Organizing an ADHD Brain
This Podcast is about what it's like to have ADHD and different techniques people can apply to their life to find their own version of what organized means. Megs is a professional organizer coach with ADHD and shares how organizing your brain, while understanding how it works, provides the key to living your best life.
Organizing an ADHD Brain
ADHD, Autism, and Managing Money with Maddy
I can't respond to your texts but I love getting them!
ZEBRA stripes and the connection to our fingerprints
Preorder Maddy's book here: Mad About Money (Organizing an ADHD Brain may earn commission through affiliate links. We are supported by our audience, and this is at no additional cost to you)
Maddy is a business strategist, TikTok specialist, and ADHD coach who helps entrepreneurs grow their visibility. With over a decade of experience as a money specialist and ADHD money influencer, she has built a following of over 68,000 on TikTok and works as a CPD-accredited neurodiversity specialist. Having bought, sold, and acquired businesses—as well as learning from a failed one—she brings deep insights into what works in business. Frequently featured in major media, Maddy was named one of the most influential disabled people in the UK in 2024, and her book, Mad About Money, will be published by Wiley in March 2025.
In this engaging podcast episode, the host introduces Maddy Alexander-Grout, an ADHD business coach and money influencer who has authored 'Mad About Money.' The discussion navigates through Maddy's personal journey with ADHD and autism, her struggles with debt and how she overcame them, and her authentic methods for managing finances. Maddy shares valuable insights into the neurodivergent experience, the importance of authenticity, and creative strategies for handling money and business. The episode also highlights her new book, offering a raw and humorous take on financial wisdom for the neurodivergent community.
03:12 Guest Introduction: Maddy
04:58 Maddy's Background and Neurodiversity
06:47 Maddy's Money Journey
07:42 ADHD and Autism Diagnosis
10:01 Embracing Neurodiversity
13:17 Writing the Book
16:46 Quitting Drinking and Social Life
18:43 Music and Dopamine
18:56 Musical Journey and Financial Struggles
20:02 Resourcefulness and Overcoming Debt
21:51 Living Frugally and Finding New Dopamine Sources
24:36 Motherhood and Mental Health Challenges
27:35 Embracing Neurodiversity and Personal Branding
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The ULTIMATE Recycling & Disposal Guide: Disposal Guide
Hey, beautiful people. Welcome back. I'm so excited to be talking to Maddie today. She just wrote a book called mad about money. I'm going to put all of the links in the show notes below before I bring her on, I want to talk to you about a few things. We talk about some audie HG and audie HG simply means autism and ADHD diagnosis. Those can often be a concurrent diagnosis when you are neurodivergent. So when we refer to that term, it means that you have the co occurring diagnosis. I invited Maddie on the show because I really wanted to get her take on money and on the way that we can sometimes perceive money as neurodivergent. prior to me decluttering my home and feeling like I had a handle on it, I bought a lot of stuff and I bought a lot of stuff from Target and from Amazon and if I couldn't find something, I would simply purchase it again instead of trying to find it in my home because that felt too overwhelming and so as we continue to declutter our homes and figure out how to find Organization and systems that truly work. I also want to normalize the fact that there's some things that we live with that can be difficult. And once we are put in the position, where we are so uncomfortable that we know we need to make a change. That's where we do start to make a change in the way that works for us. I love the way that she talks about how she got a handle on her money. So we'll dive into that in just a second. So when she's speaking about 40, 000 pounds, that is 50, 410 United States dollars. So just to give you a little context A quick reminder, don't forget to go to OrganizingAnADHDBrain. com and click on the banner that leads you to the dopamine menu. I created a video and a download for you for free so that you could create a dopamine menu to go to instead of scrolling, instead of finding a snack, Instead of doing something that might not be as beneficial to you and your brain. And I challenge you to go and fill it out so that this month we can all work on having a little bit of less screen time. As a country right now in the United States, we're being inundated with news constantly. And it can sometimes feel as if we're drinking from a fire hose. so part of me recommending the dopamine menu is to also remind you that you need to take a break. You need to take care of yourself through everything that's happening, all the changes that are happening. you need to be able to take care of yourself. And a dopamine menu is one of the ways that you do that. I also wanted to shout out Dana K. White who had me on her podcast last week, and so many of you showed up to this podcast because you heard me there. Thank you so much for checking out what I have to offer to see if I could be the right host for you to listen to. I'm so, so grateful that you are learning more about your own ADHD. Let's go ahead and jump into this episode.
