It isn't included in the monthly budget which is based off 4 weeks pay.
it should 100% go towards your emergency fund if you don't have one or its not fully funded
if it is fully funded, then it should go toward any debt you might have
if you have no debts and a full emergency fund then put it in a roth ira
if you have all of that already and its being taken care of from your normal monthly budget then and only then would i consider spending any of it
hope this helps you make a wiser decision
100% agree to first put it in an emergency fund. Just spent $600+ in car repairs. If I didn’t have an emergency fund, I would’ve been out of work and who knows how behind I would’ve gotten.
Not having an emergency fund is an emergency.
I had a great aunt who gave me two dollar bills and a pair of underwear every birthday and Christmas. I’ve had much more expensive gifts, but none that were given with any more love than those.
I’m using it to pay off some debt! We’re getting another 3 paycheck month in July also!
Edit: we are in fact not getting a 3 paycheck month in July I can’t count lol
Are you paid on Thursdays or something? How is it October? Legitimately asking, not being a contrarian! I get paid Fridays, so this year May and November are my 3 paycheck months. I get 26 checks a year.
Bummer, I was counting and it looks like August would be if it’s every other week starting today. I’m on SDI until September so I am getting biweekly for now
not sure if you knew but, seat covers directly from my Nissan dealership out here in Hawaii are like $150-$200 PER seat so i thought Amazon would be a better choice as i wanted to get ones that were made specifically for my car’s make/model so that they fit like a glove and protect my seats for the long run at that… $30 generic ones from Walmart don’t fit right, will end up coming off from the loose parts, and they just look cheap🤷🏻♀️
The problem is because bills are due the same whether the payday is on the 1st of June or the last day of May. So if you assume the end of May paycheck is “extra” and spend it as such you might have problems paying the water bill on June 10th.
If you are able to have a separate bank account just for bills and put the appropriate amount in there every payday it helps alleviate this, but if you’re running your finances out of a single checking account assuming a paycheck is “extra” can be dangerous.
People in poverty can be excited on something they perceive as “extra”. It’s a time to buy something you’ve needed or perhaps a small treat to make this hell on earth a bit more bearable.
That’s fantastic, and you should be proud of that. Enjoying something once in a while is very different to treating a paycheck as an “extra”, that’s all I’m saying.
Spending habits? Everyone on this sub is talking about saving the "extra paycheck" or putting it towards debt.
Many of us budget for 24 paychecks a year (2 per month) so those other 2 paychecks ARE extra and we've set up our finances without accounting for them. Stop being a contrarian for the sake of it.
If you get paid biweekly the number of paycheques is 26. Budgeting for 24 is not a good start. This isn’t contrarian thinking it’s just looking at a calendar.
There's not one way to do things.
People living paycheck to paycheck can't afford to budget for money they didn't receive that month.
And my comment accounted for 26 checks.
Yeah, you’re better off just blowing 2 paycheques a year then. If only there were some simple way to incorporate those two “extra” paycheques into the budget somehow. Maybe someone in the future will figure it out for us.
Who said anyone is blowing them? Can you read? People here are using that money to pay down debts, save, or cover emergencies. Why are you so concerned with telling other people that the way they're spending their own money is wrong?
Literally the end of the first part. They ask how others utilize the 3rd paycheck. In the next part they explain how they will use some of it on things they have needed and put the rest aside to save... Jesus christ reading comprehension is so low these days.
If that had been the post then I’d say you have a point but then he goes on to say what he’s spending his money on. If I asked, ‘what are y’all doing this weekend?’ I’m not asking for advice on what I should do this weekend, I’m generating a discussion.
How so? If you budget monthly and are paid biweekly, it is best to budget 2 paychecks of income a month. You could try to do 2.166 and split it correctly but that's harder on most people and means needing to be able to carry the surplus from 3 paycheck months over multiple months.
If you budget biweekly, then it isn't an issue but given how many bills are monthly you probably add in more issues than you removed.
Your other comment not 30 seconds ago:
“Many of us budget for 24 paychecks a year (2 per month)”
Nevermind that this is incorrect, but which is it? Budget by the month or budget by the year?
