Need to fix your credit? Me too! Let’s do this.
Special thanks to Rick ( for helping us learn how to do it in a way that’s ADHD friendly 🙂
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Music for “How to Fix Your Credit (and How ADHD Gets in the Way):”
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Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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Anyone else distracted by the clicking from 1:44 to 2:35? Is it music, or something else?
I'm currently working on this. It came to a point where I'm in debt with impulse spending on online things. It's just after 4 years that I'm trying to work on my finances. I even made a breakdown on how much I can spend every cut off since even if I'm getting paid more now I need to spend more on basic necessities since I'm not only supporting myself but also my family. I'm also trying to sleep on things I think I need, I've been an online buyer for years and the pandemic encourage it so much more. It's not an easy task to do but it's good to have a visual aid when it comes to finances.
Ok so here me out! I like automating everything but then another problem comes.
I forget what i have automated and i spend to much!
I place everything on auto payment because I will forget it until I'm given an outside reminder. I also feel ashamed to go for help with people I have seen before due to worrying about disappointing them or them thinking I did not try hard enough. Also stay away from stores to stop impulse buying. I hate window shopping because I will rationalize why I need something if it interest me.
I just found your channel. Thank you so much! Will you be doing more videos on finances?
I’m digging myself a hole as we speak 😅 trying to undo the damage before I ruin myself
note use an index fund not a savings account index funds make your money more resistant to inflation
I absolutely love how all these videos have a definite touch of personal experience behind them! Makes it way more relatable 🙂 I've been working on my credit for years, while also struggling with severe ADHD. I've gotten it to a bit above 600, all the way from a 395 initially 😶 and that's with a super limited fixed income. Still a work in progress, but in the time I've spent working on it and my finances, I have slowly gotten better at managing my money overall!
So automating things is great but I was paying for a shoe service for two years that I forgot about from a free trial. Then I had to suffer and hyper focus on facing this failure to stop the subscription. This kind of thing happens a lot. So how to I keep track of my auto stuff??
How do I fight the thoughts that making things automatic makes my brain lazy? Do I have to think that I’m preventing myself from lifting a barbell before I’ve built even little muscles?
As far as impulse spending – I’ve started leaving things in my cart for at least 1 day, if I don’t still feel excited about it/really love it regardless of how cheap it is (usually I don’t), I take whatever amount I would have spent and pay that towards my student loans instead. My debt will get paid off in a year or less at this rate 😂
Also, saving money used to be difficult for me until I got engaged. I never had a particular thing I was saving up for, other than ~emergencies~, which are not fun and don’t feel real if they’re not happening *right now*. But once I had a tangible thing I was excited about to save for (I.e. a wedding), suddenly I had no problem doing it. After the wedding I’ll be saving for a house, or a vacation, or a new car, or whatever big fun thing I want next, which in reality can be an emergency fund if and when something does happen. You just gotta trick your brain with fun.
Money and I have always had a strained relationship. I've got myself into trouble more than once over the years. Bills was a big issue for me. This is a system i came up with back in 2008 that just works for me (as long as i implement). Also quick background – i'm from Australia originally and i moved to the USA 10 yrs ago. We had the ability to do a lot of things i'm realizing the US has only recently enabled people to do.
Setting up Auto payments was a winner for me in so many ways, but i had to take it a step further. I had to NOT see the money. My solution was to get a second account with a second bank, and have the money i needed to set aside for bills be paid directly into that account from my wages. If i don't see it, i'm less likely to dip into that money for something (rob Peter to pay Paul is what i say). I recently configured my secondary account for my auto payments to be a Credit Builder account (mines through Chime), which means i'm also help rebuild my credit.
Anyway – i hope someone see's this and it maybe helps them a little.
I started watching your videos and was suprised how I related to everything. I always had a hard time wondering why I wasn't able to do the things that were so easy for others. I got my ADHD diagnoses this year at 27. Thank you!
For some people with ADHD "living beyond their means" is buying groceries and then not being able to pay rent, and not because they are trying to live in a expensive condo, but because their means are low, and having ADHD is making it difficult for them to get or hold onto a job. I can see how these tips are useful if someone technically has enough income to pay their bills, groceries and shelter. It's possible that for some people with ADHD, they just don't have enough income and there are comorbidities that are contributing to making it difficult. These need to be addressed and there needs to be support for people to overcome these challenges and be independent in the long-term through the impementation of therapy, tools, medication and a support group.
Every single one of things points Is spot on. Automate everything! That has been a lifesaver for me. I have managed to increase my acredita score almost 200 points. I still sometimes put off paying the bills, but the biggest thing that helped me was automating everything so I never missed a payment. It is easier to recover by occasionally paying a little interest, versus a missed payment. I still struggle with the occasional impulse purchase, but I make myself wait. In fact, more often than not I find I almost talk myself out of things. The longer I wait, I move on to something else I want to buy, then wait a while, and so on. I guess getting distracted sometimes is a good thing!