Megs:I'm so pumped to be joined by Maddie, who just wrote a book on money. She self identifies as AUD HD, and I have been following you on social media for I don't even know how long I might have followed you on TikTok first or threads regardless. I'm all over your feed just watching what you're doing and seeing you represent the neurodiversity community in a way that just helps us feel seen and heard. And it's really nice to just see people who are doing the dang thing and figuring it out. Thanks for being here today. I can't wait to ask you about a million questions.
Maddy:welcome. It's lovely to be here. I can talk neurodiversity stuff like all day long. So whatever you want to ask me, I'm an open book.
Megs:Well, of course, first off, your accent is delightful. So tell us a little bit about where are you from and, and what is it that you do?
Maddy:So I am from a city called Southampton in the UK. it's about an hour and 20 minutes away from London. So, you know, I am vaguely close to London. Southampton's a city where literally nothing happens ever. It's, it's probably like the pits of entrepreneurship. Like, you know, you have to go to the city if you want to get anything done. and we are so far South. we are. Basically the most South you can get in England without falling into the sea. my accent is a Hampshire accent, which is quite nondescript. And if anybody, I would say probably more along the kind of semi posh lines. you know, the further north you get, the more, kind of, the more northern you get, I guess. but to me, I don't really have an accent, so it's interesting that you think mine's cute.
Megs:in college, I used to go out with my friends and pretend I was from England. And then, my friends who actually knew the accents in England would make fun of me because it was so awful. And it was, because I grew up watching My Fair Lady, it was half cockney and half posh, and I would just, like, meld them together. And then, of course, under the influence of alcohol, everyone else believed me, but my, yeah, my friends would make fun of me. I owned it, so
Maddy:I'm terrible at any form of accent. Like, I can just talk how I talk and that is basically it. Oh, unless you want me to be like a, like a children's narrator of like, a cartoon or something. I reckon I could probably do that but not anything else.
Megs:you are very active online. You have a large following. And so tell us a little bit about what you do and what you talk
Maddy:So, I refer to myself as a multi potentialite, which essentially means that I do all of the things, and because I've got ADHD it covers all of the things, I think when you've got an ADHD brain, because you're constantly creative And your brain sparks new ideas. The best thing that you can do, especially if you run a business is to show up as you be authentic, be the person who follows their values, their belief system. So I do a few things. I am a TikTok trainer. I'm an ADHD business coach. I run a membership called Invisible to Influential, which is, basically an entrepreneurship membership that helps people to get visible and own their shit, essentially. But I also, I help neurodivergence, in the workplace as well. So I work with corporates to educate their staff to make better working environments for neurodivergence. and I'm also a money influencer on TikTok, mad about money official. So I started my TikTok account, about three years ago now, two and a half, three years ago. Basically just shoving up and telling my money story because I have been in 40, 000 of debt. Twice in my life. the first time was completely intentional. I had a spending addiction due to undiagnosed ADHD. and the second time was a complete and utter accident, but also kind of ADHD related. I did that very common thing. called not reading the small print. and I borrowed a lot of money for my business. I thought that I was protected. It turns out I wasn't protected. And then when that business sadly died, after the pandemic, everything went with it, including my bank balance. So I have narrowly escaped bankruptcy twice. but I've learned an awful lot about money. And it's been one hell of a ride. I was late diagnosed ADHD, so I got diagnosed when I was 37, by a very tin pot small online company who later on, went into administration and then I completely questioned my life. Like, I'd just come to terms with the fact that I had ADHD and then all of a sudden I was thinking, well, actually, this isn't worth the paper it's written on now. So do I need a new diagnosis? And we're so lucky in the UK that we've got, we've got the NHS. you know, honestly, we take it for granted, but it is a really good system. So I managed to get my second ADHD diagnosis about. Two and a half, three years later, so I just turned 40 and I went to my psychiatrist for my ADHD test and she said to me, you know, you're autistic, right? And I was like, no, I'm not. I refuse to believe that I am autistic.
