Financial literacy: 5 things we wish everyone knew about money and dyslexia

Over the past eighteen months, managing money has gotten harder for many of us. Especially if you’re just starting out or you’re trying to get on the property ladder, things seem to require a far higher degree of financial literacy than they used to— when every penny counts, we need to know where they’re going. But financial literacy often requires confidence in regular literacy too…?

So how do you navigate rising prices when you’ve got dyslexia???

Sometimes it isn’t so easy, so today we’re thinking about what we know about spending, earning, budgeting and saving with dyslexia… and what we wish everybody else knew, too.??

1. Cashless living isn’t for everyone??

You’d think a shift away from cash and towards apps would make it easier, but that’s not always the case: although working with physical money can be tricky, nobody experiences dyslexia the same way, and over a quarter of folks with memory or learning differences still struggle with digital formats too.??

Most folks tend to pick the system that works best for them, so when we come across cash-only stores or card-only checkouts it can be stressful. Don’t be that person in the queue who rolls their eyes when we’re taking an extra minute to work things out, okay??

2. Can we not just keep paperwork simple?!?

Mortgage paperwork. Terms and conditions updates. Utility bills. It’s all important reading, but even when they come through to us digitally, most of them still aren’t worded in a simple and accessible way. Jargon and industry-specific terms predominate, which can make them daunting to deal with, and that’s not ideal when we’re talking about complicated financial commitments.??

Plain, accessible document language is one thing we’d like to see more of in 2024. ???

3. Co-occurring neurodiversities can make saving doubly difficult?

Dyscalculia impacts how we interpret and process numbers, which can make a lot of things tricky — anything from saving a percentage or sticking to a budget in-store to working through card statements if something looks fraudulent. But it’s not the only co-occurring difference that can have an impact on our finances: a UK study from 2022 shows that people with ADHD think they’re four times as likely to impulse spend, and 2 in 3 find it makes managing money in general more difficult.??

4. Buying for convenience is valid, actually??

Another way that having dyslexia can make budgeting difficult is how it impacts our choices. ‘It’s always cheaper to cook from scratch,’ they say; ‘It’s so much cheaper to get the bus!’ But when recipes are long, reading travel timetables is arduous or if you struggle with sequencing and timekeeping, it can make these low-cost options incredibly stressful, especially after a day of work.??

Sometimes it’s just about keeping it simple, and preserving your mental energy for the next day, because you have to do it all over again.?

5. Making money with dyslexia can be tougher??

Although there are many successful artists, entrepreneurs and CEOs with dyslexia, some working people find that their dyslexia impacts their confidence and even career progression, meaning that they may find themselves in lower-level or manual roles for longer. This can have an effect on their earnings, which makes budgeting and saving trickier.??

It’s sometimes more work to find jobs too, especially if you’re somebody with dyslexia who really finds the reading and writing side of things hard… which can make budgeting even more difficult.??

Just remember that if you need support whether you’re in work or looking for work, there are things out there to help, like the legal requirement for Reasonable Adjustments and the Access to Work Grant. If you’re managing debt and need support, you can also get in touch with the charity StepChange for free, confidential advice.?

Are you an expert in keeping it thrifty, or is there anything you want to add to the big conversation about dyslexia and money? Let us know in the comments below… ???