How do you organise your monthly budget/money with a flexible payday?

miss_emmajane

I am studying at university and get a bursary on the third Friday of every month but since moving out in January with my boyfriend and having to start using the money wisely (or rather, just not having food bought and bills paid by my parents) I am finding it hard to plan around.

It is different each month, and I think if it were the 1st each time I could have a set in stone budget but I am finding it difficult with it always changing - do anyone else have a different payday each month and plan around that?

HappyMJ

miss_emmajane wrote: »

I am studying at university and get a bursary on the third Friday of every month but since moving out in January with my boyfriend and having to start using the money wisely (or rather, just not having food bought and bills paid by my parents) I am finding it hard to plan around.

It is different each month, and I think if it were the 1st each time I could have a set in stone budget but I am finding it difficult with it always changing - do anyone else have a different payday each month and plan around that?

Yes some of my money some in on the first Friday of each month. I assume that it will be the 7th and set all direct debits against that income on the 8th.

As your payday is the third Friday then assume the latest possible date being the 21st and set all direct debits against that income to be the 22nd or later. If it's paid on an early 3rd Friday which next month is the 15th then just ignore it until the 21st.

sonastin

I used to get paid fortnightly. DDs were set all over the place because the income was all over the place too. When I went to getting paid on the 25th, it took me ages to get the DDs reset to something convenient.

Easiest way to budget is to have the "monthly" income set aside - either physically in another account if there's a risk you'll dip into it or just mentally written off if you are disciplined. Annual bills probably need the same treatment if you have any. The rest of the money is yours to spend each month. Budget so much per week and try to stick to that. Remeber that some months will have an "extra" week - allow (amount left each month)*12/52 for your weekly budget.

Should work out OK if you can make sense of what I'm suggesting!

nuttybabe

i used to get paid 4 weekly when i bought my first house. I lived alone so no one to help if i got short. After my mortgage got refused due to me running out of money, I set up a spreadsheet and used my 4 weekly pay as monthly and budgeted around that. The 1 month a year i got 2 pay's was brilliant!!!

Penny-Pincher!!

I would probably just order 1 main shop monthly using whatever voucher code I can find and make a meal plan before hand knowing what you have in to know what to order.

You could stick to a few staple meals weekly. Each week we generally have a roast, sausages, chops, minced lamb and an egg and chips night. So thats 5 meals without thinking about it IYKWIM.

You'll get there.

PP
xx

pigpen

I'd work on the lowest income you have ever had.. if you get more.. bonus!

Utilities, phones, insurance etc is all a fixed amount each month so you remove that from your total and what you have left is for everything else.. work out a food budget and beyond that you can save or spend as you like..

My monthly bills are £600 the mortgage £650 etc.. I don't consider any money mine to spend until those are paid. Food bill I try to keep around £700 a month (for 10 of us and pets) and after that I look nat stuff for the house and children and days out and savings etc.

lizzyb1812

A LONG time ago I had a similar payday - in your plans just set it to the latest it could possibly be - ie in your case the 21st - and budget as though it always goes in on that day. And as another poster said, arrange direct debits etc to go out straight out after 21st if you can.

tori.k

I've always been paid every 4 weeks since i stopped getting a cash paypacket i set up another bank account just for bills and transfered the amount each month to cover these, it works well if you know your bills are for a set amount each month then we'd shop/play out of our personal account. ( I didn't venture into the joint account territory untill after I was married too many horror story's)

PipneyJane

tori.k wrote: »

i set up another bank account just for bills and transfered the amount each month to cover these, it works well if you know your bills are for a set amount each month then we'd shop/play out of our personal account.

That's been my approach, too. I got burnt too many times when I didn't have a separate account just for bills. Money that goes into the Bills Account is virtually untouchable, since I don't have a debit card or a cheque book for that account - all payments are by direct debit or standing order. When working out the budget for my Bills Account and how much I need to transfer to it, I always throw in an extra £50/month for "something-I've-forgotten-to-include-that'll-rear-it's-ugly-head-sooner-or-later".

Since I married, our joint account is the Bills Account. We pay into it in proportion to our salaries. Housekeeping/grocery spending money is taken out as cash from our personal accounts on payday and goes into its own separate "kitty" cannister in the kitchen.

miss_emmajane

Thanks for all your advice, esp the ladies that said about the 21st - I hadn't thought of that at all, and will do it from now on. Regardless of which date it goes in, I will treat the 21st as the start of my new month budget, it will be just what I wanted in order to keep things in order

zippychick

as this has dropped down the OS board, ive moved it to budgeting and bank accounts.

Zip