Podcast #27: You and Your Money

Lynda Price
Jul 8, 2024
39 min read

Updated: 9 hours ago

One thing that is always a part of your adult life is money. Do I have enough? How can I get more? What should I do with what I got? People with invisible disabilities face these questions everyday in unique ways. Here's some tips to manage your finances if you have LD, dyslexia, or ADHD.

Definition and Benefits

Of all of the topics that we've covered during these Podcasts, this one clearly doesn't need any further explanation. No matter who you are or where you live, you will always have questions about money. For instance, most folks are constantly thinking about: Do I have enough money? How can I make more money? How will I pay my bills? How can I support my family? Can I afford that trip or that car or to go to the casino with my friends?

In the 21st Century, financial security--and financial freedom--seem to be the foundation for a happy, successful adult life. Who wants to be poor? Who wants to be rich? For most adults throughout the world, having enough money clearly gives you and your family peace of mind, freedom and independence (Lafayette Federal Credit Union, 2023). As Wallace Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor famously said, "You can never be too rich or too thin."

This cliche' is particularly relevant if you have invisible disabilities. It's especially ironic because financial independence is rarely--if ever--discussed with adolescents with LD, dyslexia, or ADHD. But it's a topic that just keeps coming up over and over when you're an adult.....

Connections to LD and Dyslexia

Who would have guessed? Money and invisible disabilities often go hand-in-hand. For instance, Claney (2025) explains that: "Have you ever felt like just thinking about organizing your finances is exhausting? Or maybe you make a detailed budget, full of good intentions, only to find it impossible to follow? These experiences are common for adults with ADHD. It's not about willpower or intelligence; it's often about how the brain is wired."

Also, what helps one person with invisible disabilities may not work for everyone. For example, an accommodation often suggested to adults with LD is to rely on cash instead of credit cards. But, as the folks from Succeed with Dyslexia (2024) caution: "You’d think a shift away from cash and towards apps [for people with dyslexia] would make it easier, but that’s not always the case: although working with physical money can be tricky, nobody experiences dyslexia the same way, and over a quarter of folks with memory or learning differences still struggle with digital formats too."

Talking about the diverse connections between money and invisible disabilities is like talking in a foreign language. Perhaps, the best way to approach it is to look at five, inter-connected areas where money seems to be heavily influenced by invisible disabilities:

Dyscalculia is often discussed as a sub-category of learning disabilities. As Frazier (2022) explains: "Dyscalculia impairs an individual's ability to learn number-related concepts, perform accurate math calculations, reason and problem solve. This causes people to struggle to understand a tip or bill. [For instance], 'just give an extra 10%’ may be hard to understand, and these calculations take some decoding."

The folks from Succeed with Dyslexia (2024) agree: "Dyscalculia impacts how we interpret and process numbers, which can make a lot of things tricky — anything from saving a percentage or sticking to a budget in-store to working through card statements if something looks fraudulent."

In addition, for many people with invisible disabilities like LD or dyslexia, problems with literacy skills, especially de-coding words, numbers, and phrases, go hand-in-hand with dyscalculia. As Frazier (2022) continues, "Dyslexia involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words. The financial world is full of advertisements, sales, credit card statements, lease terms and contracts."

For example, as Frazier (2022) explains: “Think about when you are at any store and the cashier asks if you want to sign up for a Rewards Card. They make it so easy - all you have to do is say ‘Yes’, and click a button. [However] difficulty reading and comprehending what you read makes it hard to process this information, and determine the right decision.” Other examples of key financial documents or transactions that may involve reading or decoding key vocabulary often include: reading and signing contracts; buying or changing insurance; understanding long, involved legal documents with complex jargon; making bequests; or exploring new investments.

The folks from Succeed with Dyslexia (2024) add: "Mortgage paperwork. Terms and conditions updates. Utility bills. It’s all important reading, but even when they come through to us digitally, most of them still aren’t worded in a simple and accessible way. Jargon and industry-specific terms predominate, which can make them daunting to deal with, and that’s not ideal when we’re talking about complicated financial commitments."

Laura Parker, an adult with dyslexia talks frankly about these issues: "I got my first bank account when I was 16 years old. You had to go to the cash machine to get money back then, but I routinely got my PIN number wrong. I had to request a new card so often that my account was flagged as fraudulent and locked down. For a while, I had no access to my money. Because I was refused a bank account with one provider, I struggled to get another one. . . And it spiralled from there. You can only get paid when you have a bank account." Laura goes on to describe herself as: ". . . obsessing over PIN numbers and security codes, sometimes checking up to 10 times to make sure I have the number correct. . . . Managing money is a mystery to me. I've lost thousands from overpaying bills, not spotting mistakes on receipts, sending the wrong amount of money to people and getting into unnecessary debt. Feeling like your finances are out of control is distressing” (Unity Mutual, 2025).

Laura's comments echo a second hurdle that many folks with invisible disabilities face everyday--setting and then achieving life goals. Perhaps, it's because most children and adolescents with disabilities rarely make decisions for themselves. Instead, adults decide everyday where they will go and what they will do. Or, in American education, lack of decision making skills and setting goals may be built into the system; everything is usually driven by Individual Educational Plans (IEPs) made up of pre-written, computerized goals to be implemented by others (Vallejo, 2025). Consequently, folks with disabilities will leave the sheltered world of public education with little idea of what their adult lives will look like or how to achieve personal goals (Brown, 2025).

Effective goal setting can also be compounded by problems with Executive Functioning. Brown (2025) explains that: ". . . a mis-wiring of the brain which makes it hard for them to plan ahead, to start and stop what they wish to do, and to monitor their behavior. Some children get distracted from any goal they set. To make matters more complicated, the school system and society sets goals for them — such as getting good grades and performing well on standardized tests — that challenge them in their area of disability. When they do not receive proper accommodation, they get discouraged and lose confidence."

