The Distracted Dollar

Vanessa Dean
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Self-Improvement

Money feels harder when you have an ADHD brain. The Distracted Dollar exists to explain why and what actually helps. The Distracted Dollar is a podcast for anyone with ADHD who feels behind, ashamed, or overwhelmed by money. Hosted by Vanessa Dean, ADHD Money Coach, this podcast breaks down the real reasons traditional money advice does not work for ADHD brains and replaces it with systems that do. Each episode explores impulsive and emotional spending, why budgets fall apart, how time blindness leads to late fees and forgotten bills, and how financial identity and money shame keep people stuck. The focus is always on simple, ADHD friendly systems that reduce chaos and build control. There is no hustle culture here. There is no shame. There is no advice that tells you to just try harder. This podcast helps you understand your brain, remove guilt from the equation, and design a financial life that actually fits you. Your struggles are not a character flaw. They are a mismatch and mismatches can be fixed. From Chaos to Control, Vanessa Dean www.vanessamdean.com Book a discovery call: www.vanessamdean.com/book Latest Webinar Information: https://adhdfinancialcoaching.com/webinar-registration 60-minute strategy intensive: www.vanessamdean.com/appointments-1-hour

  1. 2d ago

    UnMasking ADHD Shopping Habits & Brain Chemistry

    You're not bad with money. Your brain is running on empty and spending is the fastest refill you can find. In this episode, we're breaking down the real reason compulsive shopping is so hard to stop when you have ADHD. It's not willpower. It's not a character flaw. It's a predictable outcome written into your neurology. We cover the four personality traits that predict compulsive spending, the two protective traits ADHD removes, why women with ADHD are hit hardest, and how the modern retail environment was specifically engineered to exploit every single vulnerability. Plus, a real client example that shows what actually works instead. If you've ever wondered why you keep spending even when you don't want to, this one is for you. www.VanessaMDean.com Schedule a Discovery Call: www.vanessamdean.com/book Email List Sign up: https://form.neurodiversitytrainingacademy.com/widget/form/vdyixvxkreY9HVCwKeXo #ADHDMoney #CompulsiveShopping #ADHDWomen #FromChaosToControl #DistractedDollar #ADHDFinance #MoneyAndADHD #ImpulsiveSpending #ADHDCoach #NeurodivergentMoney #DopamineDeficit #ADHDBrain #FinancialCoaching #ADHDAwareness #MoneyMindset

    13 min

  2. Jun 22

    ADHD Budgeting With Grace: Our Story

    From WIC to Debt-Free: An Accidental ADHD Brain Hack to Pay Off $24K in 14 Months Vanessa, an ADHD money coach and host of The Distracted Dollar, shares how she and her husband (a senior NCO in the U.S. Army) paid off $24,000 of debt in 14 months while raising four small kids, before she knew she had ADHD and after qualifying for WIC. Instead of relying on discipline, she turned debt payoff into a “high score” game, used the short timeline to stay engaged, and sent extra TDY income to debt immediately. She reduced decision fatigue with the “PB&J rule” (always bringing food and water to avoid convenience spending), cooked at home even during a multi-state move, and used clearance shopping and hand-me-downs for kids’ clothes. She emphasizes grace for slip-ups (especially Christmas), automating payments, and restarting quickly without shame. 00:00 Our Story 00:42 Hitting Rock Bottom 02:00 The High Score Hack 02:56 Why Sprinting Works for ADHD 03:50 The PB&J Rule 05:01 Homemade Everything 05:43 Clearance Closet System 06:43 Mess-Ups & Grace 09:23 Key Takeaways www.vanessamdean.com Book a ADHD Money Clarity Call: www.vanessamdean.com/book Latest Master Class Registration: https://adhdfinancialcoaching.com/webinar-registration

    10 min

  3. Jun 15

    Money Rewired for ADHD

    You’re Not Bad With Money: ADHD, Identity, and the Pause Before You Purchase Vanessa, an ADHD money coach, introduces The Distracted Dollar and reframes “I’m bad with money” as a story shaped by early money scripts and ADHD-driven patterns, not a character flaw. She describes how childhood norms around spending can become an unexamined identity that leads to debt, sharing her own experience of late fees, overdrafts, and $24,000 in debt. She explains three ADHD-related contributors—time blindness, avoidance of bills and accounts, and impulsivity driven by dopamine-seeking—and cites research estimating ADHD costs adults about $14,000 per year in late fees, forgotten subscriptions, impulse purchases, lost productivity, and medical treatments. She argues the mismatch is between neurotypical systems and ADHD brains, and teaches a key tool: pause before buying and ask, “How does this align with my financial goals?” to build small wins, a new identity, and ADHD-friendly systems. 00:00 Introduction 01:16 Your Money Script 03:33 ADHD & Money Patterns 06:37 The $14,000 Price Tag 08:33 Rewriting the Identity 09:12 The Pause Practice Website: www.vanessamdean.com Discovery Call: www.vanessamdean.com/book Upcoming Masterclass: Mastering Your Impulsive Shopping (Summer Edition): https://adhdfinancialcoaching.com/webinar-registration

