Category: ADHD and Money

Financial planning with ADHD: Tips to help you get started

Man managing his finances

Financial planning with ADHD | Tips to help you get started

Financial planning is vital for anyone, but especially for people with ADHD, who may have difficulty managing their money effectively. Financial planning is the process of organizing your finances to achieve your financial goals. Once developed, a financial plan will act as your roadmap to help you reach your aspirations. And if done correctly, will also help to put the structure in place to ensure that your spending does not derail your plans and take you off track.

While financial planning is essential for people with ADHD to help them reach their financial goals, often, the symptoms of ADHD can get in the way of developing such a plan. This article will walk through what is involved in creating a financial plan while outlining what tools and tips may help you navigate challenges you may face because of your ADHD.

The other alternative to creating a financial plan on your own is to seek out the help of a certified financial planner. These services can help you develop a plan that is right for you. They can provide the technical expertise to help determine your goals while keeping you on track. All of that while ensuring you are still in control of what you do and how you use the money you make.

But if you choose to go at it alone, here is how to do it.

How Do you Create a Financial Plan?

 

1. Define your future: Goals

The first step in creating a financial plan is to establish your goals. For this step, you need to ask yourself where you want to be in a few years.  

This type of long-term planning can be challenging to focus on or to even begin. A good tip is to use a timer to help keep it interesting. Set your timer to 5 minutes and write down everything you want to do or have in your life. If you feel like you didn’t cover everything, repeat this step using 5-minute intervals to capture all of your aspirations.

While you are going through this exercise, try to think of some micro-term goals -things that you want to achieve within a month or less. Micro-term goals can help to keep you motivated when executing your plan. Since you can reach them quickly, they will help give you a “dopamine hit” which can help you feel successful and hopefully encourage you to stick with your plan.

Once you have your list, set another timer for 5 minutes and quickly categorize everything by how you long you think it should take before you achieve it.  

As someone with ADHD, this type of planning can be very challenging. Here are a few tips to help you get through this step.

  1. Make it visible – Use a visual timer or an “hourglass”.
  2. Put on music – sometimes music can help focus your attention on a task.
  3. Just do it – Sometimes you must accept that you have to do things because they are good for you. This may be one of those times.
  4. Move around – Moving while creating your list of goals can help increase dopamine levels. Take a walk or stand and write on a whiteboard. 
  5. Narrate your ideas – Instead of writing them down, you could record them and use a speech-to-text app to get them into a document you can use later
  6. Rest, Relax and Eat – Make sure you are in a good mental state before starting this task. Going into the process while you are well rested, not hungry, and in a good head-space will increase your chances of success.

2. Assess your current state: Tracking

The next step in creating a financial plan is to assess where you are today. To do this, you will need to understand how much you currently pay for your bills, how much debt you now owe, and how much you spend on yourself for things like food, clothing, and other “discretionary” expenses. 

Tracking expenses can be difficult for anyone. It requires a sustained focus and attention to detail over time. This may be particularly challenging, depending on your particular ADHD symptoms. To help with this step, take advantage of apps and software that can automatically track and compile your spending into categories for you to analyze. 

You can check out this post for a list of Money Management Apps.

Outcome of this step: A detailed list of all your expenses, debts, and how much you currently pay for everything.

Personal financial palnning on a napkin

3. Develop a Plan: Putting it all together

The next step in the process is to look at where you want to go compared to where you currently are financially. Think through the following:

Income:  Determine if your current income and projected future income will be enough to reach your goals. If not, decide how you will increase your income (I.e., Side hustle, improve skills, ask for a raise, find a new job, etc.) If yes, move on to the next step.

Investing: Your long-term goals, like retirement, will likely need more funds than you can contribute from your income alone. Therefore, you will need to develop an investment strategy to help supplement your savings.

Security: What safeguards do you have to ensure you will receive the income you have projected in the last step and not lose the wealth you accumulate.