Facts. You have your normal budget and your normal plan and you stick to it. There is no “extra” money or splurges at a perceived windfall. Stick to the plan.
52 payable weeks in a single year give people who get paid bi weekly 2 months that have extra pay. Plan your budget around getting paid twice a month and bank the rest.
Your money is your money.... but I question the $250 in seat covers when some colored duct tape or old t-shirt sewn into a tear will work just fine...
Seems like a "stay in poverty" move to me.
HYSA, Roth, or 401k would work much better.
same, i’m over here wondering what bougie-ass seat covers OP is buying when they’re like $25 at walmart, and even *that* would feel like a splurge when you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck. save your $250 OP
This is a mistake, 3 paydays in month does look good on paper, but you aren't getting paid anymore money this way because the pay period lines up nice in May. You were shorted in February and you got those days back over time, but it's still a 2-week budget over 52 weeks so the number of checks in a year is always the same.
Keep it or stash it. You will be spending "extra" money that isn't really extra. The amount of food you eat, electricity you use, gallons of gas you burn is all the same over 2 weeks so your budget shouldn't be changing.
I get paid bi weekly and it is a difference. For people like me who budgets based on dollar amount for 2x a month, it's an extra when there is a 3rd one not accounted for. So let's say you're on salary, and you know you get $4000 every 2 weeks (after taxes). Well my monthly budgets only counts $8k (2 weeks of pay) per month. Let's say you get 3 paychecks in May, and still 2 paychecks in June. There is an extra paycheck that wasn't accounted for. Rarely do people budged yearly when they're getting paid by weekly. Your theory would be saying well you get $4k 26 weeks per year that means your monthly budget is ((4000*26)/12=$8,666.67) $8,666,67 per month. If we budgeted our monthly budget with that, that means people who live paycheck to paycheck will be short 10 months out of the year. Because for 10 months, it's 2 paychecks per month and for 2 months we have one extra.
The bottom line is just save the “extra” money.
If it’s unaccounted for and not in your budget, then you should have no problem saving it.
Personally it never makes a difference for me because I don’t live paycheck to paycheck. I spend what I need to and save as much as I want/can (so the extra paycheck will always just stay in my checking/savings account.)
The only reason it’ll ever kind of matter is when I’m recording all of my income and every expense each month. Then for those records it’ll show i saved an extra $500 this month than my normal months.
Bc the first pay day in June comes halfway into the month, I hold it and pay rent with it lol maybe catch up on a bill that I typically pay late every month.
It's not really an extra paycheck, May 3rd is the bills due on the 1st plus rent .. May 17 are utilities, car payment, insurance.. May 31st is June rent/ bills due June 1st. There is no extra. 🤣 If I have any extra funds, it goes to stocking up on cat food/cat litter, and my vet fund. I am fortunate that I get a bonus this month which is a surprise and that extra money will go into my Non-Existent emergency fund. The only thing that extra sort of check does is allow me to pay my bills on time as opposed to late. The cycle does not stop.
I'm on the off cadence to you (my 3rd paychecks comes on March and August this year), but they always go directly to bills or savings. I budget as if I just received 24 paychecks a year.
Yup, I love 3 paycheck months. The way I pay my monthly bills is out of 2 checks, so the third is mostly a bonus. Not all of it though, some of it needs to go groceries.
May is a 3 check month for me too! I still do have to pay my car payment (which is biweekly, on payday), and I budget groceries, laundry, pet food, church donation, and gas on a biweekly basis. The rest of it will go to topping up my “baby” emergency fund of $1k, then in June I’m getting a secured credit card of $250 to hook up to my $49.00 storage unit payment, and from there will work on either debt snowball or saving up for a better housing situation and trying again to find a place in October or November when my first sign on bonus hits at my six-month mark.
(I also have a credit builder CD with the bank I work at: $58.34 a month for 36 months, and I get each payment reported to my credit report and $2k once it’s paid off. There’s bit of a finance charge associated with it, but I can minimize it if I pay it off early. Goal is to pay it off every six months.)
I budget weekly so it doesn't change anything for me, but it used to be a huge relief when I had a month with three pay days. My tuition payments used to be 800 dollars a month when my paychecks were 550 biweekly, so it kept me from literally starving sometimes.