It's interesting to note that the reverse of this picture can also happen if children with disabilities are taught pro-active goal setting & self-determination. Wehmeyer (2004) found that students who were taught how to create and achieve personal goals earned a higher income one year after high school graduation. He firmly believed that achieving life goals were vital components to the long-term success of adults with disabilities, especially to improve the overall quality of their lives.

Clearly, the lack of pro-active goal setting can significantly shape the future of people with LD, dyslexia, or ADHD in powerful ways. Tacogirlbelize (2022) revealed that: "After grade and high school, I was so over the education system struggle, so I never went onto college or university like most of my friends. I ended up just doing various get by work wise, unfortunately none were ever a high paying jobs." Rufusenglish (2022) adds: "I have working memory issues and it's caused so many problems during interviews for jobs that I think I suffer from PTSD at just the thought of interviewing now. I've avoided interviews for better paying jobs, even started my own business years ago just to not have to interview anymore. Unfortunately that failed a few years in so I'm back to low paying, easy to get into jobs. I am not where I saw myself at 50."

As the lives of these adults illustrate, creating and implementing short and long term goals can take many forms. For instance, do you need to save for retirement? Do you need to set up a college fund for your children? Where is the money to go back to school? What happens when your car breaks down one last time? Do you live from paycheck to paycheck and still have problems saving and spending money? All of these questions, and many more, are directly tied to successful goal setting.

Does this sound like you? Seanmharcailin (2023), an adult with ADHD admitted: "I have a hard time with impulsive spending. I work really hard to stay in my budget but then so many things sound like good ideas! I don’t do online shopping, but I’ll go out and end up at a boutique and buy $400 shoes kinda on accident cause I thought they were $100 but then when they were more expensive I still bought them even when they were out of my budget." Vegultragirl (2023) echoed, "Impulse control, spending is definitely a problem for many with ADHD. I got myself into massive debt when I was in my early twenties, thank god I was able to sort it all out and pay it off. Now I’m in my 40s and I’m terrified of debt."

What do these two adults have in common? They have an invisible disability that has really influenced their finances. As Frazier (2022) explains, "ADHD consists of trouble paying attention and challenges with impulsivity. People with ADHD find it difficult to think before they act, and are susceptible to their own energy levels and cognitive overactivity. . . This creates several issues when managing money. The lack of attention to detail poses a challenge because it’s hard to sort out all of the financial information floating around. They may only hear one detail of a deal, rather than all the details, which makes it impossible to make an informed decision." He later adds: "Impulsivity can create problems with spending . . . an ADHD brain craves dopamine, and buying something can give it that surge it’s looking for . . . people with [invisible disabilities] may have difficulty with the overall ability to comprehend the information aboutpurchases. This directly affects things like understanding wants versus needs, how to prioritize and ultimately how to make decisions."

While there is less available information in this area, adults with other invisible disabilities, like dyslexia or LD, can also have problems with impulsivity, self-control, and planning ahead financially. For example, SBK220 (2021) said that, "I strongly believe that there is a link between having dyslexia and being in debts heavily. I have experienced this with a close relative and it comes across quite clearly to me that this person doesn’t know how to manage his money, can’t get organised, never read small prints … and becomes a victim of bank charges and high interest rates credit cards/loans." While the jury is still out on how deep are the connections between dyslexia and debt, clearly these are troubling trends that need further exploration.

SBK220 hints at another area of financial literacy that is often a huge stumbling block for people with invisible disabilities--budgeting and what to do with your paycheck. Does this sound familiar? Roggli (2025) observed that: "Many folks with ADHD don’t like to look at their finances for one simple reason: It’s often not good news. Even though they know better intellectually, they like to believe that it will all work out — fingers crossed. The problem is that they have skipped over the very first rule of money management: Money loves attention! Many adults with ADHD are masters at avoiding direct contact with their finances. They ignore bank statements or let the mail pile up for months in a game of financial Russian roulette: 'If we don’t see the bills, they don’t really exist, so we don’t have to deal with them'”.

Dangerous_Pepper_812 adds: "I got diagnosed with dyslexia this year, I've struggled with numbers and letters my whole life. I have tried to budget so many times but it never seems to work in my favour. I've struggled so much with budgeting and like everyone else with debt, I decided to ignore it until I no longer can. . . . I now want to start budgeting properly. I'm considering cutting up my debit and credit cards. I'm also applying for part-time jobs with exact hours and leave my zero-hours contract job. How do I start budgeting?" Reddit (2024). Roggli (2025) answers that question by saying: "The hard truth is that bravely facing your current cash flow — the money that comes in and the

money that goes out — is the only way to gain control of it." Her statement clearly underscores the importance of impulsive spending and budgeting for people with all kinds of invisible disabilities.

One area that frequently bubbles up when we talk about the connections between invisible disabilities and money is executive functioning. It seems that no matter what your diagnosis is, if you have problems with executive functioning, you're going to have issues with financial management and literacy.

Executive Functioning is a cognitive domain that involves these vital areas of adult life: short and long term memory; planning; organization; processing speed; inhibition; working memory; task shifting or cognitive flexibility; time management; making changes mid-task; prioritizing; and following through tasks to completion (ADD CITATIONS). In short, Executive Functioning is " . . . the ability to take in information, organize it, put it in to categories and plan how to make use of this information" (Frazier, 2022).

So, why is this so closely connected to dealing successfully with money?

The folks at ADDA (2026) answer: "Research suggests that ADHDers tend to use avoidant and spontaneous decision-making styles. This means they either postpone and avoid making financial decisions or make them on a whim".

