The Siren Song of Impulsive Spending
I have an issue with impulsively spending money, or spending money I really shouldn't or don't actually have. There have been several occasions where I have overdrawn my checking account and incurred fees … I don't really know how to explain it. I have tried to put a lid on it, but it seems sometimes as though something always comes up and that I always forget something no matter how hard I try to keep track of my bank balance. Or I will look at the balance and go and buy something and then remember that I had to pay for medicine or an appointment I had forgotten about, and end up having to use my credit card or something. ~ scwalke2
I have three vacuum cleaners - well, four counting the wetvac. Actually, I have three wetvacs but two have been awaiting minor repair for six or seven years. I bought the parts, though … I have a tile cutter and a bench grinder I've never used. I think I have purchased four pair of nearly-identical binoculars. I went to get an angel-food cake pan for a photography project. I now have eight angel-food cake pans. Every time I needed a 9/16 wrench I bought a new wrench set, so I have several of those, but I still can't find a 9/16 wrench. ~ randmcnatt
Keath Low, the About.com guide to ADD/ADHD, notes that this is also a major symptom of ADHD and it is not uncommon for those with ADHD to buy first and think later. She offers some simple tips to keep your finances in better order by gaining control of impulsive spending. I use some of these personally and find they really do help. For example, I have a hard and fast rule about no credit cards. Have you tried any of these? How did it work out? ~Kimberly
Comments
Hello,
I am an adult that was diagnosed with ADD and or ADHD. I’m extremely intelligent but have the attention span of a rhesus monkey.
The Rx medicine really seems to help, but I used to have a lot of trouble holding on to my money and spending wisely.
I always thought it had something to do with me being a Leo, but no…seriously for a while there I had to cut up the credit card. I seem to have (maybe) gotten a grip on the excessive spending, at least I hope. My credit is good so the bank had given me a spending limit that is way higher than I could ever pay back (if I maxed it out).
My mother is bad about it too, so maybe that is where I get it from?
I am BP and have been reasonably stable for the last 5 years. The money issue was a huge problem for me because I made crazy business decisions, and at one stage lost everything. Now I’m on track and hold down a successful job, but I still have some odd ways, like having to read all my library books in order of how I took them off the shelf. I have to do everything methodically so if I buy magazines, it put’s me off kilter, and then I can’t continue reading the library books or my own books that I cant help buying. I know this is obsessive compulsive behavior, but it sends me into a tail spin…. my anxiety levels go through the roof!
I was diagnosed BP 7 years ago- and with ADD last year. I am still in the the thought process of “which came first…” & “am I really BP & not just ADD? Money IS a problem. I hate credit cards-and am in major debt -but I also hate to use cash because it feels like I’m spending too much. So…the credit cards win most of the time. Also, most of the time I stand at the checkout going through all the cc’s in my wallet & my debit card, with mind racing, trying to figure out what to use BEFORE they are done cashing me out! Other problem I have— not returning the stuff that doesn’t fit or I can’t use. I have several items (including 2 frames that say X-mas 2007- never gave as the gift I had planned on giving)–that I never returned and it’s too late now. These also include a printer, lamp shades & sports tops- all still in bags with tags!
Helpful Health.com article about the financial risks for bipolar patients:
Manic Spending Puts Bipolar Patients at Risk for Financial Woes
My husband thinks a shopping spree is spending $30 at Goodwill on clothes we actually use. We have less debt than the national average, and he’s been the one handling the money for most of the time in which the debt was incurred. YET, he took all the money out of our joint checking, and put in in his name only. My biggest regrets are on not getting extras of items I can no longer find or on not getting something when it was on sale and having to pay more later. His control issues are driving me crazy.