Options to secure your money:

  • Build an emergency fund. Emergency funds help you manage unforeseen expenses.
  • Keep your money in an insured bank.
  • Purchase insurance to protect your wealth and your income potential (I.e., disability insurance, health insurance, homeowners or renter’s insurance, etc.)

Spending: How do you ensure you spend and save the right amount at the correct times to reach your goals? Build a budget.

Outcomes of this step: 

  • Determining if and how to increase your income if necessary
  • Purchasing insurance to secure your income potential and your wealth
  • A budget that you can stick to.
  • Your plan detailing how you will achieve your goals and manage your spending and saving to reach your objectives. 

4. Execute the plan: Making it all work for you

You now have all the pieces in place. The last step is to live your plan. In your plans, you will identify actions that need to occur—purchasing insurance, increasing your income, and investing for the long term. 

All of these tasks take place now. Additionally, you should now have a weekly or monthly budget that you can use to help you appropriately allocate the money you have coming into your different goals.

This is another stage when apps and automation can play a huge role in helping someone with ADHD reach their goals. 

For more tips on how to manage your money with ADHD, please check How ADHD May Affect Your Money

Conclusion

 

One of the most critical aspects of financial planning is understanding where you want to be financially. Your goals may include saving for retirement, buying a home, or paying off debt. It’s essential to be realistic about what you can achieve and create an achievable plan using your available resources.

As someone with ADHD, this type of planning, organization and focus can be challenging. While it may not keep your interest, it is critically important to help you reach your goals. If you get derailed by any part of the planning process, seek help from friends, family, ADHD coaches, or certified financial planners. Their guidance and support can help to get you back on track.

Further Reading

Does ADHD cause impulse buying?

A person using their card to pay online

Does ADHD cause impulse buying?

Introduction: ADHD and Impulse buying

Impulsivity is a common trait found in people who have ADHD. While this does not mean all people with ADHD always impulse buy, some people with ADHD can be more prone to this habit. 

Why do people with ADHD buy impulsively

 

There is no definitive answer to whether ADHD causes impulse buying, as research on the topic is relatively limited. However, ADHD does affect executive functioning, which controls decision-making, planning, and organization.  

Suppose one’s ability to consider the outcome of their actions is impacted because of ADHD along with their decision-making abilities. In that case, we can see how this combination can lead to a tendency to have impulsive behaviors like making purchases without pausing to consider their long-term effects. 

Therefore it is important for people with ADHD to be aware of this potential tendency and learn how to manage it to avoid costly mistakes.

sad woman with credit card

How To control and avoid Impulse Buying

 

To control impulse buying, it is critical that you first acknowledge your tendency towards this habit. Once you know this, you can start working to control it.

Here are ten tips for how to control impulse buying if you have ADHD:

 
  1. Don’t bring money or means of payment with you if you don’t need to buy anything.
  2. Don’t shop when you are hungry, tired, upset, or angry. 
  3. Put a sticker on your credit or debit card to remind you of your savings goals
  4. Unsubscribe to retail emails. Most are just ads trying to encourage you to buy now.
  5. Create a rule to wait for 24 hrs. before you buy anything. The urge to buy something may fade after some time has passed. 
  6. Use debit instead of credit cards. Credit cards can make it easy to spend more money than you have, whereas debit uses only your money in your account.
  7. If you must use a credit card, use a prepaid credit card like KOHO to ensure you don’t spend more than you have 
  8. Add some friction to your spending. Take credit cards out of online accounts
  9. Remove shopping apps from your phone. 
  10. Make a list before you go shopping. If you know what you need, you’re less likely to buy things on a whim.
a lot of shopping bags

How to stop ADHD Impulse Buying?

If your impulse buying has become a critical problem, it may be time to take more drastic measures.

Remove access to your credit cards. Don’t cancel them if you can avoid it because canceling a credit card will harm your credit score. But give them to a trusted partner or friend so you cannot use them. Or put your credit card into a zip-top bag, then put that bag into a container and freeze it. You will still be able to access your credit card if necessary, but you will have to wait for it to thaw out before you can.

