Is Being A Single Financially Independent Aspie Possible?

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I'm not and I've wondered if it's possible to be. At no point in my life have I been able to fully support myself on my own income without help from family. I have lived on my own now for 22 years. I graduated from college 25 years ago. I work full time, and have been with my current employer for almost 10 years now. I'm single and live alone. I own my own home, a condo that is part of a HOA, that I purchased using money I inherited from my grandmother after she passed. I do have credit card debt. I am satisfied with my current job, but I don't get paid enough. My mother and sister are encouraging me that I should look for another job that pays better. However, what goes through my mind is would I be comfortable doing something else? Another thought is whether as aspies, if others see us as incapable and therefore don't pay us as much?

I've owned my own house as a single parent for over 25 years.
I still have a mortgage but it's cheaper overall than rent.
I worked full-time for almost 25 years, then went to LTD, then finally retirement age.
I'm in debt but I'm not dependent on anyone and refuse to be.

Did you tell the company when you interviewed you were Aspie? Are there people doing the same job as you (and as long as you) on more money?

I think that aspies can sometimes be more capable than neurotypical people, depending on the job.

For example, I'd put money on there being many single, financially independent aspies in tech.

My biggest concern with being financially independent is that I get so burnt out from working in environments unsuitable for ASD, that I'd struggle to do enough hours to make the money. This wouldn't be a concern if I was working a suitable job, however.

Ideally I'd like the kind of financial independence that you get from big-money freelance gigs lol. Like, oh I illustrated that project there, that's enough money to last me a year. Oh, I sold another painting? There's another years worth of money lol.

As it is, my sporadic freelance work pays for like one load of shopping or a few months of gym membership, and my real job wears me out so that I can't take too much overtime or I get tired and/or mentally unwell. I live with my family and I don't think I'd be able to be financially (or any other kind of) independent in my current state. BUT, I do truly believe that with the right kind of work and accommodations, it is possible to be a single financially independent aspie. Hell, if you had the right kind of work, it wouldn't even need accommodations. There are some wildly successful autistic people across all fields of industry.

I am a Single Financially Independent Aspie. Barely. I squandered my college preparation by getting a bachelor's degree in music education. Never taught a day.

But computers were just becoming main stream then and I've always worked as a computer programmer or systems analyst. Small businesses were willing to hire anybody who simply "wanted" to learn computers. When I was 28, I landed a job in the IT department of a major retail corporation which paid me good money for 13 years before they went bankrupt. I had enough money to get a mortgage for my first (and only) house 35 years ago.

It's a good thing too, because all my subsequent jobs paid about 1/2 of what the big corporation paid.

It hasn't been easy or pretty. But now at age 69 I have no debt of any kind.

I think I was able to pull it off because I didn't need to spend money on social things. I didn't eat out with friends or go out on dates. I didn't travel or raise children. I think neuro-typicals spend most of their money on their families, friends, and maintaining their social status. It gets expensive.

So I could save what little money I made faster than neuro-typicals.
Neuro-typicals were making more money than me, but they had a lot more expenses than me too.

Now I am getting ready to retire and collect Social Security. Then I'll be financially independent without needing to work. I hope. As long as I don't increase my expenses.

So it CAN happen. It happened to me. But I wouldn't have predicted it for myself when I was younger.

Good answer! ^

I had a high salary too after climbing my way to the top in my profession, but the expenses associated with raising children are outlandish. If it were just me without kids I'd be in a much smaller place living a very simple life with very few wants or needs. Nearly everything I've earned or spent has been for the kids' sake, not my own. *OK my pets' sake too -- pets are crazy expensive too and I have four.

I wouldn't live where I'm living without kids either. I was stuck in the most expensive place in the country for 20 years, by court-order. I wasn't allowed to move more than 12 miles from my house. Now I'm stuck here taking care of my mother who lives nearby.

