The Neurodivergent Experience

Episode: Growing Up (Financially): A Neurodivergent Guide to Money, Growth & Stability

Hosts: Jordan James & Simon Scott
Date: November 6, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode offers a candid, heartfelt, and often humorous exploration of personal finance as experienced through a neurodivergent lens. Hosts Jordan and Simon share their financial journeys, opening up about struggles with impulsive spending, budgeting mishaps, and the emotional baggage around money. They chart their evolution from “financially inept man-children” to more stable and future-focused adults, while weaving in unique neurodivergent perspectives—touching on everything from ADHD tax, demand avoidance, special interests, and anxiety to the value of independence and financial planning.

Listeners are given a practical yet compassionate guide for money management, the importance of mindset shifts, building systems that work for you, and resisting societal pressures to perform wealth. The episode closes with resources and advice aimed at helping neurodivergent listeners find their own financial footing.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Catch-Up & Context ([02:43]–[05:49])

• Hosts' Weekly Update:

  • Simon attended a Turnstile concert: “Got back very late because it was in Manchester... so I've come back and ripping and raring to go.” ([03:57] Simon)
  • Jordan recovering from a persistent flu, excited about an impending family car shuffle.
  • Personal anecdotes anchor the hosts as relatable, ordinary people tackling familiar adult transitions.

• Personal Attachments to Purchases:

  • Jordan shares how his wife, Sylvia, is attached to her first self-bought car, seeding the episode’s theme: purchases as markers of independence and pride.
  • Entering the main topic: “That is basically what we're here to talk about is... our journey through being financially debilitated.” ([05:49] Jordan)

2. The Neurodivergent Money Struggle: From Impulse to Independence ([06:28]–[14:48])

• ADHD Tax & Special Interests:

  • Both hosts discuss impulsive buying tied to special interests (trainers, golf clubs, holidays):
    • “I like nice things. I like shiny things... golf clubs... I tell myself I would like to. And you know, 400, 500 pound a pop sometimes it's not exactly short change.” ([08:05] Simon)
  • Simon’s milestone: packing his suitcase for holiday with ‘old’ clothes—breaking a lifelong habit of buying new ones for every trip.

• Upbringing and Money Attitudes:

  • Jordan: “From a very young age, I realized that I wanted my own money... I didn't like the idea of depending on them.” ([09:49] Jordan)
  • Both host's family backgrounds shaped anxieties and strategies around spending, saving, and independence.

• Partner Dynamics: Independence vs. Collaboration with Money:

  • Jordan and Sylvia maintain separate accounts; initial tension stemmed from independence, now balanced with input and mutual respect.

3. Adulting & Budgeting: Managing the Mundane ([14:48]–[24:14])

• Transitioning to Responsible Spending:

  • Simon confessed to damaging FOMO and lack of budget:
    • “It was the fear... if I don't get this thing and it sells out, I'll never get it. So I kind of need to get it now.” ([14:48] Simon)

• Spending Preferences:

  • Jordan: “I want fun, cool things to spend my money on. That's where I always struggled the most.” ([19:47] Jordan)
  • Avoiding “boring adult grown-up stuff”—a common neurodivergent hurdle.

• Consequences of Poor Planning:

  • Surprises like new tires or broken appliances frequently caught both off guard, resulting in overdrafts and shuffling credit cards:
    • “I had a credit card that I must have transferred about five times... I was really bad.” ([19:44] Jordan)

• Don’t Underestimate Demand Avoidance:

  • Both discuss how avoidance and anxiety about money make urgent decisions and mistakes more likely.

4. Turning it Around: Systems, Safety Nets, and Future-Minded Thinking ([27:32]–[39:40])

• Turning Point in Financial Maturity:

  • Jordan describes how a job upgrade enabled gradually digging out from debt:
    • “Eventually I started getting out of my overdraft. I started paying things off. And, yeah, it took. It took a long time.” ([30:07] Jordan)

• Mindset Shifts: Future Versus Now:

  • “Now I'm like... I can put that in my savings account... always thinking what that money could be for in the future.” ([31:19] Jordan)
  • Simon: “Do things with your money that future you will thank you for.” ([31:48] Simon)

• Daily Money Management Habits:

  • “I check my bank every single day. I know everything that comes out. I am... Scrooge McDuck with me coins.” ([32:23] Simon)
  • Both are almost obsessed with tracking finances in banking apps; it provides comfort and structure.

• Tech Tools & Tricks:

  • Simon explains Monzo budgeting: labeling transactions, assigning budgets, and using 'round up and save' features to automate saving:
    • “It will round it up to 9 pound... times it by five, and put 2 pound 50 into my savings... So it looks like I'm spending more money than I actually am, but a small percentage of it is constantly getting, getting put into my savings.” ([34:57] Simon)

• Business & Tax Deductions:

  • Both topics touch briefly on the realities of self-employment or side hustles and diligently putting aside tax.