They later continue: "ADHD can change how you manage your money in the following ways: forgetting bills and incurring extra charges due to late or missed payments; choosing short-term rewards over longer-term benefits (like saving for retirement); trouble organizing paperwork, such as tax statements, bills, and checks; hyperfixating on money, causing stress even for simple decisions; struggling to focus when building a budget or savings plan and losing track of your spending, expenses, and debts" (ADDA, 2026).

Kesty (2026) applies this in other ways: "[People with executive functioning problems] often find themselves paying additional “life taxes” due to struggles with organization, time management, and impulse control: lost paperwork, late fees, and impulse buys that increase debt, to name a few. . . If you struggle with executive function, you likely have some money stories relating to 'wasted' money or moments . . . when you struggled with a late fee or forgot a bill."

Belsky (2026) summarizes it nicely when she says, "ADHD doesn’t make it hard to understand math or work with money. But it can make it difficult to manage money." She underscores an important point, as the relationship between executive functioning problems and money is so complex and multi-faceted that it can seem like an overwhelming maze that just seems to go on forever.

As r/adhdwoman (2025) confesses: "I can handle big projects, juggle tasks, and somehow pull off impossible deadlines, but when it comes to basic personal finance, I feel like I hit a wall. Paying invoices on time, tracking cash flow, remembering subscriptions, following up on payments like it’s so much harder than it should be. And it’s not because I don’t care. It’s like the invisible mental weight of these "small" tasks builds up until they’re overwhelming. What makes it worse? The shame spiral when I miss something important. I tell myself I’ll get organized, but I fall off again, and the cycle repeats." STJmagistra (2025) agrees: "Oh, yes. This [money management] is the top way my ADHD mani-fests. Well, that and how cluttered my home is. I’m infinitely more capable of executive functioning in my workplace than in my personal life."

loolooloodoodoodoo (2025) became so frustrated that they decided to give up control of their money all-together: "I am honestly so grateful my partner let me offload all financial management to him. I won't even blame him if he totally f**** something up (and he has sometimes) because I just appreciate so much that he took the constant financial anxiety away from me. I don't even think about budgeting anymore unless he asks for my opinion, and he just lets me know if I need to do something differently in terms of my earning / spending." All of these individuals illustrate that issues with executive functioning and money management can be personal struggles that never go away.

Dyscalculia, literacy problems, lack of goal-setting, impulsivity, and executive functioning issues are clearly big hurdles on the path to financial independence and success. Nevertheless, there can be a few additional speed bumps ahead if you have invisible disabilities. They are: motivation, emotional spending and anxiety about money.

1.Motivation: A clear theme in this Blog is the huge amount of effort and energy it takes everyday to deal with with financial challenges if you have invisible disabilities. As many adults have admitted, just trying to budget or save for the future can be a totally intimidating experience. This, in turn, leads to even more financial hurdles, as Fearn (2024) explains: "Those with ADHD may struggle financially as they are more prone to “procrastination, disorgan-isation and impulsivity” Toop (2025) adds that many people with invisible disabilities are frequently overwhelmed with the multi-facets complexity of financial literacy (e.g., complex financial documents, credit card statements, rental or mortgage agreements, trusts, wills, etc.). These detailed or overly complex documents and systems can seem intimidating, unsustainable, and even impossible to cope with if you have an invisible disability.

Will Moore, an adult with ADHD agrees: "An example would be that when I knew that I didn't have enough money in my account to cover bills, I simply wouldn't look at the balance — using my generous overdraft without thought until I reached a point where my monthly pay only took my overdraft back to zero, rather than filling my account as it should.” Maddy Alexander-Grout (Uthish, 2024) also observed that: " . . . many people with neurodivergent disorders experience 'task paralysis', where they 'bury their heads in the sand' and avoid money management, which exacerbates their financial problems."

While procrastination can be a landmine if you are struggling with financial problems, other equally difficult issues are the negative, internal messages that adults with LD, dyslexia, or ADHD carry throughout their lives. These defeatist attitudes and self-beliefs often sabotage any efforts when trying to pay bills, build a career, or become motivated to achieve long-term financial success.

As Martin (2019) explains, "No one loves awkward conversations, but dyslexics sometimes carry extra baggage. We're used to doubting our abilities. That doubt can spill into our professional lives, making it hard to ask for a pay rise or set firm boundaries in a business. We might even accept lower rates because we fear losing the job. Much of this stems from school days. When teachers pointed out our mistakes more than our strengths, we learnt to keep our heads down. Asking for more money felt like another chance for criticism. We might say, 'I'd rather not rock the boat.' Over time, that fear can become a habit."

2.Emotional Spending and Anxiety

Procrastination and negative internal dialogue usually has emotional triggers, but there are other harmful emotional patterns that can emerge as well for adults with invisible disabilities where money is concerned. One example is Emotional spending. Marter (2023) defines that as: " . . . spending money in response to emotional triggers instead of rational needs. While most people are guilty of emotional spending at some point in their lives, it can significantly impact their finances in the long term. Emotional spending differs from regular spending because it occurs when we allow our feelings (such as fear, panic, overwhelm, anger, and insecurity) to drive our financial decisions."

Stroink(2022) asserts: "Emotional spending is one of the reasons individuals [with invisible disabilities] get into financial trouble." Chell (2025) adds: "[They] might overspend as a coping mechanism, treating themselves to something nice to relieve stress, only to regret it later. Retail therapy is a common trap and, for those who struggle with emotional regulation, spending can become a way to make them feel better."

The triggers to emotional spending are often unique and personalized for each person with LD, ADHD, or dyslexia. But, one commonality is an over-whelming anxiety when thinking or dealing with money matters. Chell (2025) emphasizes: "Many neurodivergent people experience financial anxiety. Some avoid checking their bank balance altogether because of the negative emotions it causes, leading to late fees or forgotten bills. Others might overspend as a coping mechanism, treating themselves to something nice to relieve stress, only to regret it later. Retail therapy is a common trap and, for those who struggle with emotional regulation, spending can become a way to make them feel better."

