‘Giving myself permission to make any old art has been so freeing’
A Q&A with Ren Riley about neurodivergence and money, creativity without judgment and potatoes!
I found Ren Riley’s writing in a moment when I was kind of desperate for a creative and emotional reset — and that’s exactly what I got.1
Ren is a writer and artist from Northern England. They started their newsletter Wavy Thoughts in 2024, a day after a doctor told them they were experiencing autistic burnout. Substack surfaced the posts for me as I was most certainly in the midst of my own collapse. I devoured Ren’s writing about burnout and unmasking neurodivergence, queerness, sobriety and creativity.
What I love most is that Ren’s essays are not only validating and comforting — as so much writing about neurodivergence is when we’re out here diagnosing and treating ourselves — but it is also utterly entertaining. They write with a delightful sense of humor and wit that cut through the treacle and naval-gazing that can weigh down personal essays.
Ren also frequently illustrates their newsletter, which is a fun touch; and they recently released their first poetry zine on their Etsy shop.
I got to chat with Ren about neurodivergence and money, creating art without judgment and — something so very British and so very autistic at once — potatoes! Catch our conversation below.
Something we don’t talk about enough in the personal finance space (that we emphasize at Healthy Rich) is the intersection of money with various parts of our identities. At Wavy Thoughts, you write about your experience as autistic and ADHD (AuDHD) as well as things like sobriety and queerness. How do these various facets of your identity, and others, impact your work and finances?
I think my neurodivergence makes the most obvious impact on my work and finances. I’m an extremely all-or-nothing person. It can translate into being the world’s best saver of money and penny-pincher extraordinaire, or it can mean going through a period where I’m having a dopamine-heavy time buying things I like but don’t necessarily need. Striking a balance can be tricky, though I feel I’ve got a lot better at it in the last few years.
Same with my creative work. I go through peaks and troughs in my creativity, and also in the way I “run” my (very) small business as a content creator. Sometimes it is just not the center of my focus, and I neglect it for a bit until it becomes appealing to me again. I do sometimes wish for a bit more consistency in my own focus, but then I wouldn’t be me if I were any other way!
What’s the most joyful thing you’ve done with money in the past six(ish) months?
Nothing extravagant, but this was very meaningful to me. When I gave myself permission to create artwork, I went into my local bargain store and bought one of every single art supply they had. I came out with a basketful of amazing things, including pencils, a sketchbook, acrylic paints, charcoal, pastels and pens. I’d never owned paints as an adult, and giving myself permission to make any old art and not class it as “good” or “bad” art has been so freeing.
What messages did you get about money growing up? Which have you held onto and which have you let go?
I grew up in a low income household and I think I still hold some trauma relating to financial insecurity. It’s made me quite scared of both having and not having money. I’ve tried my best to unlearn a lot of those reactions and fears, but it’s been a slow process — I’m getting there!
What’s one financial decision that frequently causes you stress? How do you work through it?
As the old meme goes, the rent is too damn high. There’s no real way to work through it other than grinning through the pain and hope one day things will change. They’re bringing in a whole new set of rent regulations to the U.K. soon, maybe we’ll see rent control in England in my lifetime.
Besides yours, what newsletter do you most recommend and why? Who is it best for?
The one I always go back to is Austin Kleon’s.
His “10 things worth sharing” newsletters never fail to brighten my day and introduce me to something new. I also find him generally inspiring as another writer who likes to draw. If you like creating stuff, he is definitely worth subscribing to.
Instead of talking about the weather, what do you wish strangers would ask you about when you meet on the street?
Rank the best use of potatoes from first to last. This is very important to me as a person from Northern England — we are at pains to remind people that we do in fact eat vegetables as potatoes are a vegetable, actually.
My ranking, if you’re interested, is:
Chips (fries to my American friends)
Crisps (Chips to my American friends)
Mash
Roasts
Literally any other type of potato
Literally anything else
…
Boiled
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Reading Ren’s newsletter was absolutely a catalyst for me in starting my new project, Hi, I'm 40. Thank you, Ren!
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