Do what every method works best to remove access to credit cards, including removing them from any auto-fill feature on your devices and taking them out of your online accounts. Credit cards make it too easy to buy impulsivity.

Seek help additional help. In addition to speaking to your doctor, you may need to employ a certified financial planner to help you get your spending in check. They can help you to build your budget, protect your wealth and even advise you to create your allowance if that is the best way to manage your spending.  

You may also want to ask friends and family for their support. With the love and support of the people in your life, they may be able to help you come up with creative solutions to help you better manage your spending.

The most important thing is to seek help as soon as you realize that your impulsive spending is a problem you do not think you can solve on your own. 

ADHD can make some procrastinate or ignore problems and tasks that they do not find interesting. Managing impulsive spending may not be interesting by it is extremely important. Do not delay and seek help as soon as possible.

 

Conclusion

 

So, does ADHD cause impulse buying? While ADHD may not cause impulse buying, it is clear that the symptoms of ADHD do cause some to act impulsively. This increase in impulsive behavior leads to impulse buying.

If you are struggling with impulse buying, it is crucial to seek help. Use the tips above or seek additional support from friends, family, or professionals. Many resources are available to you, and you do not have to suffer in silence.

Further Reading

Can ADHD cause overspending?

Frustrated man in park

Can ADHD cause overspending?

Introduction: ADHD and overspending

A growing body of evidence suggests ADHD might be a risk factor for overspending. People with ADHD tend to have challenges managing executive functions which can  lead to poor decision-making.. These factors, along with other symptoms of ADHD, can result in impulse shopping or spending more money than is ideal.

Why do people with ADHD overspend?

 

There is no one answer to this question as every person with ADHD is different and will manage their money in their own way. However, some possible reasons for why people with ADHD may overspend include:
Impulse control- Increased difficulty resisting the temptation of buying something in the moment
Planning – It can be challenging to see the long-term consequences of immediate spending.
Organization- Lack of tracking purchases often results in many small purchases adding up over time to a large amount.
Resistance to budgeting – Absence of a spending plan can lead to overspending in the present and not being able to save for the future.
Financial Stress – feeling overwhelmed or stressed by financial matters can result in spending as a form of relief or escape.

How to control overspending

 

Here are fifteen tips to control ADHD overspending:

1. Create a budget and stick to it. When you plan how much money you can spend each month, it can be easier to resist impulse buys.

2. Use apps to track and manage your budget. Apps can relieve some of the mental burdens of managing money manually.

3. Make a list before you go shopping. If you know what you need, you’re less likely to buy things on a whim.

4. Use debit instead of credit cards. Credit cards can make it easy to spend more money than you have, whereas debit uses only your money in your account.

5. Add some friction to your spending. Take credit cards out of online accounts, and leave home without a means to pay.

6. Give yourself an allowance. Use a prepaid debit card like KOHO to create an account for your discretionary spending.

7. Set up automatic bill payments to ensure all your bills are paid when they are due before you spend the money.

8 Setup automated transfers to savings accounts to build your savings and ensure you don’t spend all of your money.

8. Don’t shop when you are hungry, tired, upset, or angry.

9. Put a sticker on your credit or debit card to remind you of your savings goals

10. Unsubscribe to retail emails and remove their apps from your phone. Both emails and apps will try to encourage you to buy now.

11. Create a rule to wait 24 hours before you buy anything. The urge to buy something may fade after some time has passed.

12. Put online purchases in a wish list before you add them to your cart. You may forget you wanted them after your waiting period has passed

13. Refuse overdraft on your bank accounts. Don’t turn your bank account into a credit card by accepting overdraft. When you are at zero, you need to stay at zero.

14. Use your partner or a trusted friend to help keep you accountable and keep your spending in check.

15. Don’t neglect yourself. Instead, ensure you are doing everything to maintain your self-care.

 

How to stop overspending due to ADHD?