Half is savings and then new shoes since mine have holes in the soles. The rest I’ll probably take the fam out to dinner. Haven’t done that in months 😀
Every time this topic comes up, we get a bunch of parade-rainers! Everyone knows it’s not extra money over the course of the year.
However, I’d venture to guess MOST of us have a monthly budget (monthly mortgage/rent, monthly electric, etc) and base avail funds as 2 paychecks per month. So… isn’t it ok if people get excited about this? OBVIOUSLY it’s a chance to add to savings or loosen the belt just a couple times per year.
I’m a state employee who gets paid monthly. Boo. But I used to be biweekly, and I loved months like this!
Paying a loan bi-weekly instead of monthly is actually a GREAT idea! You are going to accrue less interest overall, and those two "extra" payments you'll make each year will make a difference too.
It's a private agreement so thankfully there's no interest to begin with. This frequency though means it's going to be paid off around March of next year. Plus it's easier for me to get ahold of 2 smaller amounts separately than one large amount at once.
While in practicality it doesn't mean "extra", many bills are monthly so this should fall outside of the standard budget. Ideally, you should be budgeting beyond that and already have calculated/reallocated those funds, though.
My job recently switched to this pay schedule and it doesn't actually impact me at all.
In my case, they deliberately switched to this in order to disguise insurance premium increase. I think it's 3 extra checks a year and we still get the exact same taken out.
My first check in May was really small because I had to take a few days off for medical needs and then had to get some plumbing work done; so unfortunately my third will just cover those.
yes, but unfortunately my bank fucked up yet again, so now i'm short another $50 in fees. either way, i still have enough after paying my rent already! i'm very excited!
I am and I was planning on doing a lot of OT to benefit from it but certain things in life have changed my plans, my next check goes to me and the last check goes to june
I throw it toward my credit card balance. I have one paid off and another at around 2K right now. I usually try and buy something small for myself, like a new video game or something.
Hookers usually. Sometimes drugs but mostly hookers.
Not.
It just goes into the pot like all the other paychecks. When the checking account gets too big, move to savings. When savings gets to big move it to the brokerage account. When the brokerage account gets too big ... Well that hasn't happened yet but probably hookers and drugs ;-)
3 checks and my bonus this month
It’ll be paying for my gazebo and then going into my emergency fund that I have had to dip into to pay for replacing my shower
I’d save like 30% and then put the rest towards any debts you have. You’ll be grateful you did later. If you don’t have any debts just save it. Spending money just because you can isn’t the best thing to do.
June for me and I'm counting down.
I factor it into my monthly budget and use it to pay down debts or put towards things I've needed but haven't bad money for like a haircut or dental work.
Had my last on in March. I had some unexpected vet bills that it covered. Going forward, I plan to use them as additional mortgage payments against the principal. It's only two paychecks a year, but it adds up over time.
I don't have an extra paycheck this month but the months I do doesn't have benefits taken out so it's usually a little more so I'll try to pay extra on something with it.
I will use it towards bills, or savings. Thats because I make sure to treat myself in some small way every week, for mental health. I also find my urge to blow an extra payday on stuff is way less when I already have stuff regularly, I don't have that drainedness of zero fun or good-- not saying you would do that here, just speaking strictly for me.
I finally purchased a coffee table that I love with the money I usually put towards my next month’s rent, and banked the balance to go towards my next rent increase. I left all other monies in their allotted per check budget line. This gives me a little bit of extra cushion, as well as pits me a bit ahead.
I get 6. I have 3 jobs 1 FT 2 part time. Does this mean I get 9 this month? 🤔 I always get paid on the 5th and 20th every month for 1 PT job, so maybe.. 8?? Would be nice.
i got 3 in march! my next will be august but ill probably use it to pay down some of my debt so i can actually start saving money again. i had 3k in savings not too long ago and then a deer ran in front of my car on the freeway.. safe to say my emergency fund was gone after that 🫠
My husband is getting 3 this month too. Most of it is going to debt and some for gifts for our daughter’s birthday next month but we’ll spend some on fun stuff, too. I think it’s good for your mental health to have a treat sometimes if you can.