Megs:Giggles*
Maddy:Maddy, you are autistic. You need to go away and do some research. So, you know, I'd done a lot of research on ADHD. I'd actually trained to be a neurodiversity specialist so I could, you know, Back up my coaching. So although I do ADHD coaching, it's not your typical ADHD coaching because I work with business owners to help me to grow their businesses. So in my mind, it'd be an extra qualification to have. So I was just, you know, I went away, they prescribed me medication. So essentially I'm on kind of the UK version of Ritalin. and it was game changing for me. Like the first day that I was on it, I was like, This is the most insane thing that my brain has ever experienced. I went from having a million TV channels to having one really boring channel that was quite quiet, and I was thinking, this is like, this is really weird. Like, how is this happening in my brain? But it all started to change when I put my favorite jumper on. Fuck, this thing is really itchy. Why is this so itchy? I was like, why am I panicking so much about an itchy jumper? Oh, this label's really annoying, like. And then it started to be the social situations where I'd walk into a room and I'd feel instantly like there were so many people and it was really overwhelming and senses and taste and smell and everything was just heightened. I was like, Oh, there you are, autism. so over the last year, I have gradually been getting used to the fact that actually I am autistic, but the ADHD has kind of been masking it for such a long time that I just didn't realize. so now I always have the constant battle of, do I take my ADHD medication and be more autistic? Or, can I cope without the medication, and my brain be all over the place? So I'm constantly in a battle with which one I'd rather be, because they don't often work that well together. So that's, you know, a was a really short question, and I gave you a really long classic
Megs:I would expect nothing less. I think your journey is fascinating and also one that so many of us can relate to is finding out later in life and then understanding. I think a lot of us go through the question of, gosh, what if, but then we start to embrace the question of what now, and what do I do with this information now? And how do I attack it? And so it sounds like. You've truly embraced who you are, and so how has that worked out for you And simultaneously, maybe not worked out for you, right? Like, I think there's like this dichotomy of it. Yeah.
Maddy:Yes and no. So, I mean, the first thing, I have not had a particularly great early life. I've been bullied multiple times. I have had so many jobs that I've lost count of them. I have been so terrible with money and since I got my diagnosis, I have known and understood why. And I think it's that. Really validating thing where when you know and understand your brain, you can actually move forward and you can find coping strategies. so the first thing that I tackled was my money situation. Like I knew that I wasn't particularly good with money. I have been on and off bad with impulse spending for the majority of my life. I also have most of my life had a drinking problem. So that was one of the first things to go. I decided to quit drinking and that has been really game changing. I'm not going to lie. I'm really, really miss bloody Mary's, but apart from that, you know, my mental health has been amazing, you know. My friends all still drink. they just love the fact that I'm designated driver for everything now. So, you know, we go to festivals and gigs and, you know, all sorts of fun things. And it's like, how are we going to get there? Oh, well, Maddie can drive. Brilliant. Cause she doesn't drink anymore. So, you know, I always end up being the person who drives, which, you know, it's fine. if they give me petrol money, obviously. so it has been, really eye opening. And I think the more I unmask, the more authentic I can be, the better everything around me is because I'm aligning with my values. I'm showing up as the person who I should have shown up as years ago. You know, I'm done with being ashamed of being a weirdo. I'm actually fully embracing the fact that I am weird as fuck and that's cool, you know? and the people around me are also weird as fuck. So I also think that really helps me. It's definitely helped my business because, the more authentic and honest I am, the more people are like, do you know what? What you see is what you get with Maddie. And that's what people want from someone they're doing business with. writing a book for me has been a really hard journey because I'm not just ADHD and autistic, I also have dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia, PMDD, Hashimoto's, perimenopause, discombobulation, all of the things. So actually having a set period of time where I was writing my book was, really quite hard. I don't think people really fully understand how hard it is to write a book when you've got ADHD. hyperfocus was something that I had to really, really lean into, and it was good. But this book is just as raw and just as authentic and honest as I am. It's quite sweary. In fact, there were 342 swear words in it at one point, and my editor said to me, you need to edit those out. And I was like, I don't want to though, because like swearing is part of my thing. And they said, okay, we'll, we'll come to a deal. So, we changed all of the swear words in the book to funny words. And then, at the back of the book, we have a fuck glossary.