Oh too true
Here is another tip: if u know what things u want, make a list (or an Amazon wish list) and send a link of an item to each loved one who u think can afford it so they can buy it for u as a Birthday present or a Christmas present
I thought I was being financially savvy by putting everything onto my credit card to get that cash-back bonus and get good credit by paying it all back… Turns out those are only benefits if you actually ARE paying it all back. :') Thanks for the tip of only using credit cards for predicable monthly expenses, that's what I really needed to hear right now.
How to fix your credit: Get out of the US and go to (almost) any other developed western country. Easy? 🙂
I’m really struggling with this at the moment.😞 I am constantly buying stuff and forgetting bills. People that don’t have AHDH just don’t understand how hard it is.😞 i impulse spend way to often.
"Expecting that we'll be able to pay off debt late. Which doesn't always pan out." Me currently using my credit card for everything, fully believing I'll be able to pay it off later 🥲
I know this may not be helpful to others, but the biggest boon to my financial situation has been living in a country with a cash economy. Since canceling my credit cards from the US, I'm restricted on what I can buy. Bank transfers and payments through kiosks at convenience stores are standard methods of payment here, but since they require extra steps, it's a chance for me to reconsider what I'm purchasing. Since I can buy most everyday items with cash, I just check how much I have in my wallet in the morning, and I'm unable to spend too much if I don't make a point to carry extra.
I still struggle getting bills on time. (I pin them to my front door to help, but I actually forget to check my mailbox in the first place!) I do have some on automatic payments and they help. But, with a credit card and the bills that come with it, my stress has gone WAY down, and I've been able to save (again, those extra steps to withdraw cash) in ways I couldn't in the U.S.
Kinda funny she inspired a course on how to get out of debt 🙂
I am fair on my credit score
I been catching up on my bills by work three jobs
Be careful with autopay, because if you don't have the $ it can cause fees
In my early 20s I had a massive block (previously termed 'anxiety', currently also termed 'executive dysfunction) around public transport (noise, closeness, strangers, smells, organising a transport card and figuring out routes) and wasn't senior enough to qualify for on-site parking. I ended up parking all day in the 1 hour parking outside my office and accumulated so many $50 parking fines over the course of 6 months that I continued to ignore and not pay out of sheer shame, that eventually I had over a $1000 debt with the local shire that I had to make a payment plan to pay off. A low point in my financial management, and my Dad was absolutely gobsmacked when he found out. Now I know it was ADHD tax and it's not just me 😅
Yaay, thank u, ily!
Me: trying to listen to what she's saying.
Also me: what is that clicking sound in the background
I use the suspended option on my credit card. It blocks purchases but not preauthorized transactions. Life saver.
not really related to the topic, but i've laways wondered why there are so many credit cards in the USA? here in the UK, i know maybe 1 person who actually signed up for one with their bank, but even then i've never seen them use it. everyone uses their debit card for everything.
but, from what i understand, in the US nearly everyone has and frequently uses their credit cards insted of debit? why?
My rule when shopping for non necessities, like visiting the mall or a bookstore, is that I'm not allowed to take anything with me or put anything in my basket. That way I have to like it enough to specifically come back for it. It's really helped with the buyer's remorse
I wish Jessica talked about bankruptcy for ADHDers.
Start with ADHD and mix in a dash of oppositional defiance, and a budget becomes that much harder to implement😅
Thank you for this video so much. I am optimistic about changing my bad habits
Oh hello, here I am watching this video again 😬 let’s try again!
I go into debt, pay my debt and as soon something happens, especially if it's something that demands too much of my attention I got back into debt. It's funny because I am really good with coping around my impulses, but I often struggle when I am stressed. Fortunately never was bad enough for me to end up in a really rough place even when I'm poor.
"Unrealistically optimistic", she said a mouthful with that one phrase lol at 54 I still give my savings to my Mum to looked after.
I'm now needing to get my budget under control, I was saving quite a bit last year while studying and I'm now out in the real world and recently bought a car (just over 50% down-payment, and financing the rest) that's pretty fancy and I know I can pay for the loan, but I need to get on top of my finances now before it gets out of hand. My main problem is spending money frivolously without really realizing. My main goal is to ensure I'm getting plenty of money put into my savings each week and prioritize my car payments.
Auto pay. I have to have all the funds first
Undiagnosed ADHD and for the past 27th are I think I have been out of overdraft for maybe 1 or 2 years. Luckily I am now with a bank that doesn’t charge me for bounced payments, I’ve lost so much money to bank charges. The crisis brain is really difficult to fight against, I am currently in a decent enough job but as always throughout my life I am now just about to keep level, but I have £40 to last me three weeks, and therefore another payday loan is required to get me through which will be a real problem next month !!!!!
I’ve come to the conclusion that I simply have to get rid of my cell phone because DoorDash, my favorite yummy foods delivered whenever I want? No. I can’t. I can’t stop. Food is my love language and when the dishes pile up, I just am spending so much.
I also wanna just close my credit card account. There’s no reason to have one
All of this speaks to me😅😢😂Thank you!!❤
I knew I had adhd but I didn’t know it was connected to my money problems. Now I use cash envelopes to pay attention how I spend, and it has helped me save. Avoiding my debit card has helped a lot