Wonderful_Side7473 (2025) confesses: "Oh yes, i can understand what you are living. I was not diagnosed with adhd but i have a deep feeling i'm in it too. My personnal finances are a mess, i really don't have the skill to manage money. Staying on track is very difficult. My anxiety swings up, each time i have to deal with money, it's overwelhming just the thought of it. I have tried differents methods all failed. I am so ashamed about it and can't talk about it to no one. I just pretend everything is okay. What a relief to know i am not the only one."

Click Me

https://www.unitymutual.co.uk/knowledge-hub/is-dyscalculia-affecting-the-way-you-spend-and-save/

https://www.ldonline.org/ld-topics/teaching-instruction/goal-setting-children-learning-disabilities-your-role-important

https://www.relationalpsych.group/articles/how-adhd-affects-financial-management-and-spending-habits

https://chadd.org/for-adults/managing-money-and-adhd/

https://www.additudemag.com/how-to-budget-money-adhd-finances/?src=embed_link

Sometimes bad things can happen to good people. Take Marilyn, for instance. Despite problems since childhood with dyslexia, she always had accommodations for her invisible disability due to extensive IEPs written by her teachers and her father. As a result, she was able to successfully graduate from high school. She even qualified for a scholarship from a distinguished fashion school where she subsequently received a degree in Fashion Design. Since Marilyn had always had extra help from various schools and her dad, she thought getting a job in the competitive world of Fashion would be a breeze.

That's when reality set in. Marilyn talked her father into letting her live with two other roommates in New York City to pursue her dream. But, everything was so expensive that she was barely able to make ends meet, despite working a variety of dead end jobs. Her luck changed when she was able to apprentice with a well-known clothing manufacturer in Brooklyn. After 6 months, she was offered a permanent position and was able to move into her own place with a low down payment. She put together a design portfolio, which also led to lots of free lance gigs and more money than she had ever seen before.

Marilyn was truly living her fantasy. Credit cards were easily available and everyone she knew were taking out loans to live this fun, lavish life-style. She even borrowed money from her dad to start an online fashion business with a few friends. Then the bubble burst. The fashion manufacturer was bought by a business in Brussels and she was laid off. Then, her friends had a falling-out and dissolved the business. Her part-time, free lance gigs started drying up due to the Recession. It got more and more expensive to live in the City and she found that she'd never really bothered to save anything. Soon, she couldn't make her condo payments and had to sell it, losing more money.

When she went back home to live with her dad in Minnesota, he started quizzing her about her finances. One of his first questions was about taxes. Marilyn shamefully admitted that she hadn't filed or paid her taxes in years--it was always something that she would get to later. At her father's insistence, she finally met with a debt counselor who informed her that she owed thousands of dollars in back taxes that she clearly couldn't repay. Between her taxes and the huge debts she'd accumulated over the years, Marilyn was shocked. Things looked worse and worse, as there were few, if any, jobs in fashion design in her home town. How was she going to support herself?

Marilyn sadly took stock of her life. Here she was, single, 28 years old and living back in her parent's home. She had virtually nothing to show for her extravagant lifestyle but lots of great memories plus some wonderful, expensive designer clothes. How did this happen? Marilyn became so depressed that she shut her bedroom door, went to bed, and didn't come out for four days.

Nobody, but nobody, loves a credit card more than Terry. Not only does he have a wallet full of cards to use for any occasion, but he learned from his mom many years ago how to get new cards to pay off the old ones. He's constantly in that revolving door of spending and minimum payments. Right now, he's not quite sure exactly how much he owes, but he's got a great salary as a begin-ning, tenure-track professor at a prestigious university, so he rarely worries about money.

In fact, one of his favorite things has become impulse spending. This is because Terry struggled for years in virual poverty putting himself through the Ph.D. program. Since all his fellow graduate students were barely surviving on their scholarships, it was normal to cut coupons and live on soup and peanut butter in student housing. As they used to laugh together, "If you don't have any money, how can you spend it?"

But then things changed dramatically for Terry. He finally has a steady income with great growth potential. In fact, he just got some additional grant money for his research, so he started thinking, "Why not celebrate and treat myself?" The first thing he did was take his girlfriend on a two month trip to Europe and Ireland. They had a ball living on plastic, even if it was expensive.

After the trip, Terry started getting written notices and persistent calls from the credit card companies. They were very irritating, so Terry just kept ignoring them. Also, due to his LD and ignorance of any type of money management skills, Terry didn't have the foggiest idea how to deal with his mounting debt. When the calls got too crazy, he asked Sam, a close friend, for advice. Sam was shocked by what he heard. He explained that if you don't make at least the minimum payments on all of the cards, you will have a world of problems, like escalating penalties on your cards and a dropping credit score. Things could also go from bad to worse, with potential lawsuits, wage garnishment, or frozen bank accounts. All of this could ruin your credit score and future borrowing for years to come.

Terry was just absorbing all of this when he received more bad news. As he and Sam were faculty with the least seniority in the English Department, they were both laid off at the end of the semester due to Department re-organization and budget cuts. Terry panicked, but he was lucky enough to get a temporary job as a non-tenure, Teaching Assistant at a local community college.

Luckily, Terry still had a job. However, now he had to use his credit cards to cover living essentials like food and gas. These cards were soon were maxed out and Terry found to his dismay that he couldn't get approved for new credit. He struggled to keep up at least the minimum payments on his current cards. But, he discovered that even those were quickly unaffordable on his meager teaching salary. Meanwhile, the letters kept coming and the emails and calls became more frequent and insistent. As Terry desperately tried to keep up with the flood, he was then informed that now he was in arrears with the various credit companies. Legal action was clearly on the horizon. Terry asked Sam to get advice from his mom, who was a banker. She encouraged him to contact his lenders and then to pursue debt counseling as soon as possible.