Megs:That's incredible. I love
Maddy:I know, and, and do you know what? this is a really weird thing, and I never expected, like, writing a book was never on my game plan at all. I just, you know, it was something that I thought, You know, or maybe one day, but I never thought about it. And I got approached by a lady and she said, We've been watching your social media for ages. We want you to write a book. And I thought it was a scam. Like, genuinely thought it was a scam at first. Then I had a call with this lady and I thought, Okay, maybe this isn't a scam. maybe it's actually a thing. So they said, we want a proposal from you. Like, we want you to write an ADHD book. I thought, an ADHD money book? That's going to be really boring. I mean, like, There are so many ADHD books out there that, like, bore people to tears. There's a lot of money books that bore people to tears. I didn't want to be that person. I wanted to be, like, the new Denise Duffield Thomas. That was kind of, like, where I was going with it. I thought, you know, I'm gonna be someone who has got a book that people remember for the right reasons. So, I made it sweary, I made it honest, I made it raw. It's quite funny if I do say so myself. it's sad. It will make you laugh, it'll make you cry. It will help you to learn things and it'll help you to understand your brain better. and it's not a boring A DHD money book. It's something that is, it's me, I guess. So I hope people like it. I mean, it's out. really soon actually, last year I was like, Oh, my book's out next year. And now I'm like, my book's out in like 10 weeks and it's terrifying. but also I want to make it an international bestseller. I, you know, I have got a feeling that it's going to do well because it's, it's not just about money. It's, it's about Neurodiversity as a whole, it's about relationships, it's about love, it's about friendship, it's about money, it's about business, it's about parenting. Like, all of the things that your boring, typical money books and business books and ADHD books. So, you know, I like to say I've run naked through an arena of people. I am getting naked in front of the world, which is kind of scary because it is really raw in places.
Megs:Yeah.
Maddy:it's just me. What you see is what you get. And I am 100 percent an oversharer, which I think a lot of ADHDers will, will relate to.
Megs:yeah. And like, I like that you're doing it in a place where you can inspire us to not feel ashamed about oversharing. Because honestly, when we overshare, cause I quit drinking as well. And I think the more we talk about it, how it can be very inhibiting because I know I used it to quiet my brain. I would get off work and I worked in the corporate world and finally I was just like, Oh my gosh, shut this thing off. I can't think about it anymore.
