Avoiding Overspending when you have ADHD

If you’re wondering how to stop overspending with ADHD…well, I’m still working on that myself, but I’ve learned how to avoid it to a greater extent, and I think I’m close enough to share what’s been working best for me. 

Impulsive spending was actually one of the symptoms I first read about that, unfortunately, fit me perfectly, right down to the shame that always followed buying something I knew I probably could’ve waited on. I still remember clearing out my house in Oregon before we moved and finding multiple instances of the same items over and over again, because I’d basically buy something the moment I felt inclined. It caused problems in my marriage, and it filled me with self-dislike multiple times. 

So hopefully, what I’ve got here will help you. As always, you can go here to watch me talk about it, or listen to it below or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Before we get into it…

Overspending or impulse spending can come from a number of places. It can just be a weird ADHD impulse, but it can also be from boredom, sadness, or a need to feel useful. I highly suggest taking a close look at your spending patterns, to make sure that there isn’t another reason for you. If there is, I even…uh…higher-ly?…suggest that you work with a therapist to help get to the bottom of that. 

If you know that you’re just struggling to work past those ADHD urges, then here’s what I’ve been doing that’s gotten me from spending embarrassing amounts of money on mobile games to spending $0 this past month: 

I have something to save up for.

In all ways and in all things, ADHD brains need structure. We can’t just be given a free day to do whatever we want, because most of the time that results in sitting on our asses, doing nothing. This isn’t because we’re lazy; it’s because we don’t have any idea of what to do next, and there are too many options out there for a brain that doesn’t think linearly. 

When the problem isn’t something to do, an options list won’t help. But a goal will. 

Think of it like an options list for your money, but the option is something big and special that you really, really want. 

This is key: whatever you choose to save up for needs to be big. It can’t just be a pair of shoes that you saw for $100 somewhere. This is for two reasons: 

1. If it’s something too small, the exercise won’t be long enough for you to get used to avoiding that urge to spend, and 
2. Getting to that goal will feel amazing, teaching your brain that ignoring the impulse to spend comes with big rewards. Even if you don’t reach that goal, though, it’ll still leave you in a position to do something special for yourself that’ll give you bigger returns than it would if you spent every time you felt like it. 

Personally, I dreamt up a “perfect trip” to New York that would cost me $15,000 and would include a nice hotel, first class tickets, and a Broadway showing of Hamilton. Am I close to that number? HELL no. Will I ever be close to that number? Who the hell knows? What I do know is that I greatly enjoy seeing the little bar tracking my progress go up ever so slightly every time I’m able to add something to it. That dopamine fix has been a big part of why I don’t spend anywhere near as much anymore. 

That’s another thing: keep track of your progress somewhere you can easily see it and update it. It’ll feel good every time you see it change in your favor, I promise. 

I keep track of MY finances.

…and only my finances. If you’re the person handling all finances in the house, put your personal finances on a separate spreadsheet. 

I honestly think that the reason more of us don’t do this is because we know deep down that we’ve screwed up, and we don’t want to have to look at what we know will probably be disastrous numbers. 

I’m not going to lie to you: that’s probably what will happen. The first time I actually sat down and logged all my purchases for the prior month, I nearly sobbed and wound up apologizing to my husband a million times. It did not feel good. But it did give me the knowledge I needed to suddenly feel much more keyed-in to what I needed to stop doing. I didn’t get it right at first, but I was much more aware of how that 19.99 I spent on coins to play mobile BINGO (hush. I know.) would eventually add up if I didn’t knock it off. 

I also have simplified things a bit by using the Profit First Method when figuring out my business’s finances. 

That link will probably explain it better than my financially-illiterate ass could, but if you don’t feel like reading it, I’ll try my best, and use myself as an example. 

So the point of Profit First is to make sure that business owners are able to pay themselves from the beginning by ensuring that they take a percentage of each sale. You essentially split your money between profit, pay, operational expenses, and taxes, and Profit First purists will suggest you keep separate accounts for each. 

I do not do that because I would lose money and have no idea where it went. 

Instead, I keep three accounts, two with one bank, and one with another. In one account, I keep my operational expenses. In my savings, I keep my pay and my taxes. In my home account that I keep with my husband, I send my profit. 

I keep track of all of this in a spreadsheet I made, and I set up a calendar reminder each Friday to update it. Because I only work between two banks, I’m able to simply sign in to each and review a small number of spaces for expenses and payments. 

If you’re reading this and you’re like “this sounds terrible,” I promise you that it becomes sort of fun, especially after your first small victory. I don’t mean necessarily making money, but realizing that you don’t have to log any expenditures for the first time ever. 

So you get to keep track of the money you’ve spent and the money you make, and that stuff will stay in the back of your mind when you feel like spending $50 on an 800-pack of Marvel character pencils. 

For me, anyway, the answer has been making sure that I have direct knowledge of where I’m standing. Maybe that’ll work for you, too. And if you’d like some help, you know where to find me.