Bob and Sue want to move in together. They've been a couple for about 5 years now and definitely see staying together in the long run. However, there's one big, red flag for Sue. As much as she loves Bob and wants to commit her life to him, she really, really doesn't trust him where money is concerned. And since Sue would be bringing in most of the income as a successful realtor, she's starting to worry. Bob has always been a free soul; that's one of the things that Sue treasures the most about him. But, as an artist working in a Masters in Fine Arts program, money just seems to flow through his fingers like water . . .

Sue found their future house in a foreclosure sale and snapped it up right away. While it needed a lot of work, she was thrilled because it even had a small building that would be a perfect art studio for Bob. Consequently, they both agreed that Sue would take the mortgage and Bob would pay 50% of all living expenses, including a small amount for rent. They also said that after he got his Degree and found a better paying job, they would re-negotiate their finances. Sue suggested that now they open a joint checking account to be used only for household bills, where they would both contribute monthly.

While this makes sense on paper, Sue is still nervous. None of this takes into account Bob's learning disabilities. As someone with both dyslexia and dyscalculia, Bob is almost functionally illiterate about finances. He often has problems doing simple things like checking important emails and paying bills promptly. As Sue's insistence, he even made multiple budgets, but none of them seemed to stick. After coming into a small inheritance from his aunt, he's currently exploring "get rich schemes" suggested by his friends. Everyone has all kinds of advice about how to spend his windfall, but Sue thinks he should put at least some of that money into their new home.

Sue would love to marry Bob and someday raise their children in this house. But how realistic is that? And what about her deepest fear--that she will have to support this man for the rest of her life?

Joyce has been living paycheck to paycheck almost all of her life. She's always had good steady jobs and been able to support herself since she dropped out of high school as a junior to have her first child. School never made much sense to her in the first place, due to her reading and writing problems with her dyslexia and ADHD. But, she was always a math whiz and managed to skate through most of her classes with her charming personality. That came to a screeching halt when she became pregnant. Joyce's mom was a single mom. She encouraged Joyce to drop out, have the baby, and put it up for adoption.

Joyce just wasn't able to do that, so her mom and sister helped baby-sit while Joyce finished her GED. She then took Accounting classes and became a Bookkeeper. Two children and one divorce later, Joyce is still trying to finish an Accounting degree, while she lives with and takes care of her mom.

Joyce's divorce was extremely painful in many ways, not only emotionally but financially as well. When she finally left that abusive relationship, all she took were her car keys, her children, and the clothes on her back. She only received a tiny settlement from the nasty divorce and her husband rarely paid even minimal child support. Consequently, money has always been tight. But, the kids never went hungry and the rent was paid. Now her children are grown up and living their own lives. Joyce rarely sees them and continues to provide for herself and her mother, whose diabetes gets worse everyday.

The strangest part came when Joyce looked in the mirror one day and realized that she was fifty years old! Where did that charming lady with the gray hair come from? An even scarier thought hit her--how could she support herself and her mother, now that she's getting old? Joyce always had a decent resume and received great references, so she was confident she should be able find work for a few more years anyway. However, without a degree, she had always worked as a temp through an agency, where few jobs offered any benefits at all. Instead, she often received little but her salary.

Now, there are all of these new hurdles looming on the horizon that seem incredibly complicated. For instance: What is Social Security? What is Medicare? Joyce had learned the basics helping her mom wade through the forms, but how does this apply to her? And now that there's two of them to support, she has lots more hurdles to face. For instance, what is a Health Power of Attorney?

FINISH.....

planning for the future (insurance, retirement saving, investments, will, bequests)

All of the information in this Blog keeps circling around one key area: Financial Literacy. McGurran (2026) defines this as:" . . . the knowledge and ability to manage your money in a way that helps you grow stability and feel confident and resilient. Key aspects of financial literacy are budgeting, saving and managing debt." There are literally thousands of articles, books, seminars, and websites about this topic which provide lots of useful information. I've also packed this Blog and Podcast with great resources to help you educate yourself in this area. Three examples are the Tips discussed below: Budgeting, Using Credit Cards, and Dealing with Banks, Lawyers, and Financial Planners. Those are a great place to start.....

Tip #1 Budgeting

Let's be honest here! Lots of adults will do anything that they can to avoid making a budget. As Dow (2021) found, over half of Americans don't have a budget, or know exactly how much they spend each month. Why does this happen? As Dow explained: " . . . many Americans simply don’t think it’s necessary." Other reasons can include: no time or energy to make a budget; lack of organization which leads to procrastination; and assuming that they will over-spend anyway so just ignoring the topic completely.

While this may be true for many Americans, budgeting is seen over and over in the literature as a crucial skill for people with invisible disabilities. This is despite the fact that people with LD, dyslexia, and ADHD often encounter one obstacle after another when they try to budget in the first place. Examples include: literacy issues, lack of attention span, auditory or visual memory loss, organization challenges, or time management difficulties. These can directly impact how you spend and think about your money in multiple ways, such as: forgetting to pay bills; missing deadlines on critical forms; not being able to read or understand jargon-filled, financial information; procrastinating when feeling overwhelmed by money-related tasks; or being involved in money scams due to impulsivity. Of special concern with budgeting, are: problems tracking expenses and being able to plan ahead to pay bills or save for the future (Nudge, 2025; Toop, 2024). Roggli (2025) summarizes this nicely by saying, "Bravely facing your current cash flow — the money that comes in and goes out — is the only way to gain control of your budget."

Her advice is illustrated well in Scenario A. Marilyn thought she had a great life when the money was flowing in as a Fashion Designer in New York City. Not only did she have a good salary that qualified her to buy a nice condo, but she did free-lance work and even made enough money to start a business with friends. Credit cards and a loan from her dad just greased the wheels to the good life. The freedom she felt as an adult in NYC was a heady and addictive feeling with little thought of the consequences to come.

