Is there a budget/envelop app for BI-WEEKLY budgeting?

[MommyBryn]

I cannot seem to find one!! My husband is paid bi-weekly, so we budget by that and not by the month, as his wages are different every time. Because I split some payments for that, and our spending has to stay within each bi-weekly budget, trying to do the monthly thing has always been a pain in the rear and so none of the apps have worked well for us. I'd love something I can use that my husband and I can both see on our phones as I do all the budgeting and bills and most of the spending, and it would be nice if we were always able to be on the same page (he works a job where he is away a lot). We use credit cards for almost everything to get the rewards (never carry a balance) and I am fine budgeting on paper as I've always done, but like I said it'd be nice to find an app that I could use.

 

[MommyBryn]

By the way, I CAN spell envelope correctly, but I canNOT figure out how to edit a thread title, apparently.

 

[Elleshoodat]

I cannot seem to find one!! My husband is paid bi-weekly, so we budget by that and not by the month, as his wages are different every time. Because I split some payments for that, and our spending has to stay within each bi-weekly budget, trying to do the monthly thing has always been a pain in the rear and so none of the apps have worked well for us. I'd love something I can use that my husband and I can both see on our phones as I do all the budgeting and bills and most of the spending, and it would be nice if we were always able to be on the same page (he works a job where he is away a lot). We use credit cards for almost everything to get the rewards (never carry a balance) and I am fine budgeting on paper as I've always done, but like I said it'd be nice to find an app that I could use.

We use Budget Envelopes. It's nothing fancy, but you can track your expenses bi-weekly, monthly, etc., and you can sync it between devices.

 

[DrummerBoy523]

We use EveryDollar which has an app you can have on your phone. I actually do 2 budgets a month because of exactly what you are talking about. I am a free lance drummer and web designer and my income fluctuates. I do a budget for days 1-15, and then on the 14th I blank it out and do another budget for days 15-30. Haven't found anything that works perfectly but my wife and I can see this on our phones and we have been using it for over a year.

 

[chris31997]

We also use everydollar and do it monthly. BUT cash a check for cash every 2 weeks.

OP you could do a monthly budget by looking on a calendar and seeing how many paychecks are coming in that week. My mom does a version of this to pay her bills on her paydays

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

By the way, I CAN spell envelope correctly, but I canNOT figure out how to edit a thread title, apparently.

From your computer (I don't think you can from mobile). Right above the OP on the right is a little drop down called "Thread Tools" from there one of the options is "Edit title." took me awhile to figure that out. It's not really intuitive.

 

[MommyBryn]

We also use everydollar and do it monthly. BUT cash a check for cash every 2 weeks.

OP you could do a monthly budget by looking on a calendar and seeing how many paychecks are coming in that week. My mom does a version of this to pay her bills on her paydays

Thanks, I will check it out! The problem I had with just doubling the number was that it isn't a consistent number each time, it's always different, so sometimes my numbers came out much higher than we brought home, or vice versa.

From your computer (I don't think you can from mobile). Right above the OP on the right is a little drop down called "Thread Tools" from there one of the options is "Edit title." took me awhile to figure that out. It's not really intuitive.

Oh cool, thanks! I've never seen that option before!

 

[dclpluto]

From your computer (I don't think you can from mobile). Right above the OP on the right is a little drop down called "Thread Tools" from there one of the options is "Edit title." took me awhile to figure that out. It's not really intuitive.

Yes you can did it today on My iPhone. Had to change the title

 

[Princess Minnie321]

My DH is paid biweekly. I have our bills for each month split up between two paychecks per month. On the months that he receives 3 checks, I spread the bills out over the 3 checks and then bank the extra money from each check.

I have our budget setup in excel.

 

[Judique]

My DH is paid bimonthly. I have our bills for each month split up between two paychecks per month. On the months that he receives 3 checks, I spread the bills out over the 3 checks and then bank the extra money from each check.

