Managing Money When You Have LD or AD/HD

Living independently — managing your life on your own — is probably one of your major goals. One key aspect of independent living is managing your money: budgeting, controlling spending, balancing your checkbook, saving for major purchases, paying bills on time, banking, estimating costs, and so on. Many people with learning disabilities (especially those with the math LD "dyscalculia" or AD/HD) find that managing money is among the most difficult problems they face.

Those with a math LD typically struggle with:

• Counting and calculating rapidly.
• Doing mental math. Estimating costs like grocery bills.
• Budgeting money and balancing a checkbook.
• Feeling capable of managing personal/household finances.

As with other kinds of learning disabilities, a math LD requires you to come up with effective coping strategies. Becoming financially independent is not easy for anyone. You can, however, learn to manage the everyday challenges of a math LD.

Figure Out a Budget

Your budget is a report of how much money comes in each month and how much goes out. The basic rule: don’t spend more than you have. Here’s a step-by-step approach:

1. Figure out how much you earn during a typical month. If money comes in from more than one source, record each source with the corresponding amount. Write your monthly total in your budget book (which can be paper or online).
   
   
2. Below your earnings, list all expenses you must pay every month, such as rent, utility bills (e.g., gas, electric, water), loan payments, transportation costs (e.g., bus fare, gasoline), and food. If expenses vary from month to month, estimate how much you’re typically spending. Update your estimates as needed.
   
   
3. Include a savings category. It’s important to build a savings account, either for a big purchase (like a car) or to make sure you can cover unexpected expenses.
   
   
4. For one month, keep track of all your payments and purchases — whether you use cash, check, ATM debit card, or credit card. For all purchases, get a receipt. Carry an envelope for receipts. When you get home, immediately record all the checks you wrote (carbon checks give you an automatic record) and any ATM withdrawals. Print receipts for online purchases.
   
   
5. Track your credit card purchases. Keep a running total for the month in your budget book so you can see how much money you owe. Figure out in advance how much you can afford to charge each month, assuming you will pay your credit card in full. (Avoid “minimum” payments. If you don’t pay the full amount, you’ll be adding finance charges.)
   
   
6. List all your daily expenses in detail. Use categories such as “entertainment” and include subcategories. (Entertainment might have subcategories like restaurant meals, music downloads or smartphone apps, and movies.) Add a “miscellaneous” category if you must, but keep it small and identify all purchases you list there.
   
   
7. Every day, record all your purchases and payments. File all receipts, including check stubs or carbons, in labeled envelopes or folders (for example, rent, credit card, ATM, online purchases, groceries).
   
   
8. Use a calculator to add everything up. (“Talking calculators” have built-in speech synthesizers that read aloud any number, symbol, or operation key you press. They also “speak” the answer to a problem so you can make sure — before you transfer the figure to paper — that you’ve pressed the right key.)
   
   
9. At the end of the month, study your daily tallies. Look for patterns and update earlier estimates.
   
   

Budgeting software, such as Quicken or Microsoft Money, can help you create and maintain a budget. For help with the software and many other tips for managing money, consult a website like www.financialplan.about.com.

Ways to Control Spending

• Look at your spending patterns and decide what you can afford for nonessential purchases (e.g., entertainment). Budget for a weekly allowance and withdraw it each Friday from your bank or ATM. Stick to your decision not to withdraw any more money until next Friday.
• Don’t buy something simply because it’s on sale or because you have a coupon. It’s not a good deal if you don’t need it. Shop around for telephone, Internet, and TV services that offer what you need at the lowest price.
• If you tend to buy things impulsively, stay out of stores unless you’re looking for a specific item.
• Before you go to the grocery store, set a firm spending limit. Make a shopping list, bring it with you, and cross off items as you add them to your cart. Take along a pocket calculator (or use a phone app) and keep a running total. Buy necessities first (e.g., bread, milk, paper products).
• Seek out free or low-cost entertainment. Many zoos and museums are free on certain days of the week. Go to movie matinees or rent DVDs from your local library. Have potluck dinners with friends instead of eating out.
• Leave your credit card, debit card, and extra cash at home when possible. If you don’t have a way to spend money, you won’t spend it.

