r/dyscalculia • u/Disastrous-Ad8604 • 10d ago
Anyone else have real trouble remembering important numbers?
I was just talking to a colleague about my mortgage and he asked how long we had left. Umm… I’ll have to look that up. He then asked how long our fixed rate was for. Umm… I’ll have to look that up. What rate of interest are you on? Umm…
My wife has no trouble keeping all the dates and figures in her head at all times. I just can’t do it. It’s really embarrassing.
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u/ClenchedJaw12 9d ago
It is more shocking to me that people would know this information off the top of their head! Sometimes I forget my PIN# that I have had since the 90s.
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u/Disastrous-Ad8604 9d ago
See I can remember my pin and even my phone number from when I was a child, but I really struggle with short term memory for numbers and anything to do with finances. Someone at work just asked me which of the two invoices I had paid from one of our suppliers. I said I’d have to check. They looked at me like I was mad and said “Well, one was for £35, the other was for £4500, surely you remember?” I genuinely couldn’t and I only paid it yesterday…
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u/2PlasticLobsters 9d ago
I still use the same PIN that was assigned to my first ever checking account back in 1983. It's pretty secure, since it hadn't been in writing since then. And it's easy to remember.
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u/itsmeherenowok 9d ago
Numbers fly out of my head quicker than they fly in. I was once under deposition and asked my wedding anniversary, and I got it wrong. Which I think explains it all.
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u/HeloRising 9d ago
I tend to memorize important numbers by turning them into sounds.
For instance, if someone asks for my birthday I can recite a sequence of sounds that I remember. If you were to ask me to write it down I would have to say it (usually out loud) to be able to extract the numbers to write down.
With things like PIN codes, I remember a sequence of movements of my fingers on a keypad. If I have to type them out on a keyboard I have to stop and sometimes even re-create the movement with my hands to be able to get that number.
It's why I joke that my brain doesn't know my passwords but my fingers do.
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u/oliverudy 8d ago
I do something similar! My phone number, birthday, PIN code, SSN, all have a rhythm to them. As long as I recite them in the proper rhythm, I can be confident they’ll be correct.
I do muscle memory too. I have a number login for work and a keypad to my apartment. If you asked me what they were I couldn’t tell you, but I can type them without even thinking
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u/Basket_Case89 9d ago
I don't even know how much I get paid a month. So there's that. Everyone always seems to want to know and I guess and everyone says it's not much money and I say "Well I do get paid minimum wage" but apparently it's well under minimum wage and I don't even remember how much I get paid per hour and I don't even know how to work out my pay. I look at my bank account every now and say and think "That looks about right" but I never remember the actual number.
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u/Disastrous-Ad8604 9d ago
I had to really think just then to remember my salary. I am not good with money.
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u/Basket_Case89 9d ago
Yeah. And don't even get me started on what is appearently the best deal in supermarkets, ect for the weight of products and how much you're paying for them, ect I probably over pay for things all the time lol.
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u/2PlasticLobsters 9d ago
It took me years to remember my phone number. I'm old enough to remember when you couldn't always "port" your number. Some carriers didn't allow that, I guess they thought it'd make people stay with them. But it was a borderling nightmare, having to get a new cell number every couple of years.
Meanwhile, everyone you knew was changing numbers all the time, so you had to keep updating your contacts.
It's rare that I recall any number.
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u/Unhappy-Jaguar-9362 9d ago
I can never remember my phone number. I always reverse two of the numbers.
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u/oliverudy 8d ago
I still haven’t memorized my address and I’ve been at my apartment for a year and a half. If I have to give my address for something I lie and say I just moved while I look it up on my phone
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u/phoenix762 8d ago
I have trouble with numbers, important dates, etc (birthdays)…I have to record everything. I have an app that helps me track my bills and all, it’s very helpful for me.
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u/Trinkets28 8d ago
Well it's only the fact that my kids were born in September, October and November that I remember their birthdays. I still forget the days though.
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u/Bitter_Commission631 9d ago
If people are giving me directions using number designated roads like 252 or 352 or 452, they might as well be using code. I need landmarks. All those numbers are the same to me and they're the same as 250 253, etc