Diversity in Thinking About Money
If you are having trouble connecting with others in your thoughts about money, consider if neurodiversity (yours or theirs) is the cause.
Hello, Talking About Money Community! I hope that all is well with you. 🙏🏼
Regular readers know that I like to discuss social policy, those broad-strokes endeavors that aim to provide the general population with great financial security. If society is constructed in a way that protects its most vulnerable members, then we are all better off. Some of the policy issues that I have discussed recently in this blog include revamped student loan repayment, enhanced worker protection through unions, and greater oversight in credit scoring algorithms.
I also believe that we need to tackle the problems of financial insecurity at both ends of the continuum, meaning that we need to serve individuals while at the same time advocating for policy reform. I practice what I preach in my work as a consultant, a professional development trainer, and a personal finance coach. In my coaching practice and in conversations with my professional community, I am noticing more and more that not only am I working with folks who have a diversity of lived experience when it comes to their money, I am also working with folks who have a diversity of neurological processes and thoughts when it comes to their money.
What is Neurodiversity?
According to Understood.org, an organization that provides resources and support so people who learn and think differently can thrive, defines neurodiversity as an understanding that different brains operate in different ways. Further, neurodivergent people – like those with ADHD, autism, and learning disabilities – experience, interact, and interpret the world in ways that are different than their neurotypical peers. While some might think of neurodiversity as a disability (and indeed it is protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act), others cite its strengths, such as enhanced creativity or out-of-the-box problem solving.
When you think of a neurodivergent condition such as ADHD, you might envision the 10 year-old boy who can’t sit still in the classroom, driving his teacher and classmates to distraction. More and more, adults are being diagnosed with various forms of neurodivergence. They may have spent their childhoods flying under the radar screen, performing well enough to progress from grade to grade, from college to career. But some small voice in the back of their heads told them that they were not like other people. Then they might see a post on social media that lands close to home, things start to become clearer, and they pursue a diagnosis (or not).
How Does Neurodiversity Show Up in Money Management?
More and more I am having people express interest in my financial coaching sessions and then disclose that they are neurodivergent during the onboarding process. I understand that they believe that this is an important part of their character and they want me to take this into consideration while I work with them. Some of my clients tell me that they believe that it was their neurodivergence that got them into their money woes in the first place. You may be seeing neurodivergent folks – diagnosed and undiagnosed – in your practice too.
According to Tiffany Curtis of NerdWallet, some neurodivergent people might experience money management problems like:
Remembering to pay bills consistently and on time
Impulsive spending
Procrastination around seemingly boring tasks, like budgeting
Misunderstanding of the complexities of financial planning
Further, folks with neurodiversity can have trouble on the earning side of the ledger, either through missed time working due to their symptoms or through missed opportunities to work due to underemployment or discrimination in the workplace. On the expense side of the ledger, neurodivergent people can spend more on their healthcare than their neurotypical peers on such things as medication or medical procedures that end up costing more because the medical issue was not caught early enough.
How Can Financial Counselors and Coaches Better Serve Folks with Neurodiversity?
Remember that while more and more adults are getting diagnosed with various forms of neurodiversity, not all are. In working with your clients, you might suspect that their brain is wired differently, but they do not mention it. As financial counselors and coaches are not licensed health care providers, it is not your place to make a diagnosis. Rather, incorporate into your conversations with your clients discussions about different learning styles, and ask them what types of money management works for them.
You can also integrate discussions around creative money management by talking about the following tools recommended by Natasha Etzel of Motley Fool:
Automating tasks like savings transfers and bill pay
Setting reminders on a phone or a sticky note to complete what you need to do
“Gamifying” money management with tools like budgeting apps, spreadsheets, charts, graphs, and providing small rewards for doing what needs to be done
Permanently logging out of shopping apps to reduce to urge to impulse shop
Recommending that clients set up accountability partners among their friends and family to keep their money management on track
The field of neurodiversity and financial counseling and coaching have come a long way in the past 25+ years that I have been doing this work, and I assume that we will continue to learn more and more about how to recognize the diversity and best serve the needs of our clients. Scholars like Christine Hargrove are leading the way. Let’s keep talking about money and how people think about it; that way we will all do better.
What do you say?
What are you seeing in how your clients think and talk about money? Are people disclosing to you that they have different forms of neurodiversity, or are you noticing that you need more creative money management tools in your toolbox?
What would you like to see in terms of training in working with this specific audience?
What other audiences would you like to learn more about?
Share your thoughts with this insightful and supportive (and did I mention good-looking?) community, either in the Comments below or on LinkedIn. Thanks, stay safe, and be well.
