Neurodivergent Woman Explains How She Tricks Herself Into Saving Money — 'Budgeting Is Not For Me'
You’d be surprised by how much you can save by just storing away your cash.
Krakenimages.com / Shutterstock Many people have clever ways of saving money that don’t necessarily involve a strict budgeting routine. While budgeting can definitely work wonders for your finances, the process is not tailored to every person’s preferences.
Saving money can be done in a number of ways, but sometimes all you have to do is store spare money in a safe place and forget all about it.
A neurodivergent woman shared the 3 ways she tricks herself into saving money:
Budgeting is an invaluable tool, but it doesn’t work for everyone. The woman, who goes by @nhonsworld on TikTok, said many systems, like budgeting, are designed for neurotypical people, so she adopted her own money-saving routine that has improved her savings.
“I have a decent level of self-awareness, so I’ve learned to work with my quirks instead of against them,” she said.
1. Cash gives her the ‘ick,’ so instead of using it, she socks it away
“I hate holding [cash],” she expressed. “It feels so gross and dirty; I hate using it; I hate running to the bank to deposit it.”
By harnessing her discomfort with cash, the woman has saved $1,314 alone.
2. She uses her lack of object permanence to her advantage
Object permanence, according to Verywell Mind, is a young child’s ability to understand that objects still exist when they don’t hear or see them. The woman said she struggles with this and will easily forget something exists once it is out of her sight.
While this pattern can lead to frequently misplacing important items or starting projects you don’t finish, it can also be used to your financial benefit.
“Whenever I receive cash, it goes into my cash can, and then I legitimately forget about it until the next time I receive cash. This cycle continues,” she said.
You know what they say — out of sight, out of mind. After this, she takes it a step further.
3. She combines her interests in arts and crafts and challenges with saving money
“I'm currently working on the 100 envelopes challenge where you number 100 envelopes 1-100,” she explained.
She then fills each numbered envelope with its corresponding amount of cash. Once she fills up all 100 envelopes, she should have around $5,000 saved. She makes this process stimulating and enjoyable by decorating her envelopes with stickers and wax-sealing them to ensure she won’t open them.
“You’re supposed to fill an envelope on a regular basis, but I’m lazy, so I just do it in bulk when I feel like it. And, I also overfill a lot of these instead of making it exact,” she added.
This is not only a fun activity, but it also promotes a productive way to exponentially grow your wealth, all without even using a budget.
This method may not apply to everyone, but we can use it to develop our own money-saving system.
By following this unique money-saving method, the woman has already filled up 50 of her envelopes.
If you can master the craft of budgeting, then, by all means, use it to your advantage. But for those who find it a bit too time-consuming or confusing, diligently focusing on the various other ways to save money will also benefit you.
For example, I personally store any cash and change I find and receive in a cash bag, which I keep in a secure place that’s out of sight, allowing me to continuously add to it without ever using it.
It’s important to note that being unable to conform to certain neurotypical routines doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to achieve success.
Neurodivergence causes some individuals’ minds to think and process information differently from others, and this comes with its own set of strengths and weaknesses.
Francesca Duarte is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team based in Orlando, FL. She covers lifestyle, human-interest, adventure, and spirituality topics.