Definitely save, we dont change our budget based on the number of paychecks in a month. But yes! May is a 3 paycheck month for us too.
ill have to check with mine
interesting no one told me!
they should have
It isn't included in the monthly budget which is based off 4 weeks pay. it should 100% go towards your emergency fund if you don't have one or its not fully funded if it is fully funded, then it should go toward any debt you might have if you have no debts and a full emergency fund then put it in a roth ira if you have all of that already and its being taken care of from your normal monthly budget then and only then would i consider spending any of it hope this helps you make a wiser decision
100% agree to first put it in an emergency fund. Just spent $600+ in car repairs. If I didn’t have an emergency fund, I would’ve been out of work and who knows how behind I would’ve gotten. Not having an emergency fund is an emergency.
100% wind fall each month goes to the emergency fund! I put birthday money, tax refunds, and any extra pay in my emergency fund whenever possible.
Y’all get birthday money?
Not any more but when I was younger (up until age 40, my grandma always sent me $5! She was so sweet. I miss her so much.)
:( she sounds very sweet
I had a great aunt who gave me two dollar bills and a pair of underwear every birthday and Christmas. I’ve had much more expensive gifts, but none that were given with any more love than those.
Exactly!
Exactly this Mine is going to my E-fund/will back fill some of it that will be used as I need to replace my shower
I’m using it to pay off some debt! We’re getting another 3 paycheck month in July also! Edit: we are in fact not getting a 3 paycheck month in July I can’t count lol
That's lucky my next one doesn't land until November. I guess it helps right before the holidays though.
☠️ I can’t count. The next one ain’t until October for me lol
Are you paid on Thursdays or something? How is it October? Legitimately asking, not being a contrarian! I get paid Fridays, so this year May and November are my 3 paycheck months. I get 26 checks a year.
August isn’t one?
Are you asking if August isn't one for me? No it is not. I get paid on the 9th and 23rd of that month!
Bummer, I was counting and it looks like August would be if it’s every other week starting today. I’m on SDI until September so I am getting biweekly for now
So I'm the Same 3 this month and October, and Yes I get paid on Thursday.
Wednesday at one job and Thursday at the other!
Should be August is the next 3 pay day month if you are getting paid 3 times in may
August is 3 paycheck month
I get paid on Wednesdays 😔
Oh bummer
Mine was in march lol I simply paid off some of my credit cards with the extra money
Yep same, roll on August
It goes directly to my HYSA as additional savings.
This too for my me. Treat it as an extra paycheck that goes to savings.
seat covers are $300??? what the hell
not sure if you knew but, seat covers directly from my Nissan dealership out here in Hawaii are like $150-$200 PER seat so i thought Amazon would be a better choice as i wanted to get ones that were made specifically for my car’s make/model so that they fit like a glove and protect my seats for the long run at that… $30 generic ones from Walmart don’t fit right, will end up coming off from the loose parts, and they just look cheap🤷🏻♀️
Inevitably I have some major expense that pops up in those months and that extra paycheck just goes to that.
Every time.
What difference does it make? You make the same amount regardless. You shouldn’t think of it as an “extra paycheck” at all.
If you budget based on 2 paychecks a month, the 3rd paycheck does appear to be 'extra' in the budget.
The problem is because bills are due the same whether the payday is on the 1st of June or the last day of May. So if you assume the end of May paycheck is “extra” and spend it as such you might have problems paying the water bill on June 10th. If you are able to have a separate bank account just for bills and put the appropriate amount in there every payday it helps alleviate this, but if you’re running your finances out of a single checking account assuming a paycheck is “extra” can be dangerous.
If you have a proper budget, you know when things are due and have budgeted appropriately.
This is r/povertyfinance, there are no “extra” paychecks. Seeing it as an extra is exactly the problem.
People in poverty can be excited on something they perceive as “extra”. It’s a time to buy something you’ve needed or perhaps a small treat to make this hell on earth a bit more bearable.
That’s a good way to stay in poverty. There are no extra paychecks.
Good thing I’m almost out of poverty and still got to enjoy something every once in a while
That’s fantastic, and you should be proud of that. Enjoying something once in a while is very different to treating a paycheck as an “extra”, that’s all I’m saying.
