Budgeting with ADHD: The First Friday Finances Method

Hi there, Cait here!

I used to be quite the Dave Ramsey enthusiast (trust me, I'll be writing more about him later), and while I no longer subscribe to his every financial wisdom, he does have a few useful tips and tools.

For example, I have yet to find a budgeting app or tool that works with my brain better than the EveryDollar app. I use the free version, but the paid version can link to your bank account and automatically record things, and that's probably a really good value.

Alas, I insist on not paying rich people fees for things I can do myself. But it would be a great ADHD accommodation, now that I'm thinking about it.

For this blog, I'm going to walk you through the one commitment that keeps my budget on track. I call it First Friday Finances.

On the first Friday of a month, I review the past month's spending and record every transaction in EveryDollar. It works even better if I do this weekly, but my particular blend of ADHD feels like we get a cost savings on focus if we do it all in one go.

Note: I also have a small business, so First Friday Finances is also the day that I go through my prior month's numbers for the business as well. This keeps my books up to date throughout the year so that when tax time comes, I don't have to go look stuff up from eight months ago.

My budget is not confining or controlling. It actually makes me feel more in control and secure. I get to decide in advance what my financial priorities are for the month ahead, and the budget is just what I measure against.

If your budget feels stifling or otherwise icky, maybe this take on budgeting will help you see it from another perspective.

When I don't actively budget, I spend the month feeling anxious about spending because I can't see anything other than what's in the account today and don't have the bandwidth to think forward when I'm facing a purchase. Often, I just abandon a cart of things I need (tampons, pimple patches, new bras), because I get stressed out about how much it will cost and whether or not it fits into the budget.

Planning a monthly budget helps me strike a balance between spending on necessities, luxuries/fun stuff, and longer term goals like saving for my wedding and getting out of debt. While my ADHD loves a little spending spree, my autism tries to slide into black and white thinking: either I am indulging (spending whatever I have) or being responsible (every possible penny goes toward debt).

I have to practice doing both, and. It's not just one thing. Being alive as a human in society is more complicated than a binary on/off switch.

So let's jump into the actual budget and tracking.

Obviously, to reconcile your budget on a monthly basis, you need to have a budget in the first place. Come along on the journey of my budget and keep in mind what your own budget categories might be.

To get started with First Friday Finances, or a recurring budget day of your choosing, it's pretty simple.

Step 1: Open EveryDollar or your budgeting app of choice, which could be a spreadsheet, a notebook, I do not care, I am not your mom.

Step 2: Open your bank statement or log into your bank account online to see your transactions.

Step 3: Record your transactions in the appropriate categories.

Below, I've included a screenshot of my "Lifestyle" category, which is basically a catch-all for stuff that doesn't fit neatly into other categories like Household, Pets, Travel, and Debt.

I don't always budget for everything in the Lifestyle category each month, but I leave the line items there so I have a mental reminder to check in on whether or not I need clothes or shoes, or if I'm saving up for a tattoo or larger personal expense.

Adding a line just for hobbies is new for me. Usually I just give myself the $100 for spending money and then I reconcile all my spending at the end of the month, but having one for spending money (little treats) and one specifically for engaging in my hobbies makes me feel like I am prioritizing my hobbies more than I regularly would.

My categories include the following:

Income: This one's pretty obvious. In the income category I have line items for the starting balance of the account for the month, direct deposits from work, and any deposits I make from my business checking account. Additionally, my budget has line items for Cash App, PayPal, Venmo, savings transfers, and refunds. Usually those items have a 0, but in the event I do transfer some money through an app or get a refund, I record them in the appropriate place.

Giving: This category is one of my favorites from the Dave Ramsey school of thinking. He promotes tithing to one's church off the top of the budget. I used to keep my giving at around 10% of my overall take-home pay, but when things got super tight a couple years back I stopped the recurring donations I had set up with most organizations.

Organizations I've given to in the past include Planned Parenthood, The Buckeye Flame, the ACLU, and the National Abortion Fund. I've kept the National Abortion Fund donation going even through my hardships because I figured I could at least keep a nominal donation going for one cause I care about.

I also include a line item for "Other" in case I donate to someone's GoFundMe or something.

Housing: This category is where I track household bills and spending on things like cleaning supplies, decor/furniture, or other spending that benefits the household as a whole.

Lifestyle: You've seen the screenshot.

Animal Husbandry: I keep line items open for feral cat TNR, medical expenses, and general animal care like our Chewy subscriptions for food, litter, and treats.

Wellness: Health and dental insurance, copays, meds, and other wellness spending like new glasses/contacts, supplements, etc.

Transportation: Gas, oil changes, tolls, car washes, repairs, AAA renewal, annual registration, etc. New this month, I had to add a line item for a ticket. Boo.

Food: I keep it really simple in this category and track groceries, restaurants, and subscriptions.

Debt: Pretty self-explanatory. I also keep a spreadsheet of our ongoing debt paydown progress separate from EveryDollar.

Travel: In the event of travel, this category has line items for lodging, food (travel food is different from home food, fight me), and parking costs.

Gifts: I'm an early Christmas shopper so I keep this line item alive year-round.

It took me about an hour to record all of the transactions in my budget, and it would probably take me ten minutes a week if I did it weekly. Maybe that's my next challenge... work on making every Friday my budget check-in day.

If you enjoyed the idea of First Friday Finances, give it a try yourself and let me know how it goes.

Talk soon,

Cait