🧠 How to Pay Your Bills on Time When You Have ADHD: A Step-by-Step Guide

Real talk: paying your bills on time isn’t a character issue. It’s not that you’re lazy or irresponsible either! You just have an ADHD brain that isn’t built to remember boring shit on command. Time blindness, executive dysfunction, forgetfulness, and shame spirals can all make bill-paying feel way harder than it needs to be.

The good news? With a few simple tools and ADHD-friendly strategies, you can stay on top of your bills. Here’s how.

✨ Step 1: Know What Bills You Have

Why this step matters:

You can't pay what you don’t remember exists. ADHD brains often lose track of the invisible, digital subscriptions, annual renewals, and that one random insurance policy billed every 6 months (why is this even an option?).

How to do it:

• Start with a bill audit. Look through the last 2-3 months of your bank and credit card statements. Write down every recurring bill, including even the smallest ones, such as Canva or Apple storage.

• Use a spreadsheet or ADHD-friendly template (Notion, Google Sheets, even Trello).

• Record:

  • What the bill is

  • How much it usually is (it’s a good idea to indicate the ones that vary)

  • When it’s due

  • How it’s paid (manual, auto-pay, etc.)

  • What account it comes from, or what credit card it is charged to

🛠 TOOL TIP: If you love automation, Monarch Money, or another app you can link your accounts and credit cards to, to pull your recurring expenses automatically. A quick caution though is that these apps are great for tracking money you’ve alreaady spent, but aren’t the best for planning for your future money.

🤑 Step 2: Separate Your Bills @ and Your Spending $

Why this step matters:

Having all your spending and expenses come from one account means we often have to do mental math to decide if we can buy something, or have enough to cover our bills. This often leads to (you guessed it) forgetting about a bill or miscalculating and getting hit with overdraft or insufficient funds charges.

How to do it:

• You’ll need two chequing accounts. This can be at one or two different financial institutions.

• A few things to think about when deciding how to set this up.

  • Will you need a debit card for your bills account?

  • How will you get $ into each account? Can you divide your payroll deposits, or will you need to be able to easily transfer between the two accounts?

  • Avoid adding any additional bank fees, and look for no-fee accounts.

  • Do you need access to a physical branch or to withdraw cash?

Make it ADHD-friendly:

• If you aren’t sure what bank or financial institution is best, have a chat with ChatGPT. Using this tool to help share what you need can help save you a lot of mental energy!

🧩 Step 3: Set Up Automatic Payments—Strategically

Why this step matters:

Automation is your best friend if you know where your money’s going. If you don’t, I encourage you to grab my free budget template to help you start to see your money more clearly. This can give you the confidence to start automating. But, with automation in place, don’t set it and forget it, set it and check it weekly-ish.

How to do it:

• Set up auto-pay for bills that don’t change much (like phone, internet, subscriptions).

• For variable bills (hydro, credit cards, etc.), set a recurring reminder to review and pay them.

• Move payments to your chequing account, not your credit card. If there are some you can’t, consider automating a payment to your credit card that matches when the charge is added.

⚠️ COMMON MISTAKE: Setting everything to auto-pay, not paying attention to your account, and then overdrafting. Don’t do that to yourself. Start with automation gradually as you gain confidence in the process.

🛠 Step 4: Find a Tracking System That Works for You

Why this step matters:

You need to see when things are due and be able to track when you’ve taken care of them, not just hope you’ll remember, because (as previously mentioned) you won’t.

How to do it:

• Choose your visual: Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, a big-ass wall calendar, a whiteboard, or a paper planner.

• List each bill or add them as recurring events for every bill. Use a naming convention like “💸 Pay Hydro Bill” so they stand out and don’t be afraid to give yourself a bit of a hard time if that motivates you. Think ‘hey, pay your Capital One credit card or you’ll f*uck up your credit score’!

• If using reminders, set two reminders: one 5 days before and one the day before.

• Even if you are using a more manual way to track the due dates, and if your bills have been paid, I still encourage you to add reminders to your phone so you have a visual and a reminder that is going to give you a little nudge!

🌈 ADHD HACK: Colour-code by account. e.g., blue for joint account, green for business, red for credit cards.

💬 Step 5: Build a Weekly “Money Check-In” Ritual

Why this step matters:

Regular check-ins build awareness before panic sets in. They also help you avoid avoidance mode, which tends to happen when we haven’t looked at our finances in a while.

How to do it:

• Pick a time each week (e.g., Friday morning with coffee). If you already have something you do pretty consistently each week, partner your money date with it so it helps you remember. I also encourage you to add (you guessed it) a reminder to your phone because our memories are like Swiss cheese (full of holes)

• Create a short checklist:

  • Any bills due in the next 7 days?

  • Do I need to transfer any money?

  • Did any surprises hit my account?

  • Are my automatic payments going through properly?

Make it ADHD-friendly:

• Keep the checklist somewhere visible (sticky note, pinned tab, Trello card).

• Pair it with something fun, play a playlist, light a candle, or bribe yourself with a latte.

• Find a way to add in accountability. Can you do your money check in wth a friend or partner?

🧠 MINI WIN: Even if your check-in takes 10 minutes, you’ve done more than most people do all month.

🧰 Step 6: Create a “Bill Buffer” or Sinking Fund

Why this step matters:

Late payments often happen when cash flow is tight. A small buffer set aside buys you breathing room.

How to do it:

• Open a separate savings account just for bills.

• Calculate your average monthly bills.

• Slowly build up to keeping one month’s worth of bills in there.

• If that feels overwhelming, start with one bill at a time (e.g., a $100 hydro fund).

🐢 BABY STEP: Start by putting $25 a week into that account. You’ll be amazed how fast it adds up.

⚠️ Common ADHD Bill-Paying Mistakes to Watch For

Let’s name ‘em so we can avoid ‘em:

1. Relying on memory
   Your brain isn’t a calendar. That’s not a flaw—it’s ADHD. Use external systems.

2. Ignoring your bills because you're ashamed
   Avoidance just compounds stress. It’s okay to be behind. Start from where you are.

3. Putting bills on credit “just for now”
   This is a slippery slope. Use credit only if you have a clear plan to pay it off.

4. Not writing things down
   “I’ll remember to do that later” is the ADHD kiss of death.

5. Forgetting annual or quarterly bills
   Those sneaky insurance or subscription charges will absolutely wreck your cash flow if you’re not prepared.

🧡 Encouragement for the Road

I know how frustrating it can feel when you want to be on top of your bills, but ADHD keeps tripping you up. Maybe you’ve missed payments even though you had the money. Maybe you’ve racked up late fees or had utilities shut off before. That doesn’t make you irresponsible. It makes you human, with a brain that needs support, not shame.

The magic isn’t in being perfect. It’s in finding systems that work for you and making them as easy and automatic as possible. And every time you check your calendar, or open your budget, or do a 10-minute money check-in instead of avoiding it? That’s a damn win.

You don’t need to overhaul your whole financial life today. You just need to take one ADHD-friendly step at a time. You've got this.

Need a judgment-free space to figure this out with actual support? That’s exactly what I do, as a financial coach who supports folks with ADHD. Together, we can build systems that make your money life way easier. Interested in financial coaching? Book a free consultation and let’s chat.

Let’s get your bills paid—and your stress levels way down.