Budgeting and Time - Money freaks me out!

[Divrom]

I wonder if anyone can offer me any advice?

I'm due in Court in a few weeks time for failure to pay Council Tax. (This isn't a sob story or a begging post! Just context.)

What happened is that I got a final reminder and thought that I'd pay it later that date. A day or two later and I remembered that I still hadn't done it. The next thing I knew is that I had a Court Summons!

It seems that a month or two had passed since I initially got that final reminder. It's not really as if I'm forgetting. It's almost like what felt like a day was actually a fortnight. It has reminded me of times when I lived with my wife and I would talk about something happening "2 or 3 years ago" and she'd correct me to say that it was actually 10 years ago.

Does anyone else have an issue like that?

And it's all exacerbated by the fact that I don't think I really have any proper concept of money. It's as if the ?5 that I might spend tonight has no relationship to the numbers I see dwindling in my bank account.

 

[Christy]

Ahh, yes. I do this. Just last week I realised I missed paying my rates bill. I looked at it and knew I had a week before it was due, and what felt like 2 days later when I next looked at it happened to be 3 weeks...

I was diagnosed when I was a kid as being spatially dyslexic. Basically time can get all messed up for me, so I used to refer to everything as yesterday regardless of when it happened or if it hadn't happened yet. Report writing is a challenge for me because I get all my tenses mixed up, it drives my boss nuts

Also, I can get quite stressed about having enough money in my bank account.

To combat these issues I have created a system for managing money/paying bills that I stick to. I find if I deviate things get missed and/or I get stressed, which is what happened over the last few weeks resulting in me not paying my rates on time.

Every bill that comes into my house goes straight into a little basket I have in my office. I then pick a night of the week that I incorporate into my routine as the night I look at my finances. That night I check my bank accounts and bills, and pay the ones that are due in the coming week. When they are paid I sign them and write the date it was paid on. If there is a receipt number I also write that on the bill. If there's ever an issue, it makes it easier to find when the money left my bank account. Also, I can tell which bills have been paid and which haven't (if ever my paperwork got mixed up).

I then put the paid bills into another basket which every few years I sort and file. I thought I did this every few months but the dates on the bills in that pile would suggest it's a little longer than this, lol.

I use the calendar on my phone and email to set reminders for myself so too much time doesn't slip by before I think to do stuff (for example phoning my sister).

 

[King_Oni]

I have most things automated to prevent this from happening.

If it's a monthly bill I generally make sure it's paid before the 31st (thus actually there's no reason to complain from them because I paid in the same month) automatically. Either that, of I'm getting a digital bill. I haven't received a physical, paper bill in over a year. Nor a reminder. But I used to be a mess with paying on time. I do check up on bills everytime I get my monthly check in to see what I paid last month and if it's a recurring thing so I don't forget anything and end up on a shopping spree.

And in general, yes... the money in my wallet doesn't hold any relation to my account in my mind either, that's why I try to prevent from having any physical money and pay everything with my bankcard (and avoid places where this is not possible).

On a related note; since my dad seems to forget a lot (brain infarct years ago) but is the main "breadwinner" (in that he gets a disability check to provide for himself and my mom and the mortgage and all), he has a system similar to what Christy describes. He stamps his bills if he paid them and collects them once a week.

I'm not sure if it's an option, but can't the bills be paid automatically through your bank? Yes, some people want to have more control over their accounts and bills... but then these same people shouldn't complain how they forgot a bill

 

[Divrom]

On another forum, someone referred to this Time thing as if it was a common well-known issue with aspies. But I've not read about it anywhere?

 

[Judge]

On another forum, someone referred to this Time thing as if it was a common well-known issue with aspies. But I've not read about it anywhere?

Good question. I've seen such issues as both problems and virtues for Aspies.

As an Aspie I used to teach time management on the corporate level pertinent to insurance underwriting. The formal management of the corporation's assets and liabilities. Such things are not a problem for me, however I can certainly understand how confusing it might be for others.

 

[Structrix]

I have the same problem with money and how much time has passed as well. That is why I have a spreadsheet where I log exactly what I paid and I do my payments on paydays to make sure that I have the money to pay the bills with. I know which ones need to be paid earlier in the month and which ones later in the month as I have that set up in my spreadsheet too.

 

[Cali Cat]

I've developed this problem over time. When I was young, I was on top of everything. I think it was due to sheer determination though. As I got older and more garbage was piled on my proverbial plate, I began to lose track of things. One of those things was time. I have little concept of it now. What seems like a couple of days to me, might actually be a week. A week to me is really a month. By contrast, certain events seem like they happened only a few years ago, but really took place farther in the past. The only thing that helps me is to faithfully keep a calendar reminder. Even then, it's limited to how faithful I am about using it, which isn't 100%. I'm kind of lazy, or perhaps resentful of having to do it.

I notice I'm losing control over my money now too. I used to keep a close eye on my finances. Now, I'm spending way too much for what I make, but I can't make that correlation (as you said) of the money I'm spending and the declining bank balance. I hope I find a cure for this before my cats and I wind up homeless.

 

[AsheSkyler]

I've developed this problem over time. When I was young, I was on top of everything. I think it was due to sheer determination though. As I got older and more garbage was piled on my proverbial plate, I began to lose track of things. One of those things was time. I have little concept of it now. What seems like a couple of days to me, might actually be a week. A week to me is really a month. By contrast, certain events seem like they happened only a few years ago, but really took place farther in the past. The only thing that helps me is to faithfully keep a calendar reminder. Even then, it's limited to how faithful I am about using it, which isn't 100%. I'm kind of lazy, or perhaps resentful of having to do it.

I notice I'm losing control over my money now too. I used to keep a close eye on my finances. Now, I'm spending way too much for what I make, but I can't make that correlation (as you said) of the money I'm spending and the declining bank balance. I hope I find a cure for this before my cats and I wind up homeless.

How about hard cash for non-essentials? Or if the essentials (groceries or whatever) also kill your balance, how about you just keep savings and bill money in the bank and the rest you keep in your wallet/purse for spending money and food, necessities, and pleasures? Then wash, rinse, and repeat with each paycheck you get. Er, assuming that as a self-employed person you get a weekly paycheck. If your pay is erratic, might want to settle for a weekly allowance schedule instead.