When you have ADD, you may have trouble managing your money. It's just hard for some of us to remember to pay bills, and because of that, situations can arise that are extremely stressful. Having your car repossessed, not being able to get a place to live, or going to jail for unpaid parking tickets can be embarrassing and annoying. Yet, there are ways to avoid these terrible situations.

Use some ADD-friendly money management techniques.

One of the very first things you should do is to put your deposits on automatic. Ask your employer for direct deposit of your paycheck each time you're paid. That way, you never have to worry about remembering to take it to the bank. Also set up automatic bill payment when you can. Then, your ADD brain won't have to remember to pay bills, either. Most things can be handled without your having to do a thing.

But that's not always possible. If your employer doesn't offer direct deposit, you'll still have to deposit your paycheck yourself, and some companies won't directly debit your obligations from your account. Or, when you work as a commissioned salesperson or you're in business for yourself, you may not want to set up automatic payments, since you aren't always sure if you'll have the money to cover the payment on the due date. That could be worse, and cost you up to $50 for a bounced transaction.

In those cases, you'll need a routine. It's best that the minute you're handed your paycheck, you take it directly to the bank and deposit it, or if you have to wait until you get a break, do it then. But if the bank is too far away or for whatever reason you can't do it until the end of the day, then take it to the ATM and deposit it, if the teller windows are closed. That's better than waiting until the following day and forgetting altogether.

Making bill payments can be easy, too, when you have ADD. Set up online bill payments with your bank, but if your bank doesn't offer the service, change banks. Really. It's that important. Get another bank that offers the service free of charge, and set up your accounts. If this is too boring for your ADD lightning-fast brain, then, get someone else to do it for you. After that's done, get a calendar that's easy to see all the time and put a huge red circle around the same day each month (or on more than one day, depending on when you're paid and when the bills are due) on all 12 months of the calendar. When that day arrives, go to your computer, log into your bill pay account, and fill in the amounts you want to pay. Press enter, and voila! Your ADD doesn't even have time to get bored because this should take you less than 10 minutes.

But if your brand of ADD just won't allow you to get involved with finances, then hire someone to handle them for you. Be sure it's someone you trust, but do it because here's the thing... We all know that a huge part of the American economy is based on credit. You can't get a place to live without it. You can't buy a very nice car without it. You can't even get utilities without putting a huge deposit down without it. But don't worry, if your ADD has already ruined your credit, you can get it back. Any bad marks will eventually fall off, with time. And then, the offers for "pre-approved" this and "please apply" for that will be flooding your dead tree mailbox. Just tear them up and throw them away, without even looking at them. Remember that credit should be reserved for expenses that you can't pay for out of pocket very easily, like houses and cars.

When you have ADD, money management can become a huge issue. If you just can't do it, the alternative is to get someone reliable and trustworthy to do it for you. Being unable to handle money doesn't make you a bad person, but it can cause lots of unwanted hassle in your life. Stop the stress and aggravation! Do something constructive about managing your money today. At Instant ADD Success, we can help you.