Can we talk about ADHD tax?

[CigarettesAndLoveBites]

So this is something that has come up on a recent thread that I was following. I'd never heard the term before but there were lots of posts agreeing that it's a thing.

Long story short, I have a piggy bank that I put cash into. (The long story is why I have cash but that's not relevant here!). It's what I spend on impulse purchases such as FB Marketplace or charity shop shopping. I was diagnosed late last year, and realising that my impulse purchases were down to my ADHD, I called it my ADHD fund. Then, as I say, it came up on a thread recently and the term "ADHD tax" was mentioned. I get it! I recently paid most of my piggy bank funds into my bank account to stop me from digging into it.

So I was wondering ADHD MNetters, can you give me examples of your ADHD tax and in more importantly - how do you manage it?

Anyone?

Lego. Usually funded via PayPal or Klarna pay in 3 for sets that are over £60. I am totally addicted to Lego and I find it very therapeutic. Books prior to this before I had dc. When my dds were small the next directory was my impulse buys. Mugs. Plants for the garden. Food I don’t get round to eating which annoys and shames me.

That's just budgeting for things you value no? My ADHD tax is things like - car parking tickets, fines for being in the wrong lane, not returning something that didn't fit on time, not changing some tickets ahead of time, spending more on lunch out than I can afford because I didn't plan etc.

Ok, having to pay back my student loan because I didn’t send the deferment form back in time and they wouldn’t accept the reason.

Just had ADHD tax today, bought a non-refundable ticket for an event and then had ADHD paralysis so couldn't go to the event. A few weeks ago another tax - missed flight because I lost track of time. Spent £70 on a new flight. Once I kept paying a late fee on my EE phone bill for a whole year because I just kept forgetting to pay on time. There is many more examples.

As for how I manage it, I don't. I just forgive myself and try to not spiral into shame and self-hate.

Oh God, I used to call this idiot tax before I realised that there was an actual reason and I got a diagnosis!

I have… ordered the wrong size carpet because I couldn’t be bothered to remeasure the room it was in and just wanted to order it NOW.
Ordered the wrong size door because evidently small details are not my forte
Wasted hundreds of pounds ordering clothes online that I then miss the deadline to send back for a refund
Had parking tickets I was intending to appeal, left it too late and then just had to pay the increased fine
Missed presale prices for various events
Spent a fortune on food by getting takeaways when we had a full fridge because nothing on offer made my brain purr
Bought food I wanted, then it has expired in the back of the fridge because it was put behind something else and I forgot it existed

Literally so much. When I write it down it makes me realise that there has been an actual financial consequence to having ADHD which I don’t think I realised before.