I have our budget setup in excel.

I think that's biweekly - I get 3 checks during two months of the year. You get a check every 2 weeks usually on a Friday for us.

I consider that as 'found' money and it goes for the extras, like paying for xmas or part of a vacation. I actually budget on the one check per month and try to dedicate the other to savings to increase my retirement funding. It hasn't always been like that as when we had a family to support, the checks weren't quite as hefty as they are now.

 

[Princess Minnie321]

I think that's biweekly - I get 3 checks during two months of the year. You get a check every 2 weeks usually on a Friday for us.

I consider that as 'found' money and it goes for the extras, like paying for xmas or part of a vacation. I actually budget on the one check per month and try to dedicate the other to savings to increase my retirement funding. It hasn't always been like that as when we had a family to support, the checks weren't quite as hefty as they are now.

Yes sorry I meant to type biweekly. My DH is biweekly and paid every other week. I love when we get 3 checks in a month!

 

[MommyBryn]

Thanks everyone! I think the problem I had when trying it in the past was that when I divided everything into two to make it bi-weekly, the months I had a third paycheck come in or if we weren't perfectly within a calendar month that it just threw everything off. It's totally easy to manage on my own, but trying to find an app that shows the numbers realistically is proving to be a challenge!

 

[dhardawa]

Here's what I do. You may want to sit down. It's complex, but it works.

Paycheck is deposited into account A.

When I receive it, I move the following to different Capital One 360 accounts.

1. $100 to a checking account to pay the water, electric, and gas. Those can't be charged. When the bill shows up, it is paid from that account.
2. $50 to an account for Christmas.
3. $50 to an account for car repairs.
4. $20 to each kid's account.

I write a check for half my mortgage.

I put aside $150 to cover things like the cell phone bill, Netflix, and other things that auto charge to my credit card.

I send $100 to the college funds.

At this point, all my bills are half paid. What I have left is what I can spend during the next two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, anything left is moved to savings and the process starts again.

Months that have three paydays are a bit different. From the extra paycheck, I put money in another Capital One 360 account to cover the car insurance bill that comes once a year. I don't need to pull out money that pay period to cover mortgage or credit card.

It's a complex system, but I never have a bill show up that doesn't have money already earmarked to pay it. I hate surprises. Plus, I know what I can spend each pay period.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Have you tried You Need a Budget?

 

[MommyBryn]

Here's what I do. You may want to sit down. It's complex, but it works.

Paycheck is deposited into account A.

When I receive it, I move the following to different Capital One 360 accounts.

1. $100 to a checking account to pay the water, electric, and gas. Those can't be charged. When the bill shows up, it is paid from that account.
2. $50 to an account for Christmas.
3. $50 to an account for car repairs.
4. $20 to each kid's account.

I write a check for half my mortgage.

I put aside $150 to cover things like the cell phone bill, Netflix, and other things that auto charge to my credit card.

I send $100 to the college funds.

At this point, all my bills are half paid. What I have left is what I can spend during the next two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, anything left is moved to savings and the process starts again.

Months that have three paydays are a bit different. From the extra paycheck, I put money in another Capital One 360 account to cover the car insurance bill that comes once a year. I don't need to pull out money that pay period to cover mortgage or credit card.

It's a complex system, but I never have a bill show up that doesn't have money already earmarked to pay it. I hate surprises. Plus, I know what I can spend each pay period.

This is actually almost exactly what I already do. I have it down pat on paper, where I prefer to budget, but the reason I'm looking for an app is just to reflect all of this so my husband can have a more active part it in all when he is away at work for long periods of time.

Have you tried You Need a Budget?

I have, that and Mint were the first ones I tried

 

[bencooper]

My step mom also couldn't find a biweekly budgeting app, so I decided to make one! After spending a year learning to code, I just launched it. You can search up "EveryTwo: Biweekly Budgeting" in the App Store and Google Play Store to find it!