5. Social Comparison & The Myth of Wealth ([39:40]–[53:21])

• The Comparison Trap:

  • Simon recounts learning not to compare himself to flashier peers:
    • “You always assume that people with the big toys have big money and they don't.” ([41:42] Simon)
  • Story: two neighbors, one with visible wealth but hidden debt, a relatable cautionary tale.

• Financial Flex as Internal Reward:

  • Jordan: “What gives me worth is that I can turn around to a 65-year-old person who's still working and still paying rent and go, oh, I'm 52 and I've, you know, paid my mortgage off.” ([47:18] Jordan)
  • Treating financial freedom and security as the goal, rather than status symbols.

• Mortality & Motivation:

  • Jordan reflects on a former manager who died soon after retirement, sparking urgency to plan for health and enjoyment, not just survival:
    • “He retired... had all these plans... a year into retirement, he got aggressive cancer and passed away... I don't want to work until I'm 70 and then die. Like, it really scared me.” ([50:43] Jordan)

• Redefining Identity:

  • “If someone says, oh, what do you do for a living? I say, oh, I'm a photographer and autism advocate. And also I'm a security manager.” ([53:21] Jordan)

6. Resources, Recommendations, and Practical Advice ([56:05]–[67:46])

• Balance & Boundaries:

  • Jordan: “Work hard, but don't make working the only thing you do... I won't do all the overtime.” ([57:59] Jordan)

• Money as a Game:

  • Simon recommends “The Psychology of Money” by Morgan Housel:
    • “It talks about the importance of being able to sleep correctly and choosing peace over profit... play your game, which is turn your money into a game.” ([61:43] Simon)
  • Idea: Treating savings and financial milestones as rewarding, playful objectives—“my game is, how quickly can I pay my mortgage off?” ([45:29] Jordan)

• Automated Saving and Investing:

  • Embracing tech solutions that make putting money aside easy and reduce executive dysfunction/friction.

• Demand Avoidance & Hyperfocus:

  • Creating systems and routines lessens mental load; using hyperfocus for research and planning helps overcome inertia.

• Impulse Management:

  • “Just put it in the basket and wait. Wait a month, two months, maybe even six months... see how much you really want it.” ([66:52] Jordan)
  • Don’t get tattoos while in the grip of a fleeting hyperfixation ([67:41] Jordan & Simon joke)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Mindset Shift:
  • “Do things with your money. That future you will thank you for.” ([31:48] Simon)
• On Social Comparison:
  • “Comparison’s the killer of joy, man.” ([43:40] Simon)
• On Internal Success:
  • “What gives me worth is that I can turn around to a 65-year-old person who's still working... and go, oh, I'm 52 and... paid my mortgage off.” ([47:18] Jordan)
• On Automating Savings:
  • “If I spend eight pound fifty on a couple of coffees... it'll round up, times it by five, and put 2 pound 50 into my savings.” ([34:57] Simon)
• Life Advice:
  • “The highest form of wealth is the ability to wake up every morning and say, I can do whatever I want today.” ([66:03] Simon, quoting The Psychology of Money)

Key Timestamps

• Financial Independence & Attachments – [05:49]
• Special Interests & Impulse Buying – [06:28]
• Spending Habits in Relationships – [11:22]
• Budgeting & Avoidance Patterns – [16:01], [19:09], [22:03]
• Turning Point: Mindset Shift & Savings – [27:32], [31:19]
• Automated Budgeting Systems – [32:57], [34:57]
• Making Money a Game – [45:29]
• The Comparison Trap – [39:40], [41:42], [43:40]
• Resources & Practical Advice – [56:05], [61:43], [63:29], [66:03]
• Impulse Management & Final Tips – [66:52], [67:46]

Resources & Recommendations

• Books:

  • The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
    • Key message: financial independence as the ultimate goal
    • Play your game, make your own luck, save consistently
    • Animated YouTube summary recommended

• YouTube Channels & Tools:

  • British finance YouTuber “Gary Is... finance guy” for practical UK-focused tips
  • Martin Lewis’s app for money-saving advice

• App Recommendations:

  • Monzo (or similar): for dynamic budgeting, labelling spending, automating savings

Tone & Language

Casual, irreverent, self-deprecating, and deeply empathetic. Both hosts use humor and honesty to discuss their challenges (“financially debilitated... to getting a bit better”; “I want fun, cool things... I don't want to be spending money on boring adult grown up stuff” [19:47]). They are practical without being patronizing, celebrating small wins (“I haven't even used my credit card for over two years now” [20:43]) and validating ongoing struggles.

For Listeners

This episode is a must for neurodivergent individuals feeling overwhelmed by money management, for those who grew up with unhealthy attitudes around spending and saving, and for anyone seeking a realistic, stigma-busting approach to financial “adulting.” The hosts’ vulnerability, actionable advice, and use of tech and behavioral “hacks” offer both permission and practical strategies—grounded in lived experience and acceptance, not shame.

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