See Alike in...

Alike App

Browser

Possumrice

496d

Hii I’m a college student with ADD, my father with ADHD. Both of us are financially impulsive—for me it’s food or comfort items. For someone like me that owns an apartment, budgeting and managing my spending is important, but difficult. For those with ADD/ADHD, how do you—and what methods do you use to—prevent yourself from being financially impulsive?

Top reply
    • Sydie_Bear

      496d

      Just in case you didn’t know they actually retired ADD and combined it with adhd, they are both adhd now just like how they did Asperger’s and asd. Anyways!! The thing that helped me most was honestly my neurotypical dad’s way combined with my adhd mom’s way if needed. My mom told me to put some of it away in a piggie bank, where I can’t see it. Because adhd and object permanence and all, and my dad drilled into me “the goal is to spend as little as possible, If you are feeling like you need to spend it get silly little things from the dollar store” because that will fill the whole I wanna buy something impulse for a second, and it’s only a dollar for some dopamine.

    • Eren2273

      496d

      If absolutely no other advice works, you can always ask your bank to automatically decline your cards if they reach a certain amount spent or when you get to a low amount

    • Flameember

      496d

      For me, making a checklist for what bills/payments I have to pay that month, and I'm not allowed to spend on anything else but necesities till those are paid off. There are whiteboards you can get that are also calendars and have cork boards. That's my godsend for helping me keep track of what's what. And money I want to use specifically for fun stuff I use a separate account and/or have a set amount of cash per month I'm allowed to use. So say I know I have a total of 1,100 of bills I HAVE to pay per month, and I get biweekly payments of 1,250 (let's say about a total of 2,500 monthly). 2,500-1,100=1,400 that I can use for myself at the end. BUT before I take any of that for something else, I set aside car gas money (150, so 1,250), put at least half of that in my savings, leaves me with 625. Now, personally I'll put more of that away for myself or I'll put some extra towards the next month's bills so there's less to pay that month (there are usually options while you're about to make your payment that you can either just make that an extra payment or put it towards your total for the next month. So handy.). I try to keep say 100-300 in cash just cause you never know (emergency, cash tip, lost card, pay friend, etc.). Also bear in mind expenses like groceries and whatnot (varies depending on location but yeah). Thats all just an example, but the biggest thing is making sure the most important stuff is taken care of before other things are purchased. Another big thing is not allowing yourself to just use your savings/credit card as a second checking account. They aren't. I knew that but decided to find out the hard way cause thats how i roll apparently. You can also usually set reminders in your phone for them, especially setting up am auto pay or to set them so they are paid on the day of your paycheck.

    • Sydie_Bear

      496d

      Just in case you didn’t know they actually retired ADD and combined it with adhd, they are both adhd now just like how they did Asperger’s and asd. Anyways!! The thing that helped me most was honestly my neurotypical dad’s way combined with my adhd mom’s way if needed. My mom told me to put some of it away in a piggie bank, where I can’t see it. Because adhd and object permanence and all, and my dad drilled into me “the goal is to spend as little as possible, If you are feeling like you need to spend it get silly little things from the dollar store” because that will fill the whole I wanna buy something impulse for a second, and it’s only a dollar for some dopamine.

    • ajar

      496d

      This worked for me for a little bit, but I had a whiteboard in my room that I kept track of how much I spent on impulse purchases. I set an amount I was allowed to spend, and also gave myself rewards if I stayed under budget

    • WilloWake

      496d

      I'm in the same boat as you. I'm horribly impulsive with comfort foods and things, so I'd love to know what other have done to combat this.

☝ This content is generated by our users and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Want to chat or share? Download the Alike app now and get complete access to Alike.health's unique features.

Find people who are
experiencing a similar
medical reality

100% Free
100%
Free

Download Alike for the full experience

JOIN

View All

Bupropion

night sweats

paranoid

Valium

sertraline

palpitations

Anxiety (Including GAD)

Depression

palpitations

Depression

Valium

Bupropion