Getting Paid Weekly Or Monthly?

Legacy_user

What do u think is best? I get paid weekly and I manage to save nothing the money just goes on bills,rent,food etc etc. In my last pay check I got a weeks pay and 2 weeks holiday pay, I managed to get all the bills paid and still buy an ipod nano, weights and a treadmill, so that show I could save at least £250. Montly just seems to suit me better as I can't save anything so when I have this slap of cash I can just go and buy something, I mean I haven't been able to treat myself all year. I mean at the end of the week when all is paid I have say £20 or so left, you think to yourself "Its only £20, I just buy a chinese or something" and away it goes and you nothing to show for it.

silkglade

I get paid monthly, but all benefits are 4 weekly (child benefit, ctc) and it seems to really work for us.:D

We have got to the stage that we do weekly shopping and a mealplan every week and that is our biggest achievement. we have a monthly amount that we have for food and petrol then divide it by the amount of weeks in the month.:p

That is then our weekly budget, but if we do not spend it all it then goes back into the monthly plan and the weekly budget is then recalculated on the weeks that are remaining.:beer:

We often are a little short at the end of the month but only because we make things SO tight by throwing every spare penny at the debt.:eek:

Once we are finally debt free (again) it should be a totally different story.:j

Scarlett.1974

Our incomings are a bit of a nightmare to be honest. They are: weekly, 2 weekly, 4 weekly and monthly - it's really difficult. I wish everything just came in monthly, in one go, would make life (and budgeting) a lot easier!

tanith

Monthly pay is much better as bills come in at all times and over a month its easier to budget and see whats left.. also means you buy larger packs of stuff, like 12 toilet rolls instead of 2 and multi packs of beans instead of 1 at a time .. in time you may only have to replace things every 2 or 3 months and save money that way too...

MadCad

I get paid monthly but hubby gets paid weekly. Previously, he was paid monthly and it was a nightmare to be honest. Now, we have my lump sum paid in on the 20th and with his weekly pay, it tops us up nicely.

Jenna

I used to get paid monthly ... now it's weekly in arrears, with paid OT. Personally I find this much more motivating (I have to budget each week, which means I keep thinking about / focused on my money goals rather than ignoring them all month! lol) and a lot easier. Also I see the results from my hard work much quicker - if I do OT this week, I'll get it next week, which I really like!

I divide all my big bills e.g. rent into 4, then put a quarter of them away into my savings account each week. Just before they're due, I transfer them back into my current account. I know that sounds complicated but I honestly find it easier lol. Am I weird?!

As far as savings goes ... maybe try putting it in your sig? Or keep a log of them in an Excel doc. Also, try saving for a purpose - e.g. £20 a week = £80 a month = £960 a year! That could be a chunk of money off your debt, a holiday, anything really ...

Gemmzie

Ours varies too. I pay quarterly in a chunk (floats the account nicely), mother pays monthly, father and brother pay weekly (and their income varies), so it's a bit of a nightmare.
Thank gawd for Money, it tracks everything ahead, so I can keep a good eye on things. I work 30 days ahead usually.

mumzyof2

we get paid weekly and then every 2 weeks and child benifit ever 4 weeks.

mummytofour

We get paid monthly weekly and 4 weekly and I find it VERY hard to budget as the monthly wages dh brings in not enough to pay all the bills so have to use weekly and 4 weekly money also.

mrsspendalot

Hubby gets paid weekly, child tax comes weekly, working tax comes 4 weekly and child benefit comes 4 weekly. When we were entitled to housing benefit that came 2 weekly.

I find weekly pay much better for budgeting. I sorted out all my monthly direct debits so they either fell right in the middle of the month or right at the end of the month to avoid them all being scattered on odd days. We then have 2 weeks to make sure enough money is in for the mid-month debits to go out, then another 2 weeks for the end of month ones. Works fine for us. I also have a really detailed spreadsheet to keep track of every penny.

PasturesNew

I'd say if you can't save out of weekly wages. Then you don't want to be paid monthly or you'd have run out by the middle of the month!

However, while you are on weekly wages, it can stop you from changing jobs if the new job is monthly paid.

Why not set a New Year's Resolution to save one month's pay out of your weekly wages by, say, the middle of the year. Then stick that in a bank account "in case". If you can do that you'll be in the savings habit on weekly wages - AND - you'll not be scared of ever changing jobs to be paid monthly.