Maddy:I think one of my biggest things was that I had no off switch. So I used to love how quiet it made my brain, so I would drink and drink and drink and then I'd be so hungover. And it was like a cycle of like, going out drinking, being hungover, going out drinking, being hungover. And I just realized that I wasn't really enjoying my life because I was constantly living it, feeling, really low, because obviously alcohol makes your mood low. so when I removed that from my life, it actually really helped me to be more me. And, I think when I'm more ADHD, I've started to not take my medication when I'm knowing that I'm going to go out for a night out, because I would much prefer that ADHD fun maddie is out, rather than the autistic, people hating, not wanting to be social, and also I need the dopamine. for example, I went out for one of my friend's birthdays at the weekend, and Lovely friends, really great, but we were at a club, and I couldn't hear people talking. The music wasn't my bag. Like, it was kind of like, your Beyonce R& B kind of stuff, and that's not me. I'm a pop punk girl. You know, give me like, all time low, and Stuff like that. And you know, that's, where my love is. but this kind of stuff, I was just like, no, it just wasn't doing it for me. And because the music wasn't doing it for me, I was really grumpy and like, not really that sociable. So I had to come home. so it can be really hard because I know that if I was drinking, I would have stayed and I would have just got drunk and it would have been fine. So there are situations where I kind of miss it. But I try really hard to still get involved wherever I can.
Megs:It's gotta be the right music. That's a huge thing
Maddy:For me, music is, you know, all of my chapters in my book are named after songs. I'm such a big music fan and music is such a big dopamine hit for me. I wanted there to be a playlist for the book. and it kind of takes you on a bit of a journey through the songs that I've liked over the years as well. so there's lots of like American rock bands, cause you know, that's really my thing, but there's also various different artists all genres,
Megs:That's awesome. so I'm fascinated with your money journey, being 40, 000 pounds. I don't know what that converts to us dollars, but still that's a lot of
Maddy:it's about, I don't know, probably like 50, 000 or so, I think. Maybe, maybe slightly more.
Megs:what was the journey to get out of that? And then, of course, to do it again, You did that twice. what I love about, and I can't wait to hear your story about it too, is that sometimes we put ourselves down so much for, like, getting into these situations, but a lot of it does have so much to do with ADHD or consumerism or the capitalistic societies that we live in. To that point, we don't give ourselves enough credit for the way that we get out of those situations. And so you did it once. I mean, at the second time, you're like, I did it once. Why can't I do it again? So
Maddy:The first time I didn't even know I had ADHD either. So I got myself out of debt by finding ways to switch my dopamine to different, more slightly healthier habits. I went to see, Citizens Advice, which were people who kind of help you when you're stuck with stuff. And they said, it's either bankruptcy or you pay it off. And I was like, well, I don't really want to go bankrupt. That doesn't sound particularly attractive. And also, I was like, my parents will kill me. Like, that's big shame on them. It's big shame on everybody. You know, it's almost like I'll have bankrupt tattooed across my forehead. So, I decided that, actually the best way forward was to work out how to pay it off. So I broke it all down into really small steps. I worked out how much money I had coming in, how much I had going out, and I I basically survived on barely nothing for about four years. I stopped spending money on anything. I gave myself a charity shop budget so I could go to the charity shops, I could buy my clothes from charity shops. If I was going to supermarkets, I could buy discounted products. But apart from that, nothing else. I used to smuggle gin into our local pub in a plastic bag. water bottle so that I could go out drinking with my friends and not have to buy alcohol. and I used to have parties at my house where, I would invite all of the people around in hope that they would leave their alcohol in my fridge so that I'd have something to drink for the next few weeks.
Megs:Okay. So you are just super resourceful.
