Dealing with money

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I once read that it is quite common amongst people in the autistic spectrum to have problem managing and handling their finances. Is this true and is there anyone here who can relate?

I must say I have problems with it Because of my contamination OCD I stay away from home whenever I experience problems with my phobia. As a result I go to restaurants and cybercafes sometimes instead of staying at home to eat, browse, ... Of course when this occurs on regular basis it becomes very hard to save some money and very often my monthly balance is close to zero. I luckily don't have any debts but I also rarely save some money from my salary.
Also, when I need to plan something (a move , a travel , anything) I always try to calculate in advance how much money that I will need. Somehow I always spend more in the end than I calculated before, and each time the again the actual amount is higher than expected so I somehow make the same errors again each time.

Is there anyone else who finds it difficult to manage his finances?

I know many people with Pdd-nos who can't handle money.
The moment they get some money into theyr hands they go shopping like it's xmass and buy everything they see.
Some are into dept because of this.
Alot of them receive 10-20 bux 2 times a week as an allowance.

Myself i've always been great with money.
I tend to kind of overdo it sometimes and have saved up alot because of that.
The term hamstering can kinda fit me.
Altough it's not really like i am a penny squeezer, i make sure i always save some each month.
Compared to people my age i'm vastly more responsible with money.

Im somewhat bad with money as well. I eat out way more then i should be. I buy anywhere from 1 to 5 cds about every 1-2 weeks. I do the same for comdey dvd's. Plus im in debt from post secondary.

Growing up in the filth of NJ and working with jail inmates and children I have come to accept germs as a part of "training" for my immune system. I do wash my hands as often as possible, but I NEED germs so that my immune system doesn't get lazy!
As for $$$, I think I handle it better than some people--- I have to. But then, it isn't that hard for me. I clip coupons and shop at thrift stores. I just put most of it in the bank when i get paid. I DO wish I were better, though, with INVESTING my money. I want it to do something more for me, but I am afraid of things like the stockmarket--- too much like gambling for my liking. I don't like taking chances. It's too radical and unnerving.

All of my bills are deducted automatically from my checking account. All of my paychecks are automatically put into my checking account.

My problem is more that I'm excessively frugal. I moved out of home in 2001 and my grocery bill for a MONTH was $19. Then when I got a raise so I was making $9.25/hr, I went a little more extravagant and a $24/month grocery bill. Lets just say I ate a lot of rice and balogna sandwiches with items purchased from Aldi's (you know teh $.33 cent loaf of bread, $1.00 pack of balogna). I can't even fathom the idea of having balogna in my mouth now.

However, I was able to live off my savings from that job so I wouldn't have to work at all for two of the years I was in school, and I still had enough of a decent amount that I was able to travel frequently after graduating and buy a new car last year. Now I'm geting back into the habit of saving again. I used to think everyone had $10,000 in the bank in case something bad happened and so I was being frugal in order to get to that $10,000. Unfortunately I had to quit my great paying job when I had made it to $7000 and then lifes expenses kicked in. But now I'm going to try once more to get there, but this time I'm not going to be miserable if I don't, or beat myself up over buying a $.50 candybar when thats money I could have had in the bank.

Right now I don't really have much money to manage, but I'm actually OK at it.

I don't have problems managing wid my money as i normally tend 2 save more n spend less.

am have the maths ability of a toddler or younger,can't make sense of counting even.
when went to college [on a multi lesson course for people with disabilties],had overtime learnt basic counting via the use of an abacus,but lost it all again through a regression.
parents handled finances for am before moving out,and after-it was and still is done by residential home staff,trafford council and CSCI [think they come to check everything is okay with finances].
bank account is a basic savers account,the one with the book so it's easy for them to keep track of spending and there isnt a debit card there to use to buy loads of games,computers etc.


am recommend changing account to a book type account only,rather than one with a debit card,if use debit card a lot like with internet buying,and what about going on a basic course to do with money management/maths as well?

Fortunately in my case, I have debt-phobia, and therefore I avoid huge spending situations. I even have about $1000 saved in the bank (which is alot for a college student with no regular job)

The only problem I'm gonna have is when I get into the real world, as I have HUGE problems with chain of command-related stuff... not so much in taking orders and performing seemingly menial tasks, but instead the fact that I would report directly to whoever needed to be reported to, instead of just to my superior. That kind of behavior is detrimental to working in 99% of all work environments out there (I would either have to start my own business or some other form of self-employment...)

I'm frugal until I can't stand it anymore and splurge. Then I feel guilty and start pinching pennies again.
I think Western society in general has money management issues.

Money, financial planning and investing are one of my major obsessions so it has worked out well for me. Most NT's I know are pretty terrible with money which is why the mortgage market is collapsing.

Hmm, interesting question, with a nice variety of answers; I'm a whiz at mathematics, but my grasp of money and relative values is roughly on par with RainMan's. There've been many moments in my life where someone has asked me how much something cost me, and I honestly answer that I don't know, whatever I paid for it? I'm in a fortunate position; I just make more money that I spend, and everything just works itself out; but the money that I happen to have, I'm pretty cavalier with. Gods, I don't even want to think about how much I spend on coffee in a month. Or even gasoline. My ex was always kind enough to do our taxes for us.

I have a friend who's very into the stock market and related analysis; but whenever he starts talking to me about it, it just sounds like "Blah blah blah" (which is not at all his fault - the subject simply can't hold my attention, as much as I try to be interested). In any case, something has always made me nervous about the vapid nature of stocks; I like things that are tangible. And if something has no practical use to me, I generally ascribe little value to it; diamonds are a great example of this (unless we're talking drilling or sharpening). They're pretty, but WTF? I guess some folks are easily dazzled by little sparkly things. Which is not to say that I do not have my own, uh, toy fetish? But if anyone ever asks me what good my sword collection is, I just look at them and say, "Zombies. Duh?" It's funny how most people think that's a joke, but I take zombie preparedness very seriously.

Good fortune,

- Icarus likes pointy things, not shiny things...