According to the latest research published in the journal of the Academy of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy (JMCP), an estimated 8.7 million American adults are living with ADHD.
If you live with ADHD, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, you may be paying an especially high price on everything from goods and services to interest and penalties. Jobs may be tough to hold down and planning for the future by budgeting and setting cash aside in savings can feel all but impossible.
This issue is known as the ADHD tax, a hidden financial toll on people who have the disorder. Keep reading to find out how it affects peoples’ financial well-being and how to minimize its side effects.
What Is the ADHD Tax?
People with ADHD typically have difficulty focusing, completing tasks and organizing. They also may have trouble controlling their movements and might frequently fidget and experience extreme restlessness. Maintaining self control and struggling with impulsivity are also common markers of the disorder.
All of these things make shopping and effectively managing money and credit products a challenge. The ADHD tax can best be described as an extra cost that people who have the disorder end up paying.
Some examples include:
— Unintentionally missing credit card payments and being assessed penalties and higher interest rates.
— Compulsively charging and getting into expensive consumer debt.
— Difficulty prioritizing.
— Purchasing items impulsively, at the wrong time, when they’re too expensive or when they’re unnecessary.
— Not taking care of possessions so they need to be replaced too fast.
[Related:Shopping Rules to Slash Impulse Spending]
Jesse J. Anderson, author of “Extra Focus: The Quick Start Guide to Adult ADHD,” has ADHD and knows how hard it is to live in a world not designed for people who have the disorder.
“There’s a strain of trying to work within a system with rules that are incompatible to you,” Anderson says.
“When you have ADHD, little difficulties add up. Micro-mistakes end up as big problems. For me, one thing is prospective memory, which is remembering to remember something so I can take action,” he adds.
Case in point: One might subscribe to a no- or low-fee service with the intention of canceling it before the price escalates, then forget about the date entirely.
“The phrase ‘out of sight, out of mind’ really is true for a lot of people with ADHD,” Anderson says. “Something like paperwork may be really important to complete but if I put it in a drawer I’ll never think of it again. This happens all the time. Mail piles up on the kitchen counter.”
Olivia Dreizen Howell, CEO of Fresh Starts Registry, an online registry platform, in East Northport, New York, was diagnosed with ADHD. She has an amazing ability to multitask, she said in an email interview, but the constant chatter in her head can be overwhelming, making follow through extremely difficult.
“When it comes to tasks like returning items I have bought online, I have both executive functioning concerns,” Howell said.
“This is demonstrated like having to print a label, put the label on the box, put the items in the box, put the box in the car. Often, I put the items in the car and drive around with them for a while! I also have anxiety about getting the task done, as a large part of ADHD is struggling with completing a task,” she added.
Howell also experiences the ADHD tax after online shopping. She either forgets to send what she doesn’t want back or has anxiety about the process, then loses the money on the return.
“The other big piece of ADHD and financial impact for me is I tend to over-stock my house with necessary items because I forget I had already bought it,” Howell said. “If I don’t see the item in front of me, I will forget it is there and buy it again. Sometimes this means items can expire over time, as well, and I have to rebuy them.”
The Extended Impact of the ADHD Tax
Having a partner with ADHD can also be challending because the difficulties extend to the family’s finances.
For example, Rachel Herbst, co-founder of Local Donuts, a small batch donut shop in Cary, North Carolina, says she had a hard time getting on the same financial page with her husband, who has been diagnosed with ADHD.
“It was next to impossible to get him to sit down and create a budget with me,” Herbst says. “He felt overwhelmed, depressed and at a loss. Executive dysfunction was a huge problem.”
[Related:Best Budget Apps for Couples in 2024]
When adults who are responsible for spouses and children make financial decisions that are not well thought out, short- and long-term goals can be impacted. The ADHD tax can upend an entire household’s stability.
“Work can be a huge issue,” Anderson says.
“People with ADHD can go from zero to 100 in a second, getting really excited or really upset. If a boss says something in a meeting that ticks you off, you will react immediately. That leads to getting fired, or you say, ‘forget this place, I’m out of here.’ I’ve had like 30 different jobs. When you have ADHD you get bored, and that feels like torture,” he adds.
Income instability when dependents are involved is especially problematic.
Credit damage can hurt more than just the borrower. Neglecting credit card and loan due dates results in low credit scores, excess fees and higher interest. Which can make buying a home more expensive and difficult.
This is particularly agitating for the person with ADHD because they may have had the funds available but didn’t send the money on time.
Saving money can also be tough, as unplanned shopping decisions can deplete cash required for essential purchases.
[Related:Ways to Save Money on a Tight Budget]
How to Lower the ADHD Tax
Getting the correct diagnosis is the first step toward managing the financial impact of the disorder, Herbst says.
“Since getting his ADHD diagnosis, it’s been eye opening and has helped my husband understand himself better,” she says.
“We’ve been able to come up with a real financial wellness plan for ourselves, stick to it, and regularly sit down together to check in without him feeling overwhelmed. Knowing it ‘has a name’ has been life changing,” she adds.
Anderson, who also has a weekly ADHD newsletter with more than 60,000 subscribers called Extra Focus, advises others with the disorder how to mitigate most of the associated challenges. Chief among her suggestions are:
— Use electronic calendar reminders. For payments that are due, set up reminders with your bank so prompts come to you in the form of texts or emails. This also works for things like time-sensitive special deals. “It really helps with free trials,” Anderson says. “Before I hit OK, I hit a calendar reminder for when I need to cancel.”
— Put important paperwork in your line of sight. “You want to notice it,” Anderson says. “Have things in your way. For tasks I need to do, I write them on a big white board that is hung up in a place I can’t avoid. Some strategies feel silly or childish but they work.”
— Lean into novelty. “Always try new things,” Anderson says. “Put up stickers for when bills are due, then move on to something else that works. It’s so exciting for our brain.”
— Be open with people you trust. One of the best methods to stay on financial track is to let other people know that you have ADHD and to ask for their help. “I say, ‘If I forget, please tell me,'” Anderson says.
Being candid with people has helped Howell better manage her shopping. She asks others to help her organize her thoughts so she can complete a large return, especially when it requires multiple labels or she has various items that need to go back.
Howell is also more careful with what she buys online, and makes sure the return process is as easy as possible. She’s been using clear boxes for everything so she can literally see the items she has and doesn’t feel the desire to buy them again if they’re unnecessary, now or in the future or at all.
“So much of ADHD is figuring out systems to make your life work,” Howell said. Once you implement them, the tax is reduced and you feel more in control, not just over money but over life in general.
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ADHD Tax: What It Is and How to Avoid It originally appeared on usnews.com