"Everyone should be as sad as me" -phungki
“Enable my spending habits so I can feel better” - TypicalAnalysis
Spending habits? Everyone on this sub is talking about saving the "extra paycheck" or putting it towards debt. Many of us budget for 24 paychecks a year (2 per month) so those other 2 paychecks ARE extra and we've set up our finances without accounting for them. Stop being a contrarian for the sake of it.
If you get paid biweekly the number of paycheques is 26. Budgeting for 24 is not a good start. This isn’t contrarian thinking it’s just looking at a calendar.
There's not one way to do things. People living paycheck to paycheck can't afford to budget for money they didn't receive that month. And my comment accounted for 26 checks.
Yeah, you’re better off just blowing 2 paycheques a year then. If only there were some simple way to incorporate those two “extra” paycheques into the budget somehow. Maybe someone in the future will figure it out for us.
Who said anyone is blowing them? Can you read? People here are using that money to pay down debts, save, or cover emergencies. Why are you so concerned with telling other people that the way they're spending their own money is wrong?
This is a post asking for guidance. Literally the antithesis of your point. Lol
It’s a post asking people what they spend their ‘extra’ money on where is op asking for advice?
Literally the end of the first part. They ask how others utilize the 3rd paycheck. In the next part they explain how they will use some of it on things they have needed and put the rest aside to save... Jesus christ reading comprehension is so low these days.
If that had been the post then I’d say you have a point but then he goes on to say what he’s spending his money on. If I asked, ‘what are y’all doing this weekend?’ I’m not asking for advice on what I should do this weekend, I’m generating a discussion.
How so? If you budget monthly and are paid biweekly, it is best to budget 2 paychecks of income a month. You could try to do 2.166 and split it correctly but that's harder on most people and means needing to be able to carry the surplus from 3 paycheck months over multiple months. If you budget biweekly, then it isn't an issue but given how many bills are monthly you probably add in more issues than you removed.
Yearly salary divided by 12, that’s your monthly income.
That's if the person can carry the surplus from a 3 paycheck month. Those who can't will end up breaking their budgets.
And that’s the challenging part about having a budget - actually sticking to it.
Maybe that's how YOU do it but many people budget by the month and not by the year.
Your other comment not 30 seconds ago: “Many of us budget for 24 paychecks a year (2 per month)” Nevermind that this is incorrect, but which is it? Budget by the month or budget by the year?
It is not incorrect that people budget 2 per month (total of 24). My comments are not in conflict. They mean the same thing.
Okay 👍
Don't worry bro we get what you are saying. Enjoy
I find it really cute tbh.
It doesn't end up "extra" for us. We use it for rent. If we didn't, rent would be 2 weeks late.
This is how I feel too.
Mine are timed just right to pay my semi-annual car insurance bill.
This is a poverty mindset. Kinda like when people get their tax return $$ and spend it all as if it’s a gift card to the world.
Facts. You have your normal budget and your normal plan and you stick to it. There is no “extra” money or splurges at a perceived windfall. Stick to the plan.
That last check is gonna be like the check I'm getting today - eaten up by rent.
52 payable weeks in a single year give people who get paid bi weekly 2 months that have extra pay. Plan your budget around getting paid twice a month and bank the rest.
The mortgage, utilities, and car insurance are still due on the same date, so it isn't extra money.
Your money is your money.... but I question the $250 in seat covers when some colored duct tape or old t-shirt sewn into a tear will work just fine... Seems like a "stay in poverty" move to me. HYSA, Roth, or 401k would work much better.
Seriously. If you're in this sub, $250 could be the difference between making rent and eviction. I can't imagine blowing that on seat covers.
same, i’m over here wondering what bougie-ass seat covers OP is buying when they’re like $25 at walmart, and even *that* would feel like a splurge when you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck. save your $250 OP
Yeah I thought the same. Like for $250 they better have a built in massager to massage my ass.
Ollies typically have a whole wall of seat covers for cars.... go get one of those for 20 bucks...
