How to budget when payments are coming in at different times each month

You save up enough money so that you have one months worth of expenses saved up before you even get paid. This then acts as a buffer to smooth the income and expenses over the month.

I would suggest using 2 accounts. Open another one for your own spending, and have (if possible) the first month's bills aside so that it's paid. Then as each payment comes in pop a proportion in to the bills account, so that at the end of the month the money has been replaced ready to pay the next month.

This should be proportionate, so it would depend. If you have smaller payments that add up to most of the bills, pay them into the bills account, then top up from a bigger payment. Or, if you have one larger income that would pay it, keep the smaller ones in your day to day account.

I am finding that 2 accounts is helpful. Most of my bills come out on the 28th, some on the 15th, and a few on the 1st. That means having 2 accounts means I'm not having to work out what has been paid, what has still to be paid every time I get my debit card out. Mine are with TSB for bills, and Bank of Scotland for my day to day account (both interest paying, Bank of Scotland also gives cash back on purchases with their Everyday Offers). My salary is paid into the Bank of Scotland and I transfer the money for my bills to the TSB account each month. I have to have 2 direct debits on the Bank of Scotland, so my road tax and £10 mobile bill are set up there. Aside from that what's left is for me to spend and I can easily see what I have left :-)

The answers above are about managing what is called 'cashflow', that is, making sure you always have a plus amount (a positive balance) in a bank account. Always a good idea, and keeps you in control of your own financial situtuation.

It can also be helpful to give yourself a bigger picture and plan your spending for the coming year, if you know how much you have been spending in the past. You can then use this as a basis for decision-making if your income has decreased.

This can be much easier if you are able to keep your bank-statements on your computer to analyse them, but it is also possible to do it on several large (A3) pieces of paper. (I know, because that is how I used to do it).

You write a list of everything you have spent September 1st last year to August 31st this year & every amount of money that has come in (or have them in a spreadsheet on your computer). Then you add everything up & end up with two totals - one for what you spent, one for money coming in. Then you compare the money that came in last year with what you are going to be getting this year from 1st Sep to 31st Aug next year.

If the 'out' is more than the 'in' then you have a closer look at the categories of your spending. You can have columns on your sheet such as

• household bills
• cash withdrawals
• food shopping
• travel expenses
• clothes & shoes
• presents
• eating out
• mobile phone

Some items you will be able to trim back on, some you won't. There also may be creative ways round it like applying for free school meals or going on 'freec*cle' instead of buying new.

Hey,

I recently just created a spreadsheet with all my fixed costs, long-term/short-term debt vs my income.

So I know my fixed costs equal a certain amount (rent, bills, any regular recurring payments like haircuts, Netflix etc) and because they're fixed i always know how much I'll have or need, took 15 minutes to do.

But I also have several accounts so I have one for food, bills, my own allowance, savings so when I get paid my money goes to the right account.