But, when the bubble burst she was totally unprepared for the results. As soon as her generous salary stopped and the free-lance work dried up, things changed. Then her friends ended the online business and reality set in. At that point, she knew she really was in trouble. It was hard enough to finally admit that she could no longer live in NYC and had to move back to Minnesota. But her dad's questions poured even more salt into the wounds.

He started by asking her about her savings, but she had none. Everything had gone into her lavish lifestyle and the online business. Then, he wanted to know if she had payed taxes on both her income and the online business. Marilyn guiltily admitted that she hadn't paid any taxes for at least 5 years and just forgot. After her father took a deep breath, he immediately started talking about budgets, poor credit ratings, and seeing a financial counselor to explore a debt management program.

Marilyn met with a wonderful debt counselor, Sheila and finally came clean about her finances. The news wasn't good. Marilyn had blindly trusted her friends and was never an active participant in the online business. However, to her dismay, she found out that she was still responsible for all pending debts, including taxes, when the business folded (CITATIONS). That brought up another difficult topic, as Marilyn had never paid any personal taxes either. All of those back taxes, plus the business debt and the money she owed on various credit cards, was a staggering figure--one that Marilyn was clearly in no position to pay off right away.

Sheila suggested that Marilyn contact her friends immediately, as they had never bothered writing a partnership agreement for their business. Next, she must communicate with all of the various creditors, about both her personal debt and potential issues with the former business. Third, she should consult a tax advisor right away and then talk the IRS about her complicated, financial situation. Fourth, Marilyn and Sheila definitely had to start working on a budget as soon as possible.

As the conversation progressed, Marilyn sank further and further into her chair. She finally self-disclosed to Sheila about her dyslexia. Marilyn admitted that she had always felt totally incapable of creating or staying on a budget because of her invisible disability. Other people had always made financial decisions for her--and besides, all of the numbers and verbage just never made sense to Marilyn. It was just easier to not think about it and ignore everything. Sheila listened and then shook her head. She and Marilyn went online right away to figure out how to create a workable budget for someone with dyslexia. They discovered a number of simple, but effective ideas.

For instance, a number of authors had some innovative ideas that Marilyn could use right away. They included:

How to Track Your Spending Each Month--One area that can often destroy your budget is daily, incidental spending. Here's a quick, simple tip from Nadeau (2021):"Look at your monthly budget and decide what you can afford to spend each week — for impulse purchases and non-necessary expenses, such as video rentals, movies, coffee, and incidentals. That amount is your weekly allowance. Go to your ATM on [Friday] each week to withdraw your allowance. . . As you go through your week, you’ll know immediately if you can afford to buy a CD, order a pizza, or pick up a magazine. Just check the cash available in your wallet. . . No record-keeping needed — just stick to your decision not to return to the ATM until the following Friday." Another great tip from Toop (2025) is to use a pre-paid credit card specifically for incidentals. When the card runs out, you can check your budget and buy another card to see how much you can afford to spend next time. Using a pre-paid credit card can also be used to reward yourself periodically as you become successful budgeting.
How to Use Online Banking---As many authors will attest, technology and online banking can be real life-savers for people with invisible disabilities (Brown, 2026; CITATIONS). Nadeau (2021) stresses that: "Setting it up requires a little work, but, once done, you can pay all of your bills on your computer. You can set up automatic payments for your regular monthly bills — no misplaced envelopes or late fees — and log on as needed to pay irregular and occasional ones. [In addition], . . .your online account will list all deposits and payments, tracking your balance automatically, to the penny, every day. No more worrying about — or being unpleasantly surprised by — forgotten ATM withdrawals, and errors in addition and subtraction". While all of this is invaluable, there can also be a down-side: remembering your password. As a result, folks with invisible disabilities may need to use a few additional tricks to always have their password available. Brown (2026) suggests: "Use a sequence of numbers and letters that are already memorized, such as your childhood address or a former locker combination. Although it is a security risk, some people use one pass code for everything. [Or], make a list of all of your pass codes and find a creative, unusual place to hide it. One person hides it in his computer where he says no search engine will find it. Another person put it in a safe."
How to Prepare & Pay Your Taxes (Nadeau, 2021). It often seems that invisible disabilities and taxes just don't mix. As r/Dyslexia (2019) said, " . . . dyslexia and tax forms do not play well with each other? I'm not sure how they do it, but it seems like with just one short sentence, they can make me insane." His frustration was echoed by rentingumbrellas (2019) who agreed, "I feel you. Lord. I keep switching up the numbers and sometimes I have no idea what they are asking for." As pseudorandrum (2019) explained, "I actually think a good way to explain some learning-type disabilities is to hand someone the instructions from a 1040 and then expect them to be able to do their taxes from that. Yes, it's English, and yes, it's instructions but it still doesn't make sense. Of course, the jumbled up numbers and words make it that much harder, so I feel you . . ."
As Marilyn's scenario demonstrates, even thinking about taxes causes some adults with invisible disabilities to ignore them altogether. R7a1s2 says, "Every. F****. Year. Hate Hate Hate taxes... and I will leave until last minute, again." This behavior may make sense at the time, but it can often leads to disaster. It's important to understand that if you don't file taxes annually, there are serious consequences. For example, there are interest and penalties that rapidly accure and must be paid. Also, if you repeatedly refuse to respond to the notices sent from the IRS, they can levy more penalties or seize your property. Bank levies and even wage garnishments can come next. (BCTax, 2025).
To avoid this, Noetic (2025) gives some great advice: "Store everything you’ll need to prepare your tax return in a portable plastic file case with a handle, including your monthly receipt envelopes. As tax-related documents come in the mail, toss them into it, too. If you want to be more organized, set up hanging files by category, such as tax-deductible donations and tax-deductible business, housing, and child-care expenses. Ask your accountant or tax advisor what type of receipts you should keep on hand. The critical thing, however, is to designate a single, convenient place to deposit tax-related documents, rather than putting them in a pile of papers on a desk or tabletop." Another good suggestion is to take pictures on your phone of important receipts when you spend the money. You may also want to find a sympathetic, skilled tax consultant to help you file your taxes and then build a relationship with that person every year.