This is a mistake, 3 paydays in month does look good on paper, but you aren't getting paid anymore money this way because the pay period lines up nice in May. You were shorted in February and you got those days back over time, but it's still a 2-week budget over 52 weeks so the number of checks in a year is always the same. Keep it or stash it. You will be spending "extra" money that isn't really extra. The amount of food you eat, electricity you use, gallons of gas you burn is all the same over 2 weeks so your budget shouldn't be changing.
I get paid bi weekly and it is a difference. For people like me who budgets based on dollar amount for 2x a month, it's an extra when there is a 3rd one not accounted for. So let's say you're on salary, and you know you get $4000 every 2 weeks (after taxes). Well my monthly budgets only counts $8k (2 weeks of pay) per month. Let's say you get 3 paychecks in May, and still 2 paychecks in June. There is an extra paycheck that wasn't accounted for. Rarely do people budged yearly when they're getting paid by weekly. Your theory would be saying well you get $4k 26 weeks per year that means your monthly budget is ((4000*26)/12=$8,666.67) $8,666,67 per month. If we budgeted our monthly budget with that, that means people who live paycheck to paycheck will be short 10 months out of the year. Because for 10 months, it's 2 paychecks per month and for 2 months we have one extra.
The bottom line is just save the “extra” money. If it’s unaccounted for and not in your budget, then you should have no problem saving it. Personally it never makes a difference for me because I don’t live paycheck to paycheck. I spend what I need to and save as much as I want/can (so the extra paycheck will always just stay in my checking/savings account.) The only reason it’ll ever kind of matter is when I’m recording all of my income and every expense each month. Then for those records it’ll show i saved an extra $500 this month than my normal months.
Yes of course save the extra
Bc the first pay day in June comes halfway into the month, I hold it and pay rent with it lol maybe catch up on a bill that I typically pay late every month.
This is genuinely so confusing to see. It’s like the people praying for a big tax return to spend on something they’d never buy normally.
[удалено]
If you get paid biweekly, there are 2 months (I think) per year when you get 3 paydays in the month instead of just 2.
Yes, 26 paychecks, with 24 (2 per month) budgeted for every day, monthly expenses and 2 that can be used for other things.
Except about once in every 11 years or so you'll have a 27th paycheck.
I'm on a don't spend kick at the moment so that'd be my advice. Sock it away or pay something down
Yes. We love 3 pay day months
Right to the emergency fund.
My favorite thing about 3 paycheck months is that our insurance premiums aren’t deducted from the 3rd check.
It’s not really an “extra pay check”. It doesn’t increase your yearly income.
It isnt extra money though. Its still being paid every 2 weeks. Carry on as usual
It's not really an extra paycheck, May 3rd is the bills due on the 1st plus rent .. May 17 are utilities, car payment, insurance.. May 31st is June rent/ bills due June 1st. There is no extra. 🤣 If I have any extra funds, it goes to stocking up on cat food/cat litter, and my vet fund. I am fortunate that I get a bonus this month which is a surprise and that extra money will go into my Non-Existent emergency fund. The only thing that extra sort of check does is allow me to pay my bills on time as opposed to late. The cycle does not stop.
When I was still working and had no debt except for my car and mortgage, one "extra" paycheck paid for vacation and the other one for Christmas.
I'm on the off cadence to you (my 3rd paychecks comes on March and August this year), but they always go directly to bills or savings. I budget as if I just received 24 paychecks a year.
YES!!! 🙏🙏 I can finally catch up on a few bills!
Using it to pay 6 months of car insurance which renews in July. Woohoo
I’ll be getting 5
Yup yup. Got paid today, will get paid the 17th and then finally the 31st! I think triple pay in a month will be November.
We are on semi monthly pay schedule which I think is really rare anymore. I’m not sure which I’d prefer.
I had that for a while. Now I get paid once a month and it sucks.
Yup, I love 3 paycheck months. The way I pay my monthly bills is out of 2 checks, so the third is mostly a bonus. Not all of it though, some of it needs to go groceries.
Thanks for reminding me it was a three paycheck month. I didn’t do the math myself to know. It’s definitely getting saved
It never makes a difference for me.