Maddy:yeah, I, and, and, and actually, ADHD, problem solving is a really, really good thing. we're creative. We find ways that we can. Kind of overcome the adversity. And I don't think we give ourselves enough strength and credit for the fact that we are resilient people. I just learned how to live in a really different way and it was all about discounting. So it was like the coupons and like the discount codes and shopping online and making like haggling. Like I'd go into shops. And there was a a guy who used to have like the reduced gun, so I would follow him around the shops and see what food he was reducing and kind of flirt with him a little bit, give him a bit of the eye and see if he could produce the thing that I wanted to buy. and he always did it. His name was Ben and I actually ended up calling my child Ben. I forgot about him until like years down the line and I was like, Oh, I knew I liked that name because that's where it came from. it was, just one of those things where like I started to just be a bit more conscious about my money. And I was earning quite good wages. I was working as a recruitment consultant. So I was helping people to find jobs. And there was this one time where, This big bank wanted to work with us and I couldn't work with them because my debt was so bad. Because they had to credit check anybody who was working with them in case of like fraud and stuff like that. And I couldn't work with them. And it was just that, that moment of shame and guilt and feeling so horrendous. I just thought I needed to, to solve my life. And I got really savvy with money. So I was saving, I was living on a really, really small budget. There wasn't as much online shopping as there is now. So it was a lot easier back then, you know, we didn't have Amazon. We didn't have like all the, you know, the clothing and things that that are around now. So I just stopped being in situations where we needed to spend money. it's a lot a lot easier for me to be more conscious of my spending because I don't have any cards linked to anything. I don't have my cards saved to my phone, I don't have Apple Wallet, I don't have anything where you can tap and scan, I have to physically type in my card information into the internet if I want to buy something, which makes you have that conscious awareness. decision between you and the money. often use cash like it's becoming a very weird thing to use cash now, but I still do my my entire life changed and I realized that I wasn't the materialistic person that I I once was the person who got their dopamine from buying shoes and clothes and handbags. I got my dopamine from discount shopping and saving money. And now, I get my dopamine from the rewards that I give myself for saving, in a slightly different way. at the same time as being in 40, 000 of debt, this time around, I mean, it's now about, I think my debts are now down to about 6, 000, and actually I'm going to clear that probably in the next month or so. I've also been saving for a house. I think a lot of people think, you know, if you're in debt, you can't save for something at the same time, but you can. It is possible, And eventually I became a mum and that was a journey in itself. And, quite traumatic things happened in that, which you can read about in the book. mean, it's a, it's a bit of a trigger book. there's lots of things that I talk about. in there that, you know, trigger warning, I talk about mental health, psychosis, sexual assault, you know, that there's some really quite nasty things in there, which I think really needed to be said because people who have got ADHD are often quite vulnerable to external factors and things that can really affect our mental health. So it's really important. It has a happy ending, I promise. It's not all doom and gloom because it sounds like, oh my god, this is going to be a shit show. But it's not, it's all about all of the fuck ups that I've made in my life and how I fixed them and how resilience and determination has kind of got me from one point in my life to the next point. And, you know, last year in a brand new business, I made a hundred thousand pounds, which, you know, It's not a small amount of money, um, this year is really exciting, you know, I've got lots of things coming. and I know that it's going to help people and it's going to actually help to change people's lives You know, this is always my thing. there is so much content available out there online, I put stuff out there, and, and I'm really honest about it, because I want people to understand themselves and their own brains. So, that's why I do what I do. And, if you think you've got ADHD, and you are contemplating getting a diagnosis and going down that route, do it, because honestly it's the most liberating thing I've ever done.
Megs:Oh, that's really powerful. I'm really excited to read the book because I feel like I connect so much to stories that people tell. Even if it's not my story, right? I think when we see parallels in other people's stories that make so much sense to us, we start to think about our own lives in a different way and start to give ourselves permission to do that. To believe in ourselves in a different way. And I think
Maddy:Absolutely.
Megs:when I'm on social media, the ADHD autism content, I'm just like overloaded and I'm like, stop it. at the same time, I can stop that. Right. I can say, I need to put a little bit of a veil up and I don't need to see it all at once. Depending on what you're looking for, whether it's help with money or help, just understanding your diagnosis, or what do I do with the fact that I'm time blind or trying to get your clutter under control, or just trying to understand why we're so dysregulated all the time, there's something out there for you. And part of it is just saying, what am I going to focus on right now? Because everyone out there has a story to tell, and you're telling your story because really. You lived it and now you're brave enough to talk about it so that other people can say, if Maddie did it, then I can do it too. Right.
