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April 7
Money advice rarely works for the ADHD brain. We’re told to budget, track every dollar, and rely on willpower—but what if the real answer is to make it easier, not harder?
Nicole Stanley gets it. A financial coach, Latina entrepreneur, and founder of Arise Financial Coaching, Nicole helps women ditch the shame, confusion, and overwhelm around money. But before she coached hundreds of women and couples to pay off debt and build wealth, Nicole was a young mom in financial survival mode. Married at 22, she had to learn about money fast when her husband’s modest salary wasn’t enough to make ends meet. With a baby on her hip and a brain that struggled with traditional systems, she slowly built a business that now serves over 100 clients and supports a full-time team—long before she even knew she had ADHD.
Nicole was diagnosed with ADHD at 31, and everything started to make sense: the disorganization, the impulsive spending, the exhaustion from trying to do money “the right way.” She realized that what worked for neurotypical people didn’t work for her—or for many of the women she coached. That’s when she began designing tools and systems rooted in compassion, simplicity, and sustainability—approaches that honor how the ADHD brain actually works.
In this conversation, Nicole and Tracy talk about the emotional weight so many women carry when it comes to money, especially those raised with financial instability or guilt. They dive into why ADHD women are often labeled “bad with money,” how to build dopamine-boosting routines that stick, and what it means to make peace with your finances—not through shame, but through clarity and choice. If you’ve ever felt behind, overwhelmed, or just plain confused by money, this episode offers a breath of fresh air—and a way forward.
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"Every financial problem is fixable. But if you're ADHD, you need systems that keep working even when you're unmotivated—and that means automation and dopamine."
- Nicole Stanley
"Being a stay-at-home mom was the hardest job I’ve ever done. And the hardest part? No one sees the effort. You’re giving your all every day, and still feeling like it’s not enough."
- Nicole Stanley
"It’s not just about numbers. Money holds so much emotion—guilt, fear, identity. And for women, especially moms, it’s tied to worth in a way we rarely talk about."
- Nicole Stanley
"I had to unlearn the idea that I was ‘bad with money.’ The truth is, I just needed a system that made sense for the way my brain works."
- Nicole Stanley
"Real success is feeling at peace with yourself."
- Nicole Stanley
"When you stop being afraid of your bank account, it changes how you show up in every part of your life. It’s not just about money—it’s about agency."
- Nicole Stanley
"When we understand how our brains work, we can build wealth in ways no one else can."
- Nicole Stanley
- Nicole Stanley shares her ADHD diagnosis story, revealing she was officially diagnosed at age 43 just one year ago after researching ADHD to better parent her daughter who showed similar traits to Nicole's childhood self.
- She describes how her ADHD manifested as a child—being called a "space cadet" by teachers, having her own table for talking too much, and struggling in school—and how she coped by accepting she would miss information in class and figuring it out later.
- Nicole explains that her ADHD symptoms became more apparent after marriage and children, when the need for follow-through with numerous details of stay-at-home motherhood led to plummeting self-confidence and overwhelming mom guilt.
[11:00 - 27:00] From Money Anxiety to Financial Coaching Success
- Nicole Stanley recounts her money journey, describing how financial stress led to her first panic attack while planning her wedding on a tight budget, motivating her and her husband to take a personal finance course and develop a plan to pay off $30,000 in debt in just ten months.
- She discusses her early financial achievements, including reaching "Coast Fire" (investing enough by age 27 that she could retire a multimillionaire without further contributions) and how this success relieved the financial anxiety she had inherited from her father.
- Nicole explains how her business grew organically from helping friends with their finances to launching Arise Financial Coaching during the pandemic, discovering that her ADHD traits—previously seen as weaknesses—became strengths in entrepreneurship, allowing her business to grow 30-50% annually.
[27:00 - 1:05:00] Making Money Management Work for the ADHD Brain
- Nicole Stanley critiques traditional financial advice for being incompatible with ADHD brains, explaining that budgeting methods requiring strict restriction, intense attention to detail, and consistent follow-through fail because they don't provide the dopamine or challenge ADHD minds need.
- She shares her three-account system for automating finances: one account for income collection, one for automated bill payments, and one for spending money—with everything structured to require minimal management and provide regular dopamine hits when checking progress.
- Nicole emphasizes that ADHD can be a financial superpower when properly channeled, suggesting strategies like infusing dopamine into money management through rewards tied to financial goals, focusing on just one financial goal at a time, and automating everything possible to bypass the need for consistent motivation and follow-through.
- Instagram: arise.financial.coaching
- Threads: @arise.financial.coaching
- Facebook: arise.financial.coaching
- TikTok: @arisefinancialcoaching
- Book a discovery call: arisefinancialcoaching.as.me