 

If your overspending has become a problem, it may be time to take more drastic measures.

Remove access to your credit cards: Don’t cancel them if you can avoid it because canceling a credit card can negatively impact your credit score. But give them to a trusted partner or friend so you cannot use them. Or put your credit card into a zip-top bag, then put that bag into a container and freeze it. You will still be able to access your credit card if necessary, but you will have to wait for it to thaw out before you can.

Do what ever method works best to remove access to credit cards, including removing them from any auto-fill feature on your devices and taking them out of your online accounts. Credit cards make it too easy and convenient to overspend.

Seek help: In addition to speaking to your doctor, you may need to employ a certified financial planner to help you get your spending in check. They can help you to build your budget, consolidate debt, protect your wealth and even advise you to create an allowance if that is the best way to manage your spending.

The most important thing is to seek help as soon as you realize that your overspending is a problem you do not think you can solve on your own. People with ADHD can procrastinate or ignore problems and tasks that they do not find interesting. Managing spending may not be interesting but it is extremely important. Do not delay. Seek help as soon as possible.

 

Conclusion 

 

So, can ADHD cause overspending? While ADHD may not cause overspending, it can certainly increase its likelihood. This is because people with ADHD often struggle with decision-making, impulse control, organization, and planning.

If you or someone you know has ADHD and struggles with overspending, follow the steps listed above or seek additional help from certified financial planners to help you get a handle on your spending.

Doing so will ensure you can reach a state of financial wellness and stability.

Further Reading

What Is the ADHD Tax?

woman feeling worried

What Is the ADHD Tax?

The ADHD Tax is a term used to describe the accumulation of fees, additional expenses, and other costs associated with the financial missteps taken by people with ADHD. Some also include the extra time needed to complete a task and mental and physical strain as part of the ADHD Tax.

An Example of the ADHD Tax 

 

I have a good friend with ADHD who decided to take a gap year when she finished high school to save up for university. 

Weeks before she was about to start school, she found herself applying for a student loan. 

All of the money she had earned in the year before she was to start school was gone. Since she never felt the passage of time, never felt the urgency to save, and never had systems to ensure some of each paycheck ended up in savings, she spent more than she realized.

She said she never felt like she was spending a lot, but little by little, all the money she made during her gap year got used up.

The money she spent, the cost of her loan, including the fees and interest she paid the disappointment she felt could all be considered the tax she had to pay due to her ADHD.

Worrying about money

What Causes the ADHD Tax

 

The symptoms of ADHD can vary from person to person, but most people can treat their ADHD with medication and therapy. But even with treatment, people with ADHD may still find themselves making decisions that can have disproportionally poor financial outcomes than those without ADHD.

Other examples include: 

  • Missing regular medical or dental checkups
  • Paying bills late, or not at all
  • Forgetting important dates that can affect their work and pay
  • Not saving or planning for the future
  • Paying more for products or services because of procrastination

All the costs a person with ADHD may pay for their financial missteps add to a huge financial burden. As we can see, the ADHD tax can cost you money, time, and physical and mental health.

How to Combat the ADHD Tax 

 

 Although the causes of the ADHD tax may vary, there are some common themes as to why people may often find themselves paying more to get through life due to the symptoms of their ADHD. The three most common reasons include forgetfulness, procrastination, or ignoring things that may not be interesting. When done consistently, these three traits can cause people with ADHD to pay heavily. But there are ways to overcome those causes.

Strategies to Avoid the ADHD Tax 

Procrastination: If you are putting off a task, you must build awareness of what is causing you to procrastinate. Are you feeling overwhelmed by the job, or do you not know how to start. Are you worried you won’t be able to do the task perfectly, or do you just feel like you shouldn’t have to do it? Once you can identify why you are procrastinating, you build systems to help you overcome them, like finding someone to keep you accountable or automating a task once, so you don’t have to remember to do it again.