Maddy:I want to inspire people to, understand themselves. Like I spent so long feeling like I was broken. and actually I'm not a broken horse. I am a beautiful multicolored rainbow zebra. every single zebra on this planet has different stripes. And this is the thing with neurodiversity, like, even, you know, if you've got ADHD, if you've got autism or whatever neurodivergent condition you've got, your brain will be different to the next person next to you who's got ADHD. So just because you experience something in one way and your friend experiences it in a completely different way, there's no wrong, there's no right. You are your own multicolored zebra. I actually did I did a picture actually. It's on my tiktok. You can have a look at it. I actually put it up in my stand store for people to download so that they can color their own selves cause you know, mine's rainbow. I think my daughter's, you know, she's purple and pink striped, we can all be who we want to be, I've actually got the word zebras tattooed on my ankle because I'm really weird. I am obsessed. Like, literally obsessed. Sorry, I'm like flying, throwing this thing around. This is like the best thing I've ever discovered. it is a washing up, scouring pad. but it doubles up really nicely as a fidget
Megs:I have a box of Silly Putty, so if it gets too worn out, I just throw it away and grab a new one. I
Maddy:I'm literally surrounded by fidget toys. I'm like, I've got these ones and this and then, hair bands. Hair bands work really nicely
Megs:I love it.
Maddy:yeah, I just need constantly things to,
Megs:I love that so much. my daughters have fidget boxes My five year old, Cora, loves zebras. And I cannot wait to tell her that you call it zebra over across the pond.
Maddy:my husband calls it zebra because he used to live in the Emirates and whenever I talk about zebras and my daughter, who is five, watches way too much American YouTube, so she also calls them zebras.
Megs:Well, I'm going to call it zebra because I talked to you today, it's funny because We play, this game called the animal game and it's so fun. But whenever we talk about cheetahs or lions, she's like, I hate those because they kill zebras. I can't wait to download your coloring because She would absolutely love that.
Maddy:they're also, zebra unicorns, so they've got unicorn horns as
Megs:Stop it. We're about that life. I color every day. That's one of the things that I like to do.
Maddy:have you ever used ChatGPT to do colouring? Like colouring? So what you do is you literally write into Hi ChatGPT, please can you make me a colouring page for age whatever, because obviously it depends on like the, you know, the level. I would like in my picture, Unicorn rainbow zebras, rainbows, roses, sunflowers, and Harriet, my five year old, yesterday, she said she wanted owls and cats, and it actually created her an owl with cat ears. Then you save them in Canva, save them as a, as a PDF them out and then colour them. It saves so much money on colouring.
Megs:my gosh. That's brilliant.
Maddy:and you can create whatever you want to.
Megs:Yeah. That's a great idea.
Maddy:I know, I'm full of them. Too many for everybody else. Like, this is why I do business coaching, because I've got way too many of my own ideas and I have to share them with the world. otherwise I'd have 70, 000 businesses and that's not really that great for burnout.
Megs:it's a lot to manage it and like trying to do so many things all at once, I love everything about you and I love how you show up authentically and even more. So I've been talking to so many entrepreneurs that have ADHD and or autism. And you found a way to not only show up in a business once, but you have multiple facets of your business that you explore that keeps you interested in what you're doing.