Sign Up for Online Banking

Online banking services are especially useful for people with LD. Choose a bank that offers free checking and free ATM transactions and talk with a staff member about their online money management tools.

Your online account shows you a list of all your deposits and payments, including ATM withdrawals. Your balance is automatically tracked, and you can check it any time. Your bank can also help you save money by setting up an automatic monthly transfer of funds from your checking account into a savings or money market account.

Paying Bills

Set up an area in your home where you’ll keep everything you need to pay bills and balance your checkbook. Have supplies (e.g., paper, pens and pencils, stamps, calculator) and an accordion file or hanging file with folders labeled for important papers, such as “bank statements” and “credit card bills.” Buy a budget book in which you can record all your expenditures, keep track of savings, and estimate future expenses. Keep a calendar to note when you receive monthly bills and when each is due.

Other Suggestions

• Open each bill when it comes (or print out the electronic bill) and mark the due date on your calendar. Also note scheduled automatic payments on the calendar so you’ll know when those funds will be pulled from your bank account.
• File each bill in a folder you’ve labeled with the date you’ll pay monthly bills, such as the 15^th.
• On that day, take out all bills from that folder, use a calculator to figure out the total, and check your balance (preferably online) to be sure you have enough money to pay each bill in full.
• Finish each bill: write and record each check, enclose it in an envelope, seal and stamp the envelope, mail.
• File payment stubs in another folder labeled either with the date (“Paid on February 15”) or the category (e.g., utilities).
• Pay your bills on time to avoid late fees.
• Online bill paying, including automatic payments for regular monthly bills, ends the problem of misplaced envelopes and late fees. Most banks will allow you to schedule payments to coincide with paydays.

Avoid Credit Card Debt

Resist (and immediately shred) credit card offers you get in the mail. Offers "too good to be true" usually are. Research credit card terms on your own, check with your bank, or ask experienced friends or family members. Keep your available credit low until you learn how credit cards work. You might want to keep a credit card only for emergencies (and carefully define what you mean by "emergency"). It’s important to establish a good credit rating for later in life when, for example, you want to get a car or home loan.

Technology Can Help You Manage Money

Today’s handheld organizers, especially smartphones, can help you a great deal with managing your finances. Cell phone apps such as Mint.com and Pageonce — both free and available on Android, BlackBerry, and iPhone — allow you to keep track of bank and credit card transactions, assist you in creating and following a budget, and alert you when a bill is due. Mint.com is also a website, and you can use the site and the app interchangeably. My Bills, which is free for Android and BlackBerry, lets you see all your bills in one place and track where your money is going.

Calendar, iCal, Outlook, and Skoach are all computerized schedule programs that can help you keep track of when bills are due by sending you reminders. Note-taking apps offer portable ways to keep to-do lists and jot down information about prices and offers: Notes, Evernote, UberNote, Springnote, Stikkit, and many others.

Hint: Do you panic when you’re out to eat with friends and the bill comes? Many phones have a quick program to help you add in a percentage for a tip and divide the total by the number of people at the table.

Living with a Math LD

Weaknesses in math often produce anxiety and feelings of helplessness that interfere with your self-confidence. Being “bad at math” in school leads many people (even adults!) to fear everyday math challenges. When your anxiety level goes up, your ability to cope goes down.

As with all learning disabilities, look at your math LD as a challenge to be overcome, rather than as something that will always hold you back. Decide on the tools that work best for you — online helps, handheld organizers, or simply a paper planner and a calculator. Whatever system you develop, keep it simple, understand it thoroughly, and apply it consistently. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Call on knowledgeable people when you need help.

Recommended Resource

ADDitude, is a website especially for people with AD/HD and learning disabilities. It offers lots of valuable information about managing money (among many other topics).

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Bonnie Z. Goldsmith has worked in the field of education throughout her professional life. She has wide experience as a writer, editor, and teacher.