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When Chi Liao, a finance professor at the University of Manitoba, began researching the connection between ADHD and financial outcomes, his findings confirmed much what many with ADHD, already suspected. “I found that those with more severe childhood ADHD symptoms are significantly more likely to experience difficulty paying bills, payment delinquency, lack of emergency savings, and delays in purchasing necessities,” he told Investopedia. Still, he was struck by his finding that “even individuals with moderate symptoms in childhood, who likely would not have met the threshold for diagnosis, showed worse financial outcomes as adults.”
The good news is that once you understand how your ADHD affects your finances, you can build financial strategies that work for, not against, you.
The Hidden Financial Cost of ADHD
Recent research by Liao and others has revealed how profoundly ADHD affects financial decision-making—often in ways that render traditional advice moot. While mainstream investment guidance has embraced behavioral finance, acknowledging that we’re not always rational with money, it still fails to address the specific challenges faced by those who are neurodivergent.
Long-term studies of those with ADHD paint a sobering picture. Liao found that people with ADHD have more accounts sent to collections and are more likely to turn to high-interest payday loans. Patterns that persist regardless of education level or income.
Among the children Liao’s study followed into adulthood, “even those…who had moderate symptoms fared worse financially than those in the bottom third (mild/no symptoms),” he said. “This suggests that the more severe the ADHD symptoms, the stronger the effect on financial distress.”
A separate 2020 study found that between the ages of 25 and 30, adults with ADHD show considerably slower growth in income and savings while often remaining financially dependent on their family. By age 30, they’re earning 37% less per month than their peers. The projected retirement gap is staggering: 40% less net worth in the best-case scenario, potentially ballooning to 64% less—about $431,000—when accounting for the inconsistent saving patterns that are the hallmarks of those with ADHD.
How ADHD Lightens Your Wallet
The symptoms that define ADHD make it harder to track expenses, remember due dates, stay organized with bills and important documents, and focus on financial statements and budgets. Perhaps the most financially dangerous symptom is impulsivity, which can drive spontaneous purchases and makes it seem impossible to stick to spending plans.
In addition, many people with ADHD underestimate how long financial tasks will take or put them off until the last minute, leading to rushed decisions, errors, and late fees.
Fast Fact
Some experts have taken to calling the extra expenses those with ADHD face a hidden “ADHD tax.”
Practical Strategies That Work
Experts who specialize in ADHD have developed specific financial strategies for those who have it:
Make Spending Visible and Immediate
The biggest weapon against impulsive spending is making your purchases impossible to ignore. You can set up weekly reviews of debit card purchases and monthly credit card bill reviews. That way, you can track your spending patterns and find items you can return or cancel, including forgotten subscriptions.
But the key for you could be tracking spending in real time, not just revisiting your purchases later. Even if you don’t keep a perfect record, the act of writing down purchases creates a crucial pause that can prevent impulse buying.
Tip
Not all is doom and gloom for this demographic. Research has shown that those who have ADHD are significantly overrepresented (29% in one sample) among entrepreneurs, and they may be twice as likely as university graduates without ADHD to start their own businesses.
Automate Everything You Can
Set up automatic bill payments for recurring expenses like utilities, car payments, and credit cards. To avoid temptation, set up your paycheck so that money is automatically deposited into savings and retirement accounts before it reaches your checking account.
You can also create recurring monthly direct deposits on payday that send money to your savings account without you having to remember. This “pay yourself first” approach removes the cognitive load of constantly making financial decisions.
Later, once you have an emergency fund in place and you’re ready to invest, you might consider a robo-advisor that can further automate your savings with set contributions in a diversified portfolio.
Leverage Technology and Visual Systems
Many people with ADHD are visual thinkers, so using budgeting apps with charts and graphs, creating simple visual budget boards, or using colored envelopes for cash spending categories can be particularly helpful.
Look for apps that import transactions automatically, which helps if you frequently lose or forget to ask for receipts, and that can suggest budgets based on your actual spending patterns rather than wishful thinking.
But you’ll also want to avoid the many retail apps and platforms that deliberately gamify shopping and risky behaviors like gambling with points, streaks, flash sales, and “limited time” offers that can trigger impulsivity in just about anybody, including those with ADHD.
The Bottom Line
The research is clear: many people with ADHD face genuine challenges with financial decision-making, from impulsivity that drives spontaneous purchases to finding budgeting and managing bills overwhelming.
Automation can help eliminate the need to constantly remember and decide—set up automatic bill payments, savings transfers, and investment contributions. You can make spending more visible through real-time tracking, as well as visual tools, and apps that provide immediate feedback rather than complex spreadsheets.