Forgetfulness: If you find that you are often forgetting to do different tasks that are starting to cost you financially, you must accept that you cannot rely only on your memory to remember various tasks. Once you have acknowledged that, you can start using calendar reminders, timers, or alarms to help you remember when you need to act.

Ignoring: If you are ignoring a task because it is not interesting, try to envision the outcomes of not doing the task. That may be difficult, but if you can see the consequences of ingoing a job, you may be able to use those adverse outcomes to add urgency and motivation.

There is no easy way to minimize the ADHD tax. But you can do it. Here is a short list of other tips to help you avoid paying the ADHD Tax.

  • Automate your bills, especially the ones that can affect your credit.
  • Create visual cues to help remember important tasks and dates
  • Use budgeting apps
  • Use apps to monitor your credit score.
  • Find a trusted advisor to help you manage your finances.

Final Thoughts 

 

The ADHD Tax is the cumulation of the extra fees, additional payments, and added costs due to financial missteps taken because of the symptoms of ADHD. It can be costly. But it can be minimized by being aware of the causes and using the systems, processes, and automation noted above.

If you find you have been paying the ADHD tax, be kind to yourself. Everyone will make financial mistakes. Recolonize what you have done, try to put controls and systems in place to help avoid making the same mistake, and then move on. Shame, self-doubt, anxiety, and depression can cause more financial mistakes.

Further Reading

Managing Money with ADHD Trait: Inattentiveness

A distracted woman

Managing Money with ADHD Trait: Inattentiveness

By: Tamika Howell, Edited By: Clifton Corbin | December 27, 2022

Financial Planning has a lot of moving parts. The process can be overwhelming in general, and getting started is intimidating.

This is compounded when you have inattentive ADHD and struggle with missing details, staying on task, following through, organization, etc. You may not know where the money is going. Following through on the necessary steps to organize your finances may be tedious.

“Inattentive refers to challenges with staying on task, focusing, and organization.”

American Psychiatric Association

Finding a way to manage money that works for you may take some time. It’s taken me years to figure out what works and doesn’t. But I’ve also learned your system can evolve based on what you have going on in each phase of life.

ADHD and Inattentiveness

 

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurological disorder that can affect the ability of individuals to stay focused and organized. For those living with this condition, financial planning can present unique challenges. 

A common symptom associated with adult ADHD is difficulty paying attention, which can make it difficult to keep track of finances and budgeting activities. This may lead to missed payments, overspending, or accumulating debt as a result of not following through on financial plans. 

Having ADHD may also cause setbacks in saving for retirement or other long-term goals due to poor money management practices and lack of organizational skills necessary for successful financial planning.

A man writing down his plans

Tips for Managing Money with Inattention

 
  1. Start where you are, don’t wait until you have more money to manage. There are both free and paid resources to help you get started.
  2. Determine what you want to accomplish with your money and choose a goal with the most significant impact.
  3. To address any overwhelm, break the goal down as small as possible, then work on the next best step.
  4. If you find yourself getting stuck, ask for help.
  5. Have grace and patience with yourself in the process. Everyone makes money mistakes, don’t be ashamed because of it.

ADHD and Inattentiveness: Final Thoughts

 

While having ADHD can add some additional challenges when it comes to financial planning, it doesn’t necessarily mean that achieving success is impossible. Starting where you are, setting goals, breaking goals down into smaller tasks, and asking for help will all help you achieve success. Most importantly, give yourself grace and patience.

Further Reading

Managing Money with ADHD Trait: Impulsivity

A woman shopping online impulsively

Managing Money with ADHD Trait: Impulsivity

By: Tamika Howell, Edited By: Clifton Corbin | December 20, 2022

People with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may struggle with impulsivity because it affects an area in the brain called the Thalmus, which is responsible for impulse control. As a result, there is a delay in ADHD brains that may affect their money management decisions.

ADHD and Impulsive Spending

ADHD is a common disorder that affects approximately both children and adults. It has a wide range of symptoms, including difficulty with focusing and paying attention, impulsivity, disorganization, restlessness, and fidgeting. One common symptom associated with ADHD is impulsive spending. 

