The ADHD Tax: 10 Ways ADHD Has Cost Me Thousands of Dollars

I wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until a couple of years ago.

By then, I had already spent decades wondering why I couldn’t get my financial sh*t together. I thought I was lazy, bad with money, and incapable of discipline.

But discipline in sports was never a problem for me. So I wasn’t incapable of discipline across the board.

Knowing this frustrated me even more and made me feel super incompetent and like a total loser.

Now I know better.

I always thought everyone’s brain was like mine – like a Powerball drawing.

My brain is just like the big glass ball and my thoughts are like hundreds of numbered ping pong balls frenetically flying around and bumping into each other non-stop.

There are some good thoughts in there, but slowing the blower down enough to let the ping pong balls out of my brain is really really hard.

The thoughts are just constantly flying around, and it’s super hard for me to settle or organize them.

Ultimately, only a few manage to escape, but you never know which ones will make it out.

Now I know I’m not stupid. I’m not lazy. I’m not incapable of discipline.

My ADHD brain processes time, organization, and discipline differently, and that can make some things a constant struggle.

ESPECIALLY MONEY.

Here are 10 ways ADHD has cost me (a lot of) money:

1. Impulsivity – Clicking “buy now” before I’ve taken one second to think it through. I have bought SO MANY digital courses that I’ve never started, let alone finished.

2. Time Blindness – Forgetting due dates and paying late fees on bills I easily could have paid on time.

3. Disorganization – Losing bills, receipts, and important papers… or spending money on things I already own but can’t find (I’ve bought approximately 497 pairs of reading glasses in the last five years).

4. Executive Dysfunction – No organizational systems, mail in 15 different place, starting a budget system, but never consistently following it and always totally abandoning it.

5. Emotional Spending – Buying things for the quick dopamine hit when I’m stressed or overwhelmed.

6. Inconsistent Income/Work Patterns – Struggling with jobs or side hustles because boring routines are torture.

7. Hyperfocus – Going ALL IN on a new hobby or project… and then burning out after I’ve already spent the money and never finishing what I started.

8. Difficulty Prioritizing – Not knowing which bills/tasks should come first when money is tight resulting in total paralysis and inaction.

9. Shame & Avoidance – Letting the pile of unopened bills and mail grow bigger and bigger and bigger until it’s so big I hide it in a drawer so I don’t have to look at it.

10. Energy Management – Simple things like calling the cable company feel monumental. Putting off small tasks like making a phone call to cancel a subscription or resolve a bill, even though I know it’s costing me money and making my situation worse.

This is what people call the ADHD Tax — the hidden cost of being disorganized, forgetful, and using systems that don’t work for your brain.

I’ve paid thousands and thousands of dollars in that tax more times than I can count.

But now that I understand it, I’m learning to create systems that actually work for me.

I have a long way to go, but I’m making progress.

This has been one of the hardest mindsets and behaviors to overcome – having patience and starting small.

That ADHD hyperfocus is STRONG, but so is the resulting burnout.

Small, simple steps are slowly reducing chaos and helping me direct more of my money to where it needs to go.

Today in Financial Friday Live inside my VIP group, I’m going deeper into this — with real numbers, real expenses, and the ADHD-friendly money systems I’m implementing and tweaking.

It’s $4.99/month, and if you’ve ever paid the ADHD Tax, you’ll make that back the first time you avoid a late fee.

Click here to join!