    12 min

  4. Jun 8

    ADHD & Summer Spending: Breaking the Cycle

    Why Summer Wrecks ADHD Budgets—and the Envelope System That Prevents September Debt Vanessa, an ADHD money coach on the Distracted Dollar podcast, explains why summer often leads to September credit card dread for ADHD families: the season removes the external routines ADHD brains rely on, increases dopamine-seeking through novelty and FOMO marketing, worsens time blindness, and makes spending feel painless with cards versus cash. She describes common summer spending traps—kids’ camps and “boredom busters,” day trips that balloon in cost, and big events with layered add-ons—and emphasizes this isn’t a willpower or moral failing but dopamine regulation and payment-friction issues. Her solution starts in January with automated monthly transfers into a dedicated “summer envelope,” then using physical cash envelopes where possible and a reloadable prepaid card for digital-only spending to prevent overdraft and statement surprises, avoiding venue-specific gift cards. She also promotes a June 25 “Mastering Your Impulsive Shopping: Summer Edition” session. Website: www.vanessamdean.com Discovery Call: www.vanessamdean.com/book Master Class: Mastering Your Impulsive Shopping (Summer Edition): https://adhdfinancialcoaching.com/webinar-registration 00:00 Introduction 00:30 Why Summer Breaks Your Budget 01:43 The ADHD Brain Without Structure 04:46 The 3 Summer Spending Traps 06:59 Why Willpower Doesn't Work 09:09 The System: Summer Envelope Method 13:00 Closing & Call to Action

    14 min

  5. Jun 1

    RSD & Your Wallet: How ADHD Drives Spending

    Here are the updated show notes: The Distracted Dollar | Episode: Why Your Brain Reaches for Your Wallet When Rejection Feels Possible Have you ever paid for something you didn't want, just to make sure nobody forgot to invite you next time? That's not a budgeting problem. That's your ADHD brain trying to stay safe. In this episode, Vanessa breaks down the real reason so many ADHD brains struggle with money in social situations and it has everything to do with Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD). What You'll Learn: 🧠 What RSD actually is and why it's a nervous system response, not a character flaw 💸 The science behind why rejection makes us overspend on status items (and skip the refrigerator) 📍 The 3 biggest social triggers that quietly drain your bank account 🛠️ 3 practical tools to interrupt the spend cycle before the swipe happens 💛 The difference between real belonging and bought belonging and why only one of them lasts Tools From This Episode: The Pause Phrase — "Let me check my calendar and get back to you." Ten seconds buys your prefrontal cortex time to catch up.The Opt-Out Text — Save this in your phone now: "I'm sitting this one out to protect my budget, but please keep inviting me. I want to be there next time."The Spend Day — One designated day a month for non-essential purchases. If the urge survives the wait, it was real. Most won't.Your Homework This Week: Save the opt-out text in your phone today. Use your pause phrase at least once. That's it. Resources & Links: 📩 Join Vanessa's newsletter: https://form.neurodiversitytrainingacademy.com/widget/form/vdyixvxkreY9HVCwKeXo 📱 Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessa_dean_adhd_money_coach/ Schedule a ADHD Money Clarity Session: www.vanessamdean.com/book About The Distracted Dollar: The Distracted Dollar is the podcast where we talk about money through the lens of ADHD, real life, and real struggles, moving from chaos to control, one episode at a time. #DistractedDollar #ADHD #ADHDMoney #RejectionSensitivity #RSD #ADHDWomen #NeurodivergentFinance #ADHDAwareness #MentalHealthAndMoney #ADHDCoach #MoneyCoach #PersonalFinance #NeurodivergentMoney #ADHDLife #FromChaosToControl #ImpulsiveSpending #EmotionalSpending #ADHDAndAnxiety #BudgetingWithADHD #ADHDCommunity