Impulsive spending can cause significant financial stress for those living with ADHD. Additionally, those with ADHD may experience difficulty budgeting or planning for future expenses due to the impulsivity associated with ADHD. 

It is important for individuals living with ADHD to be aware of the potential risks associated with impulsive spending in order to mitigate its impact as much as possible.

"Poor impulse control plays a role in imprudent shopping and overspending, impulsive compliance (saying “yes” to any invitation or interesting project), which results in overextending oneself, thereby setting the stage for poor follow through on promises."

Psychology Today
A man paying in cash

My Story of Impulsivity 

“Imprudent shopping and overspending, impulsive compliance” I deal with all of these. Especially buying things that I think will be the silver bullet for solving a problem. For example, the giant water bottle with time stamps that would get me to drink more water is currently collecting dust.

One of my significant missteps was a new car purchase. I didn’t need a new car. I needed a new CD player (dating myself).

I had a car my parents bought me that was running perfectly fine, minus the radio. But people were getting new cars after graduation, and I wanted to be people, lol.

I did not count the cost of getting a brand-new car and had deep regret when my student loan payments kicked in a few months after purchasing it. My dad put a new CD player in my old car, and it drove it for 5 or 6 more years. 

Try to pause and count the cost of a purchase or accepting an invitation with monetary obligations so there are no regrets when the initial good feelings wear off.

Tips To Minimize Impulse Spending

 

Here are some ways to minimize impulse spending:

  1. Separate funds by setting up multiple bank accounts with different spending purposes. For example, one to cover fixed monthly expenses and one for variable expenses.
  2. Use cash. It activates the pain center in the brain. You are less likely to part with cash than when you swipe a card.
  3. Create room in your budget to mitigate the impact of an impulse purchase.

ADHD and Impulsive Spending: Final Thoughts

In conclusion, impulsive spending and ADHD are closely linked, making it important for those who have been diagnosed with ADHD to be aware of the potential risks that come with it. However, with proper understanding, using the tips mentioned above, people can take precautions to prevent impulsive purchases and keep their spending habits in check. 

Further Reading

Managing Money with ADHD Trait: Forgetfulness

A woman with forgetfulness

Managing Money with ADHD Trait: Forgetfulness

By: Tamika Howell, Edited By: Clifton Corbin | December 13, 2022

In elementary school, a “Something’s Missing” form was sent home to parents to sign whenever students forgot to turn in their homework. I received several of these. They were embarrassing but not costly, lol.

As we age, forgetfulness begins to add up.  

Forgetting what’s coming out of your bank account when, and then over-drafting. Overdraft fees are, on average, $30. However, I remember times when the amount I went over was less than the fee. 

Forgetting to pay bills can result in late fees. Late payments reported to the credit bureau reduce your credit rating and can increase the cost of borrowing money.

Forgetting to cancel subscriptions or memberships that you barely use. For example, I was the queen of the gym membership with rare attendance and often forgot to cancel trial subscriptions.

Late or missed assignment consequences ranged from lower grades to retaken or dropped classes in college. I cringe thinking about the incomplete classes paid in full. 

Forgetting to take advantage of early-bird pricing to reduce the cost of event attendance. I’ve gotten better at this in recent years. For example, I purchased my last conference pass in January for $299. The final price was $750 by the time the conference came around in September.

ADHD and Forgetfulness

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a disorder that affects the way people think, act and focus. It is often characterized by forgetfulness, difficulty staying focused on tasks, hyper-focused on tasks,  hyperactivity, and impulsivity. While it affects adults, it is most commonly diagnosed in children and teenagers. 

Forgetfulness is one of the most common symptoms associated with ADHD. People with ADHD may have difficulty remembering things from day to day or following through on commitments they’ve made. This type of forgetfulness can become quite disruptive in social, educational, and professional settings where critical information must be remembered for success. 

