs and visualisations (on the web version) - now, in all honesty, I don't use these much, but they are really motivating and make me want to look at the program. I have also added emojis onto my categories, just because it's pretty and makes it fun. A dopamine booster, if you like.

The automatically calculated goals help turn far-away, teeny-tiny in the distance financial goals into instant gratification by telling me how much I need to add to them NOW to make that thing I want (or need) affordable LATER. It's easy in January to think next Christmas is ages away, but I already have £58.34 saved for it. That will mean by next November I'm not scrabbling around desperately wondering how I'm going to manage/running up debt.

The idea of planning for future expenses (known in YNAB as True Expenses) means that you look ahead to yearly things like car tax, Christmas, birthdays etc and when you get going, even things like appliance/phone replacement, so you have money for them before they break - this all helped me see that there is no such thing as a "normal month" - I was forever going oh that was an expensive month, but it was a one off because XYZ, problem was we would never catch up to that "one off" month and another one off month would come along, then we would think oh we've had a quiet month so let's do something fun, without a clear road map, it was just a bit of a nightmare. Now I can actually see if we can afford something or if I'm just kidding myself. I even have a category called "ADHD tax" where I put stuff that I've cost myself because of ADHD, or use to pay for things that make my life easier that I might have previously thought were frivolous.

None of these features are exclusive to YNAB and you can find many of them in other formats, so not saying it's the only way to do it, just explaining what about it has been helpful to me.

There is a reddit forum, a whole library of help documents, several youtubers who talk about it, a podcast... a mine of stuff to hyperfocus on. I tried using the method first, without the software, but did cave and go for the software in the end. I couldn't afford the yearly fee initially so I thought OK, I'll pay monthly for a few months, and save up the yearly fee. By the time I've saved it up, I'll decide if I want to pay it or keep the money. I paid it, and it has paid me back. I can't tell you how, only the things I've said above.

Go to one of the money charities. They can walk you through things step by step

Britinme the only time I managed money ok was when I was paid weekly.
You need to save up so you have a month in hand. The bills for this month are paid out of money in the account already. Then new earnings are for next month.
That's a YNAB thing, it's brilliant

That would indeed be an excellent notion. However, he always has so many debts that any influx is immediately swallowed up. Mostly this is completely his fault - to give you an example, when the ULEZ zone came in, he kept driving into a place he thought was not in it, which was just in it, and after the first letter came telling him about the fine, he thought any subsequent letters were reminders and he didn't bother opening them... The result of this is a £3000 debt that has had bailiffs knocking at his door, which he is also ignoring. Unfortunately I live on the other side of the Atlantic and am limited in what I can do apart from making sure his rent and council tax and TV licence are paid. I'm planning a visit to the UK in Feb/March to try and help him get a handle on this, and was hoping some of the suggestions on this thread might help. Currently he has no internet and only a burner phone, because he didn't pay to keep his wifi going and broke the smart phone he had (an old iPhone of mine that I passed on to him when I upgraded).