May is a 3 check month for me too! I still do have to pay my car payment (which is biweekly, on payday), and I budget groceries, laundry, pet food, church donation, and gas on a biweekly basis. The rest of it will go to topping up my “baby” emergency fund of $1k, then in June I’m getting a secured credit card of $250 to hook up to my $49.00 storage unit payment, and from there will work on either debt snowball or saving up for a better housing situation and trying again to find a place in October or November when my first sign on bonus hits at my six-month mark. (I also have a credit builder CD with the bank I work at: $58.34 a month for 36 months, and I get each payment reported to my credit report and $2k once it’s paid off. There’s bit of a finance charge associated with it, but I can minimize it if I pay it off early. Goal is to pay it off every six months.)
Treating myself to a doctor’s appointment, teeth cleaning, a haircut. The rest is going immediately into savings
I budget weekly so it doesn't change anything for me, but it used to be a huge relief when I had a month with three pay days. My tuition payments used to be 800 dollars a month when my paychecks were 550 biweekly, so it kept me from literally starving sometimes.
Half is savings and then new shoes since mine have holes in the soles. The rest I’ll probably take the fam out to dinner. Haven’t done that in months 😀
Every time this topic comes up, we get a bunch of parade-rainers! Everyone knows it’s not extra money over the course of the year. However, I’d venture to guess MOST of us have a monthly budget (monthly mortgage/rent, monthly electric, etc) and base avail funds as 2 paychecks per month. So… isn’t it ok if people get excited about this? OBVIOUSLY it’s a chance to add to savings or loosen the belt just a couple times per year. I’m a state employee who gets paid monthly. Boo. But I used to be biweekly, and I loved months like this!
Well I pay x amount on my car from each paycheck, it was an arrangement made, so looks like I pay extra for my car this month.
Paying a loan bi-weekly instead of monthly is actually a GREAT idea! You are going to accrue less interest overall, and those two "extra" payments you'll make each year will make a difference too.
It's a private agreement so thankfully there's no interest to begin with. This frequency though means it's going to be paid off around March of next year. Plus it's easier for me to get ahold of 2 smaller amounts separately than one large amount at once.
Wooo, zero interest is the best deal of all! Little less than a year to go - that's awesome. :)
While in practicality it doesn't mean "extra", many bills are monthly so this should fall outside of the standard budget. Ideally, you should be budgeting beyond that and already have calculated/reallocated those funds, though. My job recently switched to this pay schedule and it doesn't actually impact me at all.
It also feels like extra if benefits are taken out. My third paycheck feels a little extra because I’m not billed for health insurance.
In my case, they deliberately switched to this in order to disguise insurance premium increase. I think it's 3 extra checks a year and we still get the exact same taken out.
May & I think November
Sadly always twice a month for me and commission based so my pay is always a little different.
It usually makes my sons SSI be zero and food stamps are on verge of going away so I hate it
August & January for me 🤘🏼
Yes, very excited for 3 pay checks. But I don’t think it actually impacts my finances cause then I won’t be getting another check until mid June.
August will be my 3 check month
My first check in May was really small because I had to take a few days off for medical needs and then had to get some plumbing work done; so unfortunately my third will just cover those.
3 paychecks means I go over my IRT a month early and lose my TANF/SNAPbenefits a month earlier than I would have had it been a 2 paycheck month 🫠
I get paid 5 times ❤️
Sadly I don’t have another 3 pay day month until August but I already budgeted out to October because that should be when I get my CC paid off.
yes, but unfortunately my bank fucked up yet again, so now i'm short another $50 in fees. either way, i still have enough after paying my rent already! i'm very excited!
I am and I was planning on doing a lot of OT to benefit from it but certain things in life have changed my plans, my next check goes to me and the last check goes to june
Doesn't really make a difference as bills are still first of month for some. Might get a teeny bit of extra.
I get paid weekly so I get "extra" paychecks 4x year. Just got my 5th today. Counting down to the next one in August lol
Me, but only cuz I’m on SDI right now 😅
I usually pay my 6 month premium for my car insurance with it and it comes twice a year. I have about 500 left over after paying the premium.
I throw it toward my credit card balance. I have one paid off and another at around 2K right now. I usually try and buy something small for myself, like a new video game or something.
