bill due dates.....questions for y'all!!

[Rukh O'Rorke]

ok - so I am really wrassling with all of this, trying to knuckle down and get organized after really just winging it for decades....

Per a posting in WIRR, I had an excess of about 750 dollars, and I wanted to put it towards debt, and a wee bit of savings, but it was really hard for me to project out if I could do it! I worked my way up to Sept. 15th without needing it for bills, so I went for it! I was still unsure if I need that money later sept/early oct, but I thought I was clear.

But - after projecting down into early october, it is only by the skin of my teeth as the first payday of the month is getting earlier and earlier...in september, it comes just one day before bill X, and by october, it comes just one day before bill Y....and a few before bill X.

But it would still blow up in my face in Nov.....except magically - payday on 1st to cover mortgage, and then another paycheck the 29th for next months mortgage (and another in the middle of the month to save for all the other bills due first week of Dec)

But - that is just the impetus for the question, and not the topic.

Why are all our bills on a monthly basis, and our (most people's!!) pay every two weeks?

It is too maddening!!

then - I also have the issue that about 90% of my bills occur between the first and the seventh of the month. Mortgage, SL payment, CC bills, Health and car insurance. I need to be sure to save most of the previous paycheck, add to the paycheck before/on the 1st, and then about 5k+ bills come out the first week of the month.

I would love to have everything broken down on an every other week payment. I'd really know where I was. 

But with the paycheck creeping back a few days each month, I need to project so far out all the time to know what I can and can't do.

Watcha all think about this?

[andi9899]

My pay dates are the 15th and the last day of the month, so that makes it a bit easier. I wing it too, but I may be doing it all wrong also. When I get paid, I pay all the bills due before my next check. I leave myself a small allowance and then transfer everything else to savings. Rinse and repeat every time I get paid. The mortgage also works better with my 15th check, so I pay it on the 15th wich is the last day to pay without a late fee. I'm going to burn in YM hell one day, so you may not want to do what I do.

[busymom]

One thing that may help, is to ask your credit card companies if you can change your billing date, so that everything doesn't hit between the first & seventh of the month.



As to why we're billed monthly, it's an eternal question.  Like, why are hot dogs & buns sold in different quantities?  

[Cookies Galore]

All of my due dates happen throughout the month. I guess I lucked out with spacing!

I get paid every other week and I designate one check for savings and utilities/phone/internet bills and the second check for mortgage/car payment/car insurance.

[Deleted]

My biggest planning irritation point is all my large yearly bills (50% of recurring expenditures) come in a 3 month period, property taxes, football tickets and insurance.

For monthly bills I have done my best to have them all hit on the 20th of every month so I only have one major reconciliation point about the 22nd.

My sewer bill is quarterly and my water bill is every other month, they just really like to mess with people in this area.

[NastyWoman]

I get paid bi-weekly as well but never had a problem with this. My (cash flow) budget covers the entire year with all the known bills in it. Some are fixed (like my mortgage before I paid it off) while others vary. The latter ones I just forecast at above average, though if I lived in one of the really hot/cold areas of the country I might forcst on historical monthly averages for things like utilities.

All income/outgo is recorded at actuals with a variance column to keep track. And if I have money coming in I can see at one glance whether I can throw it into LT savings or I need to hold on to it in ST savings→ no debt at all so that is not where my money goes.  I have used this method for over a decade, at one time while I still had debt, and surpises were/are rare to non-existent.

Did I mention that I love excel

[laterbloomer]

The trick is to get a month ahead in your account. Figure out what your bills are for a month and work towards having that much in your account by the end of the month before. Anything you have over and above that amount at the end of the month will be "extra" and you will be safe putting that towards debt and savings.

[laterbloomer]

except magically - payday on 1st to cover mortgage, and then another paycheck the 29th for next months mortgage

That's not magic, it's one of your two 3 paycheque months of the year. I have one this month. If yours happens in November your next on will be in April.

[saveinla]

You can change the dates for your bill if you call them.

[lund]

We have monthly bills and are paid monthly....
Monthly pay is the norm here.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I make a spreadsheet in Google for every pay day.   I list out which bills are due around when those pay dates fall.  Not only does it help me keep track of cash flow but prompts me to actually pay the bills because sometimes I forget things like the water bill which come quarterly instead of monthly. 

You can change the dates for certain bills, you just need to call and ask.   Our utility companies won't allow me to change the dates but I did change my student loan, car insurance and a couple of others.   I can change them again if I ever need to, the change in date takes place the next billing cycle.

DH is paid biweekly and gets a third paycheck twice a year.   I write on our wall calendar when every pay day is so I know exactly when those two pay checks are coming and can plan accordingly.

I've been paid biweekly, monthly, twice a month and now I'm paid weekly.  

[Deleted]

Aug 23, 2019 9:59:29 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

The trick is to get a month ahead in your account. Figure out what your bills are for a month and work towards having that much in your account by the end of the month. Anything you have over and above that amount at the end of the month will be "extra" and you will be safe putting that towards debt and savings.

Yeah that.  Getting a month ahead was a game changer for me.  Unless it's something that doesn't bill until later, I pay everything on the first of the month and am done. 

[Deleted]

My bank lets me enter a "schedule" of transactions.  At the top of my screen the schedule gives me future transactions and a running balance of my checking account for the month with scