How It Works
ADHD Financial Guardian eliminates executive function requirements through autonomous operation. The system executes financial coordination automatically—no remembering required.
The Core Difference
Traditional financial tools give you advice. They tell you what to do, when to do it, how much to save.
Then they expect you to remember, initiate, execute, and sustain those behaviours.
That expectation is the problem.
ADHD Financial Guardian does not advise. It executes. The system becomes your financial agent, handling coordination tasks that require sustained executive function.
Think of it as having an AI Martin Lewis actually managing your money, not just telling you what to do.
Three Core Functions
1. Payment Governance
Monitors account state, ringfences bill money, executes payments automatically.
2. Sinking Fund Management
Tracks lifecycle costs, accumulates replacement funds, prevents emergency spending.
3. Spending Protection
Detects hyperfocus patterns, provides graduated interventions, preserves autonomy.
Payment Governance
Bills get paid automatically. No remembering. No manual execution. No Direct Debit at the wrong time. No late fees.
Payday Execution
When salary arrives, the system immediately calculates total bill obligations for the month. Required amounts get ringfenced. Direct payments to suppliers initiated.
This happens before discretionary spending can begin. Before hyperfocus shopping. Before you forget the council tax payment is due tomorrow.
Bill Tracking
System monitors for new bills, tracks payment deadlines, maintains complete visibility of upcoming obligations. You are notified of changes but execution happens automatically.
Override Protection
If you attempt to access ringfenced money, the system requires justification. Override permitted after articulating reasoning. This creates conscious friction without blocking access.
You are not locked out of your own money. You are protected from coordination failures that cost £180 to £240 annually in late fees.
Sinking Fund Strategy
Traditional budgets fail because they assume you will remember to save for irregular expenses.
Your washing machine will fail. Your car needs MOT. Your laptop has finite lifespan. These are not surprises — they are predictable lifecycle events.
ADHD Financial Guardian automates this entirely.
Lifecycle Tracking
System tracks every asset with replacement cost and expected lifespan. Calculates monthly contribution required to have funds available when replacement needed.
Automatic Accumulation
Each payday, calculated sinking fund amounts move to designated accounts. No decision fatigue. No forgotten transfers. No emergency spending when items fail.
Example Monthly Allocations
Vehicle maintenance: £50.00
White goods replacement: £62.51
Furniture replacement: £37.50
Technology replacement: £37.50
Total sinking funds: £187.51 per month
When your washing machine fails, you have £750 waiting. Not because you remembered to save. Because the system calculated lifecycle cost and accumulated funds automatically.
Hyperfocus Spending Protection
You know the pattern. Three purchases in 20 minutes that seemed completely rational at the time. Then you realize you have spent £200 on something non-essential.
The system monitors transaction patterns to detect hyperfocus spending episodes.
Detection Logic
Three or more non-essential purchases within short timeframe triggers graduated intervention system. System distinguishes genuine emergencies from impulse spending through category analysis.
Intervention Framework
Level 1 - Awareness: Notification of spending pattern detected, no blocking
Level 2 - Reflection: 15-minute cooling-off period, must articulate reasoning
Level 3 - Protection: Transaction temporarily delayed, alternative options presented
Level 4 - Maximum: Daily spending limit enforced, manual override required
Timing Intelligence
System respects ADHD cognitive patterns. Non-urgent notifications delivered evening only (6 to 9pm), when executive function naturally stronger. Urgent matters bypass timing restrictions.
You maintain control. The system creates friction, not barriers. Override available at every level after articulating reasoning.
Technical Architecture
Open Banking Integration
System connects to UK banks via Open Banking APIs (mandatory since January 2018). Provides real-time transaction visibility, account balance monitoring, and payment initiation capability.
AI Decision Engine
Claude AI analyzes account state, upcoming obligations, spending patterns, and risk factors. Generates contextual recommendations following established Money Saving Expert principles.
Database-Driven Configuration
All rules stored in database rather than hardcoded. Enables personalized adaptation while maintaining audit trail for regulatory compliance. User-specific thresholds, category definitions, intervention levels.
Current Implementation
System operational with live transaction monitoring via Starling Bank webhooks. AI generates payday instructions. Manual execution validates decision quality pending PISP authorization. Evidence-building phase demonstrates prevented fees before full automation.
What This Is Not
Not a budget app. Those require remembering to check them. This executes automatically.
Not payment reminders. Those require executing when prompted. This handles execution.
Not financial coaching. That requires sustained implementation. This eliminates implementation requirement.
Not productivity tips. This is infrastructure change, not behaviour change advice.
What Happens Next
System currently in evidence-building phase. AI generates instructions, manual execution validates decision quality. FCA Innovation Pathways application prepared for Q1 2026 submission.
Beta testing launch target Q2 2026 subject to regulatory progress. Clinical validation research begins Q3 2026.