The short answer is that it is possible, but it really depends on what the particular person's abilities are. There's a lot of ASD friendly jobs out there that would pay enough to support oneself. I work at a grocery store and the pay isn't great, but merchandising is a very ASD friendly job where it's a lot of setting up displays and the interactions tend to be focused mainly on matters related to sales and the products involved. Most of the managers are far too busy to be annoyed by merchandisers that mostly stick to their work.

Likewise, there's a reason why there's a stereotype of ASD and accounting, for those that are OK with numbers, it's a job that is relatively light on social interaction, and involves a lot of repetitive actions that we can be very good with. Chances are things like ear plugs aren't even an issue.

Beyond that, it's a matter of learning how to manage the money that you do get, and there's a ton of options for making that easier to save versus spend, provided you've got enough income to begin with.

Its impossible for me to support myself and be financially independent because I cant get a good job and nobody will hire me even though I am college educated so I still live with my parents sadly. Its possible for some of us but not for me.

I've been financially independent and self supporting since I was 16. Working various jobs, and been both a home-owner and a renter. I put myself through College and have generally done most of the basics of typical adults. I'm ASD-2 so not an "aspie" but I manage.

The only thing I don't do is drive.

I was for almost 10 years... until I wasn't.

Scratch that... I was also doing pretty good being "independent' and "not poor" for a good while after HS, but upon retrospect, that had a lot to do with me being young enough to "take the abuse", as well as the economy being the "best' it ever was (in the short time I'd been alive) (now I know that the entire system in the "Western World" is rotten to the core and is bound to fail again and again and... oof... I'm getting ahead of myself here... Hi, meet your friendly interwebs "elder" malcontent leftist baker guy)

What was the question again? Oh yeah, I do believe one can be financially independent... BUT it makes it SO MUCH EASIER when we have actual resources available to us from the greater society when we, also, fail. So... to put it in better words... It depends. It helps to have your personal stars aligned, for sure, but also on who you are. I understand many autistic folks can, and do, lead healthy, independent lives, as they "have what it takes" to navigate this hellscape (and they should be helping us who don't) (or we ALL can RISE UP AND SEIZE...)

This has always been one of my concerns; will I be able to financially support myself if I was to ever become single (if something happened to my partner)? Although I love my job it is a low wage job, and I think I'd be burnt out doing a second job. And living in a privately rented apartment I probably wouldn't be able to claim financial support.

We're all different and have different circumstances, but it's definitely possible.

I recently scored in the middle of the spectrum on four different self-tests, but I've been working and paying my own bills for 40 years, and even married for the last eight. Both work and marriage have at times been very hard, but both have also been rewarding.

For me the key was finding a niche or series of niches in the employment world that were relatively well-suited to my strengths and weaknesses. I've been an editor and a programmer, both of which largely involved working on my own, and benefited from a lot of mastery of detail.

Two of the 3 jobs I had were retail & the starting wage was just over the federal minimum. Most of the people working there who were living on their own had money saved up from previous jobs & their housing was mostly free(like they inherited it or bought it with money from previous jobs).

Like others have said some Aspies can be very financially independent but it depends on various factors like if we have other disabilities & comorbids or if we have any special skills, strengths, or talents that could be valuable to employers. In my case I have various physical & mental disabilities besides autism & I don't have any special skills, strengths, or talents. I was very lucky to get hired for the 3 jobs I had. I was putting in apps for a couple years before I got my 1st job & I was very lucky to get an interview. I was told that the employers for minimum-wage jobs get hundreds of apps & don't have time to go through them all. Most jobs that pay a bit more than the minimum-wage want a lot of specific work experience or specific college degrees or certifications.

No arguments here. This will change over time as more businesses recognize ASD strengths, but it's likely to always depend on the specifics and if there are other things going on, that can cause problems. This is a large part of why I personally believe in generous social benefits for those that can't work and government funding for those that can work, but with significant assistance.

For me, it's possible but difficult and anxiety -producing. There's a constant, low-level worry that something I do, say, or understand wrongly will lead to disaster.

I feel that, it definitely sucks. It's a large part of what keeps me stuck in jobs that I outgrew. I've made enough of the mistakes without being fired, that I'm somewhat hesitant to move onto a better one.