Maddy:you see, this is this is the thing, right? So, everything I do, I do under my personal brand. Because that means, like, and also it protects me as well, because, having had a failed business before, and one that failed so catastrophically, and it took me with it, I now show up online as me, so people buy into me, and if any of my businesses were to fail, It doesn't matter because I'm still me and I've still got my personal brand. I've still got my TikTok, I've still got my Instagram, and I can still carry on regardless. So if something doesn't work, I try something else. And from an ADHD perspective, finding your personal brand and showing up authentically as you really Protects you from so much. I've got a membership, which is for, neurodivergent business owners. you don't actually have to be neurodivergent to be in it. It's a safe space for neurodivergence, but it's all about personal brand and visibility. it's a nice space to be in and it's like 10 pounds a month, which is. I don't know, like 12, something like that. So it's super cheap. and it's just a nice place to hang out and meet, meet new people from across the world. And I, I've also got a visibility festival as well that I do online. because I am self indulgent enough to have my own online universe. it's hosted in a platform called Go Brunch, which is amazing, it's called the Madiverse. it's rainbow, it's dopamine, there is a dopamine playground, there's a rainbow cafe, there's the Procrastination Station, which is like online co working. I've got a rainbow office on there. there's multiple different stages for multiple different things. I'm always looking for new people to come into my world. Cause I like to help other entrepreneurs to get visible. it's just fun. I love it.
Megs:That's awesome. So how can everybody find you?
Maddy:I think my, the best platform for me is mad about money official. I'm maddytalksmoney on Instagram and then maddyalexandergrout on everywhere else. You can actually buy my book. It should be available in, hopefully, fingers crossed, all good bookstores. my publisher is also an American publisher as well. So it will be an international book. and you can order it on like Amazon or wherever. and it's called Mad About Money.
Megs:Heck yeah. Oh, that's awesome. Maddie, thank you so much for coming on today and sharing so much, being authentically you. I'm so privileged to talk to you.
Maddy:Oh, it's been amazing being on. Thanks, Meg. Honestly, it's a lovely podcast and I really appreciate you inviting me on.
WH-1000XM5-1:How great was that episode? I loved how Maddie said that she used to follow around the guy Ben who would mark down the prices and then she named her son Ben. What a fun story. One thing I wanted to remind you as she was talking is she's talked about how she doesn't have any of her cards saved so that she can pay for things easily. So in the event that she goes to purchase something online, she has to re enter her card information each and every time. Is that annoying? Yes. But, does it also make you think truly consciously about buying the next thing that you're about to buy? Also, yes. She also talked about purchasing a house and how she had been saving for a house, and in between us recording that and this episode, She put in an offer that was accepted on a home. So, congratulations are surely in order. I really enjoyed how she talked about zebras, zebras, in a way that allows us to celebrate our differences. I didn't know that zebras all have their own unique different set of stripes. Not one zebra is the same. How fascinating is that? And I find that when I'm working with my clients too, they're all thoroughly, incredible, beautiful, fabulous humans. And not one of them works the same. Not one of them is the same human. We're all different with our own idiosyncrasies and our own quirks and our own habits and our own preferences and I love that we're able to continue to celebrate our brains in that unique way. And another thing I want to highlight here is that especially the second time around when she got out of debt, she could have given up, she could have said, Oh my gosh, this is the time that, I'm going to quit on this entrepreneur thing. I'm not cut out to be managing my own money, right? there's so many different things that she could have done to give up on her money situation and she didn't. And as she mentioned in the podcast, she made over 100, 000 last year. That's a lot of money! So with that in mind even if you're having a really hard day, or a hard week, or a hard year, it will pass. and that's not to say or decrease what's happening in your life, because it matters, and it's something that needs to be dealt with, and it's something that's truly happening. And there will come another day, and your attitude will change from day to day. And there are some days that you're going to be able to take action, and there are some days that you truly just won't be able to. And there's nothing wrong with that. If you are ready to join a community where we talk about organizing, we talk about ADHD, and I provide you with some additional tools and group coaching along the way, Come join my community. It's 27 a month, and you get 5 off your first month with the code PODCAST. All you do is go to organizinganadhdbrain. com and click on Community. If that's not enough, and you feel like your clutter needs some additional one on one support, so that you could not only understand your ADHD brain, But also understand what's been holding you back this entire time from having less clutter and also getting organized. Then book a coaching call with me. I have three slots to fill for coaching this month in March. And I would love to chat with you to see if you and I would be a good fit for coaching, happy women's history month and have a wonderful week.