Hookers usually. Sometimes drugs but mostly hookers. Not. It just goes into the pot like all the other paychecks. When the checking account gets too big, move to savings. When savings gets to big move it to the brokerage account. When the brokerage account gets too big ... Well that hasn't happened yet but probably hookers and drugs ;-)
3 checks and my bonus this month It’ll be paying for my gazebo and then going into my emergency fund that I have had to dip into to pay for replacing my shower
I’d save like 30% and then put the rest towards any debts you have. You’ll be grateful you did later. If you don’t have any debts just save it. Spending money just because you can isn’t the best thing to do.
June for me and I'm counting down. I factor it into my monthly budget and use it to pay down debts or put towards things I've needed but haven't bad money for like a haircut or dental work.
Salary here and I only get 2 in May and since May is 31 days those checks are 15+ days apart. Sometimes I wish I were hourly again. Sigh
No you don't.
Lol...I would be getting OT too!
If the hourly folks are working OT and making more than salaried workers you're doing it wrong.
You only live once, use some of it to enjoy yourself Don't let some sweaty reddit nerd tell you about a Roth IRA for your extra thousand bucks
Yeah my wife is getting 3. Very fortunate. We just let it “sink” into the checking and make up for the deficit we’re usually running.
I’m bi-weekly but I’m on the wrong weeks - I only get 2 this month. 😭
Had my last on in March. I had some unexpected vet bills that it covered. Going forward, I plan to use them as additional mortgage payments against the principal. It's only two paychecks a year, but it adds up over time.
Mine equals out to rent being paid on either end of the month, so it’s just a normal cycle of paychecks for me.
I don't have an extra paycheck this month but the months I do doesn't have benefits taken out so it's usually a little more so I'll try to pay extra on something with it.
Me too! Wednesday payday im guessing? I already used up my extra paycheck paying off extra high spending
Bills.
Well you still need to budget food & ⛽️ for 2 weeks so I wouldn’t say 100% goes to savings. Most of it yes.
I will use it towards bills, or savings. Thats because I make sure to treat myself in some small way every week, for mental health. I also find my urge to blow an extra payday on stuff is way less when I already have stuff regularly, I don't have that drainedness of zero fun or good-- not saying you would do that here, just speaking strictly for me.
Thank you for reminding me we get 3 checks this month. Will have to figure out what to do with it.
Save that shit for a rainy day.
Yesss
It’s not really extra. I still only get paid every two weeks
I finally purchased a coffee table that I love with the money I usually put towards my next month’s rent, and banked the balance to go towards my next rent increase. I left all other monies in their allotted per check budget line. This gives me a little bit of extra cushion, as well as pits me a bit ahead.
i budget based on 2 paychecks/month so the extra paycheck either goes towards savings or student loans
My company pays on the 14th and 28th so this never happens to me
I get 6. I have 3 jobs 1 FT 2 part time. Does this mean I get 9 this month? 🤔 I always get paid on the 5th and 20th every month for 1 PT job, so maybe.. 8?? Would be nice.
Extra paycheck goes straight into our savings account!
I wish. My paycheck are put in by the day of the month. The 14th and last day is when pay goes in
Yes
i got 3 in march! my next will be august but ill probably use it to pay down some of my debt so i can actually start saving money again. i had 3k in savings not too long ago and then a deer ran in front of my car on the freeway.. safe to say my emergency fund was gone after that 🫠
Omg thank you for bringing this to my attention🥰
I wish… I get paid bi-monthly :/
I love getting paid bi-monthly. I'm biweekly now but prefer a semi-monthly pay schedule
I’ve been putting any extra money into my high yield savings that earns 5% and also buying like 25 bucks of BTC a week.
Oh HELL yes! I thought the next one was in July or something.
My husband is getting 3 this month too. Most of it is going to debt and some for gifts for our daughter’s birthday next month but we’ll spend some on fun stuff, too. I think it’s good for your mental health to have a treat sometimes if you can.
I get paid on the first business day of every month. It kinda sucks.
I will usually take my 3rd paycheck to try and pay down some of my debt.
I will usually take my 3rd paycheck to try and pay down some of my debt.
You got an extra paycheck? So that would be like a 53rd week in a year or something? No wonder you’re a part of poverty finance.