ADHD debt help: Managing finances can be tough, but not unmanageable

woman pulling a credit card out of her wallet

We’ve all made financial decisions we’ve come to regret. Now, let’s add another wrinkle to this scenario. What if you knew these purchases were impulsive but you made them anyway? What if you knew bills were piling up but you weren’t able to bring yourself to look at them, let alone pay them? What if you weren’t able to talk about your financial difficulties with your family, spouse or partner without getting defensive and taking things personally? What if you have ADHD and need debt help.

How ADHD affects money decisions

These are some of the major money problems people with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, or ADHD, as it’s commonly known, can have. The DSM-5, a manual of diagnoses and criteria which psychologists use to diagnose patients, defines ADHD as “a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development.” To break that down, we all have something called executive function: That’s a function of the brain that allows us to review and think about the decisions we are making, and create a strategy for seeing those decisions through. Now, people like me, who have ADHD—we don’t have as much control over that executive function. And what that looks like from the outside is impulsive and erratic behaviour, which can have financial consequences. According to a study from Ohio State University, people who suffer from ADHD are far more likely to make impulsive purchases, pay late fees on bills, have overdrawn bank accounts and change occupation. The reason for that is something the study calls delay discounting, or the preference amongst ADHD patients for short term rewards over larger long term or delayed rewards.

ADHD debt help–there are resources

As someone with ADHD, I have experienced each and every one of these challenges; however, they are not insurmountable. Laura MacNiven, the co-founder and director of services at Springboard Clinic, which specializes in treating patients with ADHD, discusses some of the biggest challenges faced by ADHD patients, and some practical solutions they can take to mitigate them. Even if you don’t have ADHD, some of this advice can be helpful; after all, ADHD patients aren’t the only people who make impulsive purchases, and no one wants to miss bill payments.

Managing impulse spending when you have ADHD

According to the study, one of the best ways to manage those impulsive purchases is to learn your temptations. Where do you tend to make the most impulsive purchases? Is it at malls? Arts and crafts stores? Museum gift shops? Knowing your purchasing habits can help you avoid going to these places when it is not essential to do so. However, at some point you are going to have to go shopping, whether for groceries, gifts or pleasure. One thing MacNiven recommends is to create a checklist of questions to ask yourself before every purchase: “When you’re about to buy something, you should ask yourself, ‘Have I thought about this purchase for more than 30 minutes?’” According to MacNiven, that 30 minutes gives the brain time to engage its executive function. She also recommends you make a list and stick to it. Shopping with someone else? Give them the list to help you stay accountable to it. Ah, you might say, but not all shopping happens at stores. The rise of e-commerce and online shopping has unleashed a torrent of impulsive spending. If you find yourself spending a lot online, MacNiven recommends keeping your credit card information offline as much as possible, and avoiding automatic billing where you can. For example, try to pay for things with money in your bank accountant, you can use PayPal for online purchases with your bank account as well.

Can you managing credit cards and debt with ADHD on your own?

We all know how intimidating and disheartening that ever growing credit card balance can be. And which number on the statement do you need to pay—is it okay to go with the “minimum payment due?” But underneath that, the “new balance” is listed, too. “Being bombarded with all these different numbers can be a challenging executive function task,” MacNiven says, and they can be difficult to focus on and difficult to understand for people with ADHD. This is where “delay discounting” again rears its cloudy head. Why deal with it now? It can wait! Let’s go sign up for another streaming or subscription service! Furthermore, it’s now easier than ever to get quick credit; I can remember a point when I had a CIBC line of credit, a Visa card and a PC Financial MasterCard. I’m still a student. At no point was I aware of the respective balances, and I would avoid dealing with the consequences for as long as I could. “Some of my patients don’t trust themselves to hold [credit] cards,” MacNiven notes. However, if you have to have one (for instance, to build credit, or for emergencies), she suggests making sure to set up an automatic monthly payment against your balance. If you can afford to, paying off your balance on every statement is also a good way to manage a credit card.

For those with ADHD, paying bills on time is a must

As we’ve mentioned before, all those impulsive purchases and various credit card accounts will leave you with a massive bill (or bills)—and delayed discounting will make it hard to want to deal with this seemingly insurmountable problem. In cases like these, MacNiven recommends asking a family member or partner to help you manage bill payments. The big irony about finances right now is that, although there are now many, many, more ways to spend impulsively and accumulate debt, there are also now ADHD debt help tools available now. Consider using an app like Mint, which brings together all of your bank accounts and helps you track what you spend money on. Or, take advantage of tools from your bank’s own app. This article is presented by CIBC Pace It, as part of the MoneySense guide to debt management. MORE ABOUT SMART SPENDING:

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KatS says:

March 30, 2020 at 8:37 am

I’m a 43 year old with ADHD, and I have a credit card for building credit, but I also have a KOHO card which I use to add my own money so I can control my impulse spending. I can still use it like a credit card for hotels, car rentals etc.. but it allows me to control the impulses. With PayPal on so many sites though e-commerce impulse spending can still be an issue, you don’t even notice your balance going down and then all of a sudden you have no money. Again this prepaid card has helped me deal with that as I set the amount to send to it. People with ADHD also suffer from higher addictions including gambling and online games. Disconnecting your game store payments from your payPal will help people control this. From my experience PayPal is not an answer for people with ADHD.

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Erin Lundgren says:

April 3, 2020 at 12:56 pm

I would love to see more articles like this. I wasn’t able to control my debt for so many years. I never attributed it to my ADHD. So many people struggle with finances.

It took a concerted effort to finally get it under control. Since I did decide work to manage it, it has become something of an obsession. I don’t know if that is the benefit of hyper focus.

Some tools I use are:
All my bills are automatically charged to my PC Mastercard so I don’t miss a payment (also earn PC points)

My PC Mastercard is set to alert me when my balance hits $1200 and every time a purchase over $50 is charged (so I can’t ignore my purchases). I chose that amount because that is usually how much I spend on utilities etc biweekly and can pay it off easily

I separate all my money into sub accounts so I can keep my finances straight. The one savings and one chequing account doesn’t work for me
My credit union allows me to name each sub account so I have TFSA(emergency/long term savings)/Municipal Taxes/Student Loan funds and a house/car maintenance or repair account.

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Sara says:

September 10, 2022 at 11:09 am

I am 36 years old and I have been trying to pay down my credit cards and unfortunately sometimes I forget putting other bills ahead of paying down my credit cards. Thus resulting in delinquencies. My dad is obsessed with knowing how much I need to pay. What I used the cards for and etc. and honestly it’s causing more anxiety for me.

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