Using Visual Cues: For folks with invisible disabilities, one of the quickest, easiest tricks to manage your money is to set up a visually-oriented system to divide your expenses into separate categories. For instance, Roggli (2025) suggests:"One option is the 'jam jar' method of tracking expenses. Under normal conditions this is a cash system: Cash is put into different jars or envelopes for each budget category (think gas, phone, electricity, water, etc.) . . . If you prefer not to handle cash, there are software programs or your bank’s own app that mimic jam jar budgeting." Other examples of simple visual systems include: using sticky notes, calendar-based apps, money-mapping with with circles for different expenses, or opening multiple, mini bank accounts, (e.g., specific household repairs or expenses, proposed vacations, medical bills, an emergency fund, etc.). Claney (2025) stresses: "Go Visual: Many people with ADHD are visual thinkers. Use budgeting apps with charts and graphs (like Mint, YNAB, Copilot). Create a simple visual budget board or use colored envelopes for cash spending categories. Use highlighters or color-coding for financial documents."
Automating Everything Possible (Claney, 2025)
"Set up automatic bill payments for recurring expenses (rent/mortgage, utilities, subscriptions, loan payments). Automate savings and investment transfers to happen right after payday ("pay yourself first"). This bypasses the need to remember or decide each month." Noetic (2025) gives more specific advice: "What to automate:Bill payments: Set up direct debits for all regular bills; Savings: Create automatic transfers to a savings account on payday; Debt payments: Arrange automatic payments above the minimum;
Investments: Consider regular automatic investments in an index fund; and
Account monitoring: Set up banking alerts for low balances or unusual activity." Tips for successful automation: a) Schedule important payments for just after your payday to ensure funds are available; b) Keep a simple calendar with all automated transactions marked; c) Have a small buffer amount in your current account to prevent overdrafts and d) Review all automated systems quarterly to make sure they still match your needs."

Using Reminders (Claney, 2025) "Don't rely on your memory alone. Use calendar alerts (phone, computer) for bill due dates or financial check-in times. Set alarms for specific financial tasks. Place visual cues (sticky notes) in prominent places." Gray (2026) "Of course, each of these programs requires some degree of eﬀort from the user. If you
have a hard time staying organized, or remembering to balance your checkbook, it may bediﬃcult to remember to upload the information into your planning software. If yourstruggles are more in the realm of staying on top of things and keeping organized, youmight also supplement your use of personal financial software with an online tool likeRemember the Milk .
Remember the Milk allows you to create reminders, to-do lists and manage tasks fromanywhere and have them sent to you via text message, email, and instant messenger. Youcould set up a variety of reminders related to financial planning (i.e. once a month uploadbank statement, every two weeks check balance, etc.) and ensure that no matter whereyou are, you keep your financial life organized."
Weekly check-ins are very important--
FINISH

After creating a personal budget plan using many of these ideas, Sheila also suggested that a critical, new category should be added to Marilyn's budget--savings for the future. She showed Marilyn a simple, but very effective system: the 50/30/20 lifestyle (CITATION). This means: 50% of your income goes to your everyday needs; 30% to your wants and incidentals, and 20% to savings. It's not unusual for saving money to be challenging for people with invisible disabilities. As Noetic (2025) explained: "Saving money often feels abstract and requires delayed gratification, which can be especially challenging for many neurodivergent minds."

But there are ways to accommodate for that barrier: a) Focus on concrete items/experiences using pictures or key words to remind you of your goal (i.e., your dream house; a special vacation; your new car; etc.) b) Try automatic microsaving with an app that saves a few dollars every month automatically; c) Challenge yourself or a friend to see how much you can save towards a specific goal in a certain time period; d) Make sure you reward yourself and celebrate when you reach certain savings milestones (e.g., paying off a student loan, buying your first house, going back to school, retiring early, etc.); & e) Join a free savings Club or program through your work or your bank.

Marilyn gritted her teeth and started working on a budget that she could finally use on a consistent basis. After a three month search, Marilyn finally found a job in Minneapolis as visual merchandiser, where she created store displays, window presentations, and highlighted various products for local businesses. While this job didn't pay as much as she was used to, it did provide lots of benefits, including an agressive savings plan. In addition, Marilyn decided to take classes while she was working to expand her skills into online fashion marketing. Unfortunately, it took Marilyn over 4 years, sending $1,500 a month to various creditors, to pay off her $85,000 debt. But all of this pain was not in vain, as it totally changed the way Marilyn looked at money. One result is that she vowed never to be in debt again or lose any her financial freedom.

Click Me

https://noetic.health/articles/web/money-management-for-neurodivergent-minds-simple-systems-that-actually-work

srsltid=AfmBOorwraEL7ZjUJDQHoTZ-GGFbUqOlRU20wcSj4TyC98uJGBtVFnkZ

https://www.relationalpsych.group/articles/how-adhd-affects-financial-management-and-spending-habits

https://dorsetwealth.au/budgeting-neurodivergent/

https://www.ldonline.org/ld-topics/adults-ld/questions/what-software-can-help-me-financial-planning

https://www.ldonline.org/ld-topics/assistive-technology/dyslexia-and-challenge-using-todays-technology

Tip #2: Credit Cards and Debt

Every budget should include credit cards, as these are becoming more and more the primary way that most of us pay for everything. ADD MORE HERE.....

