The Distracted Dollar

Four ADHD-Friendly Speed Bumps to Stop Impulse Spending Vanessa, an ADHD money coach and host of The Distracted Dollar, explains that “buy now” buttons are dopamine traps that hit ADHD brains harder due to impulsivity, time blindness, and emotional spending, and that shame after impulse buys reflects a system designed to exploit this. She shares how she paid off $24,000 in debt by understanding th...

Budgeting Without the Torture: The Money Container System for ADHD Brains Vanessa, an ADHD money coach and host of the Distracted Dollar podcast, explains why traditional spreadsheet budgeting feels unbearable for ADHD brains: it depends heavily on executive functioning, future prediction, transaction tracking, working memory, and resisting decision fatigue, which often leads to guilt and shame. S...

The ADHD Tax: Cutting Hidden Costs and Gaining Financial Control In this episode of The Distracted Dollar, Vanessa, an ADHD money coach, explores the 'ADHD tax', a hidden financial drain linked to the executive functioning challenges that those with ADHD face. Vanessa breaks down the costs associated with forgotten subscriptions, spoiled groceries, late fees, and impulsive spending. She shares per...

Understanding and Tackling the ADHD Tax: From Chaos to Control In this episode of the Distracted Dollar podcast, Vanessa, an ADHD money coach, explores the concept of the ADHD tax, highlighting the hidden financial costs of living with ADHD. She discusses the unavoidable expenses necessary for well-being, such as medications, therapy, and convenience tools, as well as avoidable costs like late fee...

In this episode of the Distracted Dollar podcast, Vanessa, an ADHD money coach, explores the intersection of financial anxiety and ADHD behaviors, particularly the impulse to constantly check one's bank account. Vanessa outlines a three-step approach to breaking the anxiety-scroll cycle: recognizing physical triggers and implementing a 60-second pause, creating intentional friction by moving finan...

Rewriting Your Financial Identity: Overcoming ADHD Challenges In this episode of the Distracted Dollar, Vanessa, your ADHD money coach, explores the concept of financial identity and how it impacts those with ADHD. She emphasizes that feeling 'bad with money' is not a fact, but rather a story you’ve inherited. Vanessa explains how ADHD brains process money differently, which can make traditional b...

In this episode of The Distracted Dollar, Vanessa Dean discusses the unique financial challenges faced by individuals with ADHD. She highlights five key traits that contribute to financial chaos: impulsivity, time blindness, emotional dysregulation, and executive dysfunction. Vanessa offers practical strategies to manage these traits, such as the 24-hour rule for impulsive purchases, creating a 'b...

Managing money with ADHD is not a discipline problem. It is a systems problem. The Distracted Dollar is a podcast for individuals with ADHD who want to stop feeling overwhelmed, ashamed, or stuck with money and start building calm, clear, ADHD-friendly financial systems. Hosted by Vanessa Dean, a financial coach with ADHD, this podcast explores the real connection between ADHD and money. Topics in...