Budgeting Question

[kra623]

Hi Everyone,

I am in my first month of budgeting ever and I have a question. I get paid weekly and DH is bi-weekly. If your last payday falls on the last day of the month, which month should you include the income for your budget?

Do you spend it before you get it for current month or do you roll it to the next month??????

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

If the paycheck is in the very end of the month...we use it to pay beginning of the month expenses...that the first paycheck of the month would be too late to cover. This happens infrequently--and usually in the months with 3 pay checks.

For budgeting purposes in establishing our budget...we take the 26 paychecks total and divide by 12 to get the average monthly income...and we create the budget from that.

 

[staceyfe]

I count the money for whatever month it falls into. I budget monthly, so the "3rd paycheck" (if you're paid biweekly) is always an extra for my budget. We typically use it to purchase more expensive items or (not as often) save it.

 

[EthansMom]

DH gets paid biweekly. I use the last paycheck paid in last month and the first paycheck paid this month for this month's bills. For instance, October's budget will be DH's paychecks that are issued Sept. 29th and Oct. 13th.

Like staceyfe, I do a two paycheck per month budget. Every six months, DH gets a third paycheck during the month. That third paycheck goes directly towards our vacation fund. In leaner times, the third paycheck has gone directly towards paying down debts.

 

[NancyIL]

My DH is also paid bi-weekly. I base my budget on 2 paychecks per month. When the "extra" check comes twice a year it is treated as a bonus.

 

[mamalle]

I break each bill into each payperiod every month. I have two different jobs so I see a paycheck every friday and dh every other. this month I have 3 paydays, so my last one on the 30th goes into savings.. when I draw up my monthly budget at the beginning of the year- I know which month will have a extra paycheck and allocate it accordingly to saving, home improvement or vacations..

 

[kra623]

Thanks for the advice! This month, I budgeted every dollar even the ones I will get on the last day of the month. Next month, I think that I'll roll that into the next month.