Noetic (2025): "Effective friction strategies: a) 24-hour rule for purchases: For non-essentials over £50, wait 24 hours before buying; b) Delete saved payment details: Remove credit card information from online shopping sites; c) Use cash for vulnerable spending categories: Physical money creates natural spending awareness; d) Lock credit cards in a time-delay container: Creates a cooling-off period for impulsive purchases, e) Shop with a list and stick to it: Prepare shopping lists in advance when you're in a calm state; f) Move your main payment card out of your wallet and into a drawer at home; g) Use a different card or cash for daily spending. This small change creates just enough pause to reconsider impulsive purchases."

CHADD (2025):

"Here are a few tips for curbing impulse spending:Identify your temptations and how to stay away from them. Where are you most likely to spend money on impulse? Examples of problem areas include malls, arts and crafts and other specialty shows, and online retailers. Shop with a list and stick to it.Before you go to any store, make a list of everything you want to buy and commit to it. If it helps, share the information with your spouse, partner, or friend before you go, and then report back later. Add up your purchases as you shop. This will help you keep track of how much you’re spending in real time. Wait a set number of hours (24 is a good number) before making a big purchase. If you still want the item after that time passes and you have the money, then you can decide to buy it. Unsubscribe from retail email lists.All those marketing emails are designed to get you to go to companies’ websites and spend money. Find fun hobbies or things to do that are free or inexpensive.Explore neighborhood museums and libraries, attend lectures, join support groups or clubs, visit public parks, start an exercise routine, or join an adult sports league in your area. Make it harder to spend your money.Think about leaving your credit and debit cards and checkbook at home, or only bring the minimum amount of money you’ll need."

"Credit card debt can easily add up and can take you in the wrong financial direction, especially if you don’t pay off the bills. Balances build up from interest, late payment fees, and over-the-limit charges, turning small purchases into very large expenses. Paying only the minimum amount due on large credit card debt means it could take 30 years to pay off the entire balance. If you are someone who doesn’t or can’t pay off credit card balances each month, pause the next time you’re thinking about charging something. Ask yourself if you love the item enough to spend the next 30 years paying for it.

Remember, credit cards are easy to use, but they promote impulse spending;

make it hard to save money; and make it easy for you to spend more money than when you pay with cash. If credit card debt is a problem, consider storing your credit cards in a safe location at home so they aren’t an option when you’re out shopping. If you’re doing all your spending online or have trouble leaving the cards at home, think about using the trick of putting your credit cards in a container filled with water and freezing them. By the time you’ve defrosted the credit card, the urge to make the purchase may well have melted along with the ice. Or maybe it’s time to take a good look at your credit cards and think about cancelling all but one, to have on hand in case of emergency.

Other ideas to cut back on excessive credit card use include: Have a trusted friend or loved one hold your card. If you decide to make a purchase, you will need to have a conversation about what you want to buy before they’ll give you your card back; Immediately after making a purchase with the credit card, write a check to your credit card company or bank for the amount of the purchase. That way, you know you’re not spending more money than you have; Put a small sticker on your credit card that shows something you are saving for" (TOOP, 2025).

***"Nearly 52 percent of all single mothers live below the poverty level" (rtmadminnpc, 2012).

Tip #3: Dealing with Banks, Lawyers, & Financial Professionals

"If your cousin has problems reading and understanding what is being sent by the bank or any other institution the best thing to do is inform that bank etc that there is an issue. They should be able to provide an alternative way of informing of any changes and be able to spend the time required to ensure there is a proper understanding of their T&Cs. If your cousin was blind the bank would need to send things in braille or via an audiofile. The alternative, if your cousin is willing, is to provide you or someone else suitable to have some authority to represent them in their financial dealings. This might mean being with them when they are phoning the bank, phoning on their behalf, reading out to them any letters or statements etc." (Brie, 2021).

Two adults with LD illustrate these challenges further (BBC, 2026). For instance, "Dan Pepper's learning disabilities are writing, spelling, reading, and math issues. He says that he has problems understanding ideas from crucial written documents or long meetings. He may find himself not paying attention to important, financial information or detail. One example was when he switched bank accounts. To his dismay, he discovered that he was missing automatic bill payments because his bank didn't naturally move them to his new account. He just didn't pay attention to this critical detail. "I just forgot all that," he says, "and just trusted in the system that it was going to happen – and obviously it didn't." This ended up being a very expensive mistake that Dan later regretted."

"Ismail is another adult with LD who has difficulty understanding and decoding critical financial details from various lending institutions (BBC, 2026). When he applied for a morgage with his local bank, he didn't read carefully specifically everything that he was getting into when he signed the paperwork. As a result, he agreed to a 10-year fixed rate mortgage at 7%. This was exactly what he couldn't afford, so he had to go back and pay additional funds to break the contract. As he said, "I was very new to mortgages, and so it was a difficult situation that the banks didn't explain to me.". Clearly, both of these situations are budget-breakers that can influence your financial health for years to come."

***ADD INVESTING, RETIREMENT PLANNERS, and WILLS.....TAXES?????

Best-Actuary4318, (2025) observed: "I’ve noticed that when it comes to long-term money stuff, my dyslexia really gets in the way. I set up recurring payments to save little by little, but then I avoid checking them because the apps are so text-heavy, full of numbers, charts, and fine print that just blur together for me. By the time I try to make sense of it, I’m frustrated or exhausted, so I end up putting it off. It turns into a cycle: I start motivated, then the reading/ processing part becomes too overwhelming, and months later I realize I’ve lost track of what’s happening. That usually leads to guilt or panic because I feel like I should have been 'on top of it' the whole time. Umblegosh (2025) echoed: "I struggle with this a lot. I put off looking at finances for months and months because it's stressful and inscrutable".