    13 min

  6. May 25

    The Potential Trap

    The ADHD Potential Trap: Stop Funding Your Fantasy Self Vanessa, an ADHD money coach and host of The Distracted Dollar, explains how ADHD brains get hooked on the dopamine of “what if” purchases—where the high happens at checkout, not in using the product—leading to spending on a fantasy future self and a shame-driven loop. She describes four common “financial masks” that fuel this trap: the people pleaser (buying acceptance), the perfectionist (buying the illusion of control through the perfect system), the impulse spender (buying quick relief), and the executive dysfunction hider (avoiding money tasks while hoping for future capability). Vanessa offers strategies like a 24-hour screenshot pause and asking “Does this align with my goals and values?” to shift from funding fantasies to investing in real priorities, using micro-rewards to make follow-through sustainable. 00:00 Intro 00:33 The ADHD Potential Trap 02:47 The Four Financial Masks 05:49 Why Our ADHD Brains Are Wired This Way 07:17 The Addiction Cycle 08:59 Breaking the Cycle 11:06 Building Real Dopamine

    13 min

  7. May 18

    How an “Allowance” System Ended Our ADHD Budget Battles

    Vanessa, an ADHD money coach, explains how tracking every purchase turned her marriage into a money-police/teenager dynamic fueled by control and shame, and how a no-questions-asked monthly “allowance” for each partner ended the fights. She describes the allowance as a separate, predetermined amount that creates a dopamine-friendly container for spontaneity, reduces decision fatigue, and contains the “ADHD tax” from impulse buys, late fees, and forgotten subscriptions without requiring more discipline. She advises couples to negotiate a realistic amount based on goals (they started at $25 each while in debt), separate the money into its own account or envelope, and handle gray areas through ongoing communication. She encourages trying it for one month and promotes a live masterclass on the 28th, “Financial Surgery: Find Your ADHD Hacks,” focused on finding money leaks without shame. Registration for Masterclass: https://adhdfinancialcoaching.com/webinar-registration Website: www.vanessamdean.com Email: vanessa@vanessamdean.com 00:00 Introduction 00:24 The Problem 01:42 The Allowance System 03:55 Why It Works for ADHD Brains 04:46 Setting It Up 09:32 The ADHD Tax 12:10 The Real Win

    14 min

  8. May 11

    The Four Week Financial Surgery for ADHD Minds

    Stop the Bleed: A Live Financial Triage for the ADHD Brain Most people think budgeting is about math. But when you have ADHD, looking at your bank account doesn't feel like math—it feels like an RSD-induced nightmare. If your finances feel like a "quiet, panicked hemorrhage" that you’re trying to ignore, this episode is your emergency room. Vanessa Dean, your ADHD Money Coach, acts as your Financial Body Double to help you face the numbers without the shame. In this episode, we go on a "Hemorrhage Hunt" to find: Vampire Subscriptions: The zombie services feeding off your account.The Convenience Tax: How much your executive dysfunction is costing you in delivery fees.The Stupid Tax: Late fees and interest charges that evaporate your hard-earned money.Vanessa explains why "budgeting" is a useless word when you’re in triage and introduces the Guilt-Free Chaos Money system—working with your neurobiology to allow for dopamine hits without breaking the bank. Stop the bleeding. Plug the leaks. Move from chaos to control. ✨ JOIN THE LIVE MASTERCLASS: Ready to find your vampire subscriptions and kill the ADHD tax? Join Vanessa on May 28th at 1:00 PM EST. https://adhdfinancialcoaching.com/webinar-registration 🔗 WORK WITH VANESSA: Skip the class and go straight to the 4-Week Financial Surgery. https://vanessamdean.com/financial-triage

    7 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Money feels harder when you have an ADHD brain. The Distracted Dollar exists to explain why and what actually helps. The Distracted Dollar is a podcast for anyone with ADHD who feels behind, ashamed, or overwhelmed by money. Hosted by Vanessa Dean, ADHD Money Coach, this podcast breaks down the real reasons traditional money advice does not work for ADHD brains and replaces it with systems that do. Each episode explores impulsive and emotional spending, why budgets fall apart, how time blindness leads to late fees and forgotten bills, and how financial identity and money shame keep people stuck. The focus is always on simple, ADHD friendly systems that reduce chaos and build control. There is no hustle culture here. There is no shame. There is no advice that tells you to just try harder. This podcast helps you understand your brain, remove guilt from the equation, and design a financial life that actually fits you. Your struggles are not a character flaw. They are a mismatch and mismatches can be fixed. From Chaos to Control, Vanessa Dean www.vanessamdean.com Book a discovery call: www.vanessamdean.com/book Latest Webinar Information: https://adhdfinancialcoaching.com/webinar-registration 60-minute strategy intensive: www.vanessamdean.com/appointments-1-hour

Information

  • Creator
    Vanessa Dean
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    23
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Vanessa Dean

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