It’s important to note that while this forgetfulness can be a symptom of ADHD, some level of forgetfulness is normal for everyone, regardless if they have been diagnosed with ADHD or not.

A woman using post its

Here are a few ways to combat forgetfulness when it comes to your money:

  • Automation is the primary solution for bill payments, but be aware of the timing of your income and withdrawals to avoid overdrafts.
  • If subscribing to a paid service for a free trial or temporarily reduced rate, cancel immediately after subscribing. 
  • Set digital alarms and reminders.
  • Create physical reminders using post-its, posters, chalkboards, or whiteboards in prominent places around the house.
  • Work with a friend or accountability partner regularly to have a second set of eyes to help with blindspots and organization.

ADHD and Forgetfulness: Final Thoughts

ADHD and forgetfulness can majorly impact your life. It is important to know how they affect your personal and professional life and take steps to manage them. This should include a diagnosis of ADHD and taking some of the steps noted above, such as using automation and creating physical reminders.  Additionally, lifestyle changes such as stress reduction, adequate sleep, proper diet, and physical activity can all help.

Be sure to seek help from your healthcare providers to give additional support and guidance in developing strategies to better manage ADHD and forgetfulness.

Further Reading

Managing Money with ADHD Trait: Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria

A woman with Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria

Managing Money with ADHD Trait: Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria

By: Tamika Howell, Edited By: Clifton Corbin | December 6, 2022

Research shows that ADHD children receive 20,000 negative messages by age 10. Imagine being told the way you exist is wrong; please change it day in and day out. Like interest, these messages compound into an internal cesspool of shame and guilt for not having “normal” behavior. As a result, one may develop Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. It co-occurs with ADHD as well as other mental health conditions.

"Rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD) is when you experience severe emotional pain because of a failure or feeling rejected."

Cleveland Clinic

What Is ADHD?

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition that affects millions of people across the world. It can cause difficulty in managing time, staying organized, and focusing on tasks. As such, it can have serious implications for individuals’ physical and mental well-being and financial consequences.

What Is RSD?

Rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD) is a condition that can affect people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). RSD is characterized by an intense emotional pain and distress that occurs in response to perceived criticism, rejection, or failure. People with RSD often feel like their worth as a person has been attacked and worry about being further rejected or judged. 

This intense reaction often leads to feelings of shame, humiliation, and low self-esteem that can impair functioning in everyday life, including work and family relationships.

Symptoms of RSD include: 

  • increased irritability, 
  • social withdrawal,
  • panic attacks, and 
  • feeling an overwhelming sense of despair. 

The intensity of such emotions can be so strong that it can cause people to avoid situations where they may experience rejection for fear of the extreme emotional discomfort it may bring up.

Money on hand

How Can RSD Affect Your Finances?

RSD is layered and presents itself in several ways. Below are some ways it may present itself financially.

  • Low Self-Esteem: Low self-esteem can translate into being underpaid. When you are unable to recognize your inherent worth and what you have to offer, you may not pursue opportunities to increase your income or net worth.
  • Avoidance: In an attempt to avoid rejection, you may only take risks where there is no chance of failing. So by not asking for a promotion when your workload increases or accepting the compensation offered instead of negotiating.
  • Perfectionism: Being a perfectionist and needing to present an image or outcome that won’t get any criticism may result in missing out on opportunities completely.
  • People Pleasing: People pleasing to be liked and accepted, you may spend time and money on things you don’t want to do.

How to Manage RSD

First, it is important that if you feel like you or someone under your care has RSD; you seek help from your medical health providers. 

With the aid of your doctor, there are several steps people with RSD can take to help manage the condition. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been proven effective in helping individuals recognize the underlying causes of their reactions to criticism and rejections. 

Additionally, relaxation techniques such as mindfulness and journaling can help reduce anxiety levels while increasing self-awareness and acceptance.

To learn more about RSD, visit the Cleveland Clinic site.

Further Reading