Time for the annual "BEWARE!" thread...

EssexHebridean

Yep - here we are again, that time of year when everything can get rather expensive. But - thank goodness - we get paid early, don't we! That wil help! Or will it...?

I'm talking about the "December pay trap" - you know the one, rather than being paid on the last day of the month, or the 28th, "because it's Christmas" your company set up the pay run early - anything from 10 days early. The money lands in your bank account, and you start spending....regardless of the fact that usually, you'd manage for another week on the previous month's pay. And then, come mid January, the money has run out. Sound familiar?

Rather than thinking "Oh good, I've got paid early" I'm going to urge you to pick up that pay, and ditch it into a savings account. One that you don't have a debit card for. And then ignore it, until 31st December, when you can transfer it back to your current account to meet your commitments for the month. Remember, nobody will be taking Direct Debits early - if anything they go out slightly late, and come January you will still NEED that money just as you do every other month, so put it out of temptation's way.

To put things into perspective - if you get paid on the 22nd, rather than the 30th, and you start dipping into it immediately - that "month's" pay then has to stretch nearly 6 weeks. And we all know that's not going to happen, which is when the credit cards come out again.

Over the last few years on this forum we have seen SO many people in a panic in January for this very reason. Don't let yourself be one of them.

Wishing all DFW'ers a very Merry Christmas, and a happy and successful debt-busting money-saving 2018! :santa2::xmastree::xmassign:

Former_MSE_Andrea

Thank you for the warning and tweeting this EssexHebridean!

EssexHebridean

You're welcome Andrea - it scares me hearing/seeing people talking about this "being paid early" thing! :eek:

166million

Is there anywhere to earn interest on it for those couple of weeks?:money:

EssexHebridean

Well even just in a routine savings account it will earn "something" - which is definitely better than nothing!

tealady

I am someone who gets paid early. My trick is to ignore my wages till the "proper"pay day.
Also I save in a credit union then in Dec have my savings put into my bank account.
HTH

louby40

I got paid today - 14 days early.

I’ve moved it to my savings, as I have done for the past 2 years. It’s the best thing to do. We don’t get paid until the 31st January!

166million

166million wrote: »

Is there anywhere to earn interest on it for those couple of weeks?:money:

Actually I've just opened a 5 percent current account so that'll do nicely

:T

Windofchange

The reality is unless you are earning a footballers wage, a month of even 5% interest is going to make very little difference, but I would wholeheartedly concur about the advice to just put it somewhere and forget about it. You might as well earn 50p in interest I guess.

166million

I always get paid 'early' as I usually get paid on the 25th and budget from 1st of month. So I am used to this.

MERFE

My OH is paid early on the 22nd but he is paid 5 weeks wage in Dec and I only ever budget his 4 week wage so I will use some of the extra weeks to do the Christmas food shop and to take the kids out a couple of days but I will still be using the rest of the extra weeks pay for an overpayment on our last credit card. He is then paid again on 26th January so it shouldn't be too long a month. I remember when it used to be last day of the month and January would drag on.