How do you cope with 5 week months ?

debbycatz

Thanks for all your replies and good advice - your a great bunch :beer:

I was going to do what Barnsleylass suggested but I have already done my budget and worked out a weekly pay of £210. When I re-calculate it using barnsleylass's method, it works out at £193 ..... a 'loss' of £17 a week :eek: which means I'd have to recalculate other stuff .

I know that I haven't 'lost' it in theory but I still can't quite get my brain around it and it doesn't really help much for this immediate month anyway.

I'll just have to try to shave some money of something else and put it into a '5 week month' pot so I can use that to tide me over.

Thanks to everyone for your help and advice - I will keep mulling it over and hopefully come to a conclusion/decision.

As 'postingalwaysposting' says in her sig "why does everything involving money always have to be so difficult" :rolleyes:

MinnieSpender

I have a spreadsheet for each month. When I get paid (monthly) I take off all the bills etc that need paying (most go out by DD/standing order) and whatever is left is divided by the amount of weeks I have left until the next payday. I then round it down to the nearest £10 (£50/£60/£70 etc) and take this out of the bank on a Friday. That has to last me till the next Friday and I manage OK like this. Any cash I've got left is put to one side in case of emergencies. It works for me.

Jaymz

The way I do it is by taking my spending money out of the bank on the 1st of the month (£200) and then just making sure it lasts the whole month by being very tight and careful with the money!
This month I have been doing very well and still have over £130 left. Hopefully I will have about £100 left come the end of the month so will pay that into my holiday savings account and then start all over again on the 1st of October

debbycatz

MinnieSpender wrote:

I have a spreadsheet for each month. When I get paid (monthly) I take off all the bills etc that need paying (most go out by DD/standing order) and whatever is left is divided by the amount of weeks I have left until the next payday. I then round it down to the nearest £10 (£50/£60/£70 etc) and take this out of the bank on a Friday. That has to last me till the next Friday and I manage OK like this. Any cash I've got left is put to one side in case of emergencies. It works for me.

Hey, this could actually work for me minniespender. I like this idea. I'm a typical DFW who loves to obsess over spreadsheets so I think this could work well. It wouldn't be too difficult for me to look at it as a month by month thing. After all my essential bills are paid each month, I have £362 left for shopping and my personal allowance. Looking at this figure on a monthly basis would obviously mean I would have less to play with during those long 5 week months but would be fairly ok for the normal months.

Thanks Minniespender :T I am going to give this some serious thought and may implement this as from Septembers wage

MinnieSpender

Good luck with it debbycatz. As I say, it does work - you have to be a little bit strict, but as a DFWer (with a love of all things spreadsheet shaped!) you'll manage.

Rounding the weekly amount down means that there are always a few quid spare in the bank just in case, and the emergency jar has helped me out of minor scrapes quite a few times!

Once you get the hang of it it works really well - good luck x

CAFCGirl

I've always found it helps to plan in advance for the 5 week months.

For example I know september is one, then I've got it marked up which is the next etc. So I can plan it into how and when I'll be spending things.

i.e any utility bills, which I get quarterly need to be paid before the 5 week month, as I know it'll be harder etc

CAFCGirl

MinnieSpender

On subject of your Rays'

How could you miss Ray Charles?

Hourglass

I have the opposite problem - I get paid every 4 weeks and my bills are monthly!

debbycatz

CAFCGirl wrote:

I've always found it helps to plan in advance for the 5 week months.

For example I know september is one, then I've got it marked up which is the next etc. So I can plan it into how and when I'll be spending things.

i.e any utility bills, which I get quarterly need to be paid before the 5 week month, as I know it'll be harder etc

Thanks CAFCGirl - Can you tell me when the other 5 week months are ? ....or does it depend on one's pay day. I'm hopeless with figures

BTW - good to hear you sounding brighter

MinnieSpender

CAFCGirl wrote:

MinnieSpender

On subject of your Rays'

How could you miss Ray Charles?

Ah, he was considered by Freebird and myself. However, as he's gone to the Great Piano Tuner in the Sky, we didn't add him to the list because we have no chance. :rotfl: