How do you budget your money if you only get paid once a month?

Question

I'm having a hard time trying to decide whether or not to take a job that pays a lot more than what I make now, but it only pays once a month and my job now pays once a week.

Answer 1

I'm in the same situation.

A good idea to help at first, is to get ahead two months on your bills that you know you have each month. Make sure a company knows you are paying two months, not on the interest, such as on a car loan or house payment.

Really access what you use money on. Are there things you are paying for that you seldom or never use. Such as a gym membership, monthly fees. Do you pay for long distance on your phone, but never use it. Buy a good phone card and use that instead. That way you are paying for actual air time, not for time you don't use. Do you leave the heat up while at work, turn it down. Do you tend to drive all over, everyday for things, or do you try to go out and do a lot at once, so you don't waste gas in the car.

Then once you take the new job. Say that you get paid the middle of the month, but bills often come in the first two weeks of each month. First see if you can get each company to assign you a new billing date, that comes closer to the time you get paid. Always pay bills as they come in. If they change the time of biling for you, realize that bill will be larger the first time, as it will be fore more then four weeks. If they won't change the time of billing, then when the bill comes in, hold it until you are paid, do not put it on credit, even a small late fee that months, is less interest then you'd pay on a credit card. Let the company know you'll be paying it a few days late, that way they won't turn off services. Then the first month you take from your check the cost of paying the bill, plus you set aside the next months payment, plus a little for late fees, that way, you can pay it on time the following month. Each month whe your check comes in, you'll then set aside money to cover each bills in the following months. You learn to live one month ahead with bills, so you already have the money when that bill comes in. It may mean having no extras, no eating out, no purchases other then what you absolutely need, not want, that first month or two. But once you do it, then you are always ready with the money to pay bills as they come in. Do nto think of it as being ahead or you'll end up in trouble, you simply are setting aside enough month to cover bills that will come in before you next pay check.

Budgeting and knowing exactly what you spend money on is a must. Most people spend a lot of money on things they have no idea they are spending it on. Keep a log for one month and everytime you purchase anything put it into the log under what it is. Is it a neccessity like toilet papper. Is it just a snack for at work. A drink like pop. Is it food you bought for lunch at work. Is it groceries for the home. Etc. Learn to plan ahead for things that are upcoming, instead of waiting to purchase them out of your check, in the month they come up. Say you want to buy Mom and Dad an aniversery gift. Decide at least four months before it will come, how much you can afford, don't put it on credit, credit is just a whole that will use up your money and make it even harder to live on one check per month. So you decide that, say $150.00 is what you want to spend on them. Then you'd take out of each check in the three months fore, $50.00 and set it aside. This also gives you time to look for a nice gift that will allow you to stay within your budget. Last minute shopping is a major cause of over spending, beyond ones budget or means.

Keeping an on going budget of what money you have in checking and where it is budgeted for, will keep you from spending money that is alocated for a bills or other item. Once you get this budget working for you. Make sure to put something into savings or investments each month for later in life. Have an amount you can call FUN MONEY. Then if you want to do things with friends, it has to come from this amount. Then when you use up that amoung, you are done having fun until your next check comes. It helps you decide what is really someting you have the money for and really want to do. I have a cousin who never budgets, lives at home, yet never has extra. She could have such a huge savings, if she's just learn to budget and not jsut do wahtever she wants for as long as she has cash to do it.

Taking a Financial Freedom course can also help a lot. In the area where I live, our LDS Bishop has really pushed a Financial Freedom course, that is given at the ward every so many months, about twice a year. I've seen how so many people who had money, are now doing even better adn those who had debt and struggled are doing so much better by applying tecniques they learned in the class.

Budgeting really is the key and paying bills as they come in is essentual. That first month will take going with out, because in a way, it will feel like you are paying bills twice. The ones that are due and putting aside the money to pay the bills that will come due before you get paid the next months. After that, if with each check you set aside the money to pay bills due between that date and the date of your next paycheck, you'll do fine. I actually find it easier.

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 2

Getting Paid Once A Month

Answer 3

I get paid once a month also. I wrote down all of my bills on a piece of paper with the amount due on it I have all of my bills taken out of my checking account at the same time every month around the 15th 16th that way I know my bills are going to be paid and then what I have left over I divide that into four weeks Take that money out and put it in four separate envelopes that way I know this is how much I have the first week this is how much of the second week and so on I can't go into the next envelope or then I get into trouble so it's just something that helps. Good luck

Answer 4

My husband and I only get paid once a month and it is hard to get used to, especially when you are used to getting paid every week. What I do is add up all of my bills for the month with the dates due and the amount. That way I know how much money I have to play with (meaning going out for dinner or a movie or purchasing clothes, groceries, etc.). I then pay all of the bills that I have at the moment and then pay the other ones as they come into the house. I also put a small amount aside in our savings account to take care of those unusual things like car insurance, license plates, etc. that always appear at the wrong time. I also contacted some of the companies I owed money to and asked them to move the due date to a more convenient date and some of the companies did. Its not easy at first, but it can be done and once you get used to it, its not a problem. Making a "lot more" money then you are now would be worth it to me to deal with the once a month paycheck. Good luck.

Answer 5

Let me just give you some background info: I am relatively young, have worked anywhere from minimum wage to twice that, live on my own and pay all of my bills. I paid for a CUNY Bachelor's degree with my own money. No loans, just cash, checks and a payment plan. Please, please pay attention. Firstly, I'm assuming you have enough to live on until your first paycheck. You need to either keep a notebook or an excel document. List the following: Bills (Including electric, cellphone, cable, gas, rent) Expenses (including travel, groceries, btw 150 and 200 dollars for personal money - that's about 50 bucks a week on movies, food, the zoo, whatever.) Medical (including prescription drugs, doctor's visits, vets bills) Put these each on a different line. Add up how much each costs to get a total of monthly expenses. Pay off all your expenses before you start saving. Say your paycheck is 2000 dollars and your bills and all other expenses come out to 1000. Put 75% of that money into your checking account to pay off your bills. Save the other 25%. That means you're putting away about 500 dollars from your first check. I usually don't put it into my savings account until my next check, that way if something comes up, I don't have to take the money out of the savings account. (note: Some banks charge you if you exceed a certain amount of withdrawls/transfers on a savings account). Your goal is to save a little bit each month. But a realistic amount. You'll need to go through your expenses and see which ones you can do without or cut down. Knowing how much you absolutely must spend per month can help you decide what you can afford to save comfortably. Finally, remember to pay your bills first before you pay yourself. You may want to go to that new restaurant with your friends, but would you rather be in debt or be worry free? P.S.: I am 100% debt free. I'm not cheap, but I am frugal. P.P.S: If you'd like a sample spreadsheet, I can provide one. If you feel that this was helpful and you would like further assistance, email me. Good luck and congratulations on the new job! Sam

Answer 6

It definitely takes some getting used to, but I actually found that it was easier managing my bills when I was only paid one time a month. I paid all of my bills first thing, and then I knew exactly how much money I had to budget for the rest of the month. I was able to allot a certain amount for gas, a certain amount for groceries, etc. When I got paid twice a month, I had a bad tendency to put my bills off ... "Oh, I'll pay that with my next paycheck ..." and spent all my check on unnecessary things. Getting paid once a month really helped me get my budget on track when I was learning how to manage on my own! Take the new job and the pay raise!

Answer 7

First of all I'm not sure if this is gonna works for you, but instead of saving what has left every month ( u know after paying the rent, and utilities bill etc.) and probably at the end of the month usually there is nothing left. When I get my paid I save whatever amount that I need to save first then I take the rest of my paid to manage to pay my rent n those utilities bills then finally my personal expenses. I save my receipts whenever i buy things and calculate how much I spend each week. I know it's kinda hard, but I'm trying.

Answer 8

This may not sound like fun, but you have to make sure you plan out your monthly income/expenses on paper. Spend every bit of your money on paper before you spend any of it for real. Be realistic about your spending. I would imagine it would take some getting used to, but once you get in the habit of working it out on paper first, it will become like second nature. Good luck and I hope it all works out.

Answer 9

Get your monthly wage put into one bank account, then have your bank divide into weekly payments and get them to deposit it into another bank account. It will still be like getting a weekly wage. That way you will be guaranteed money every week.

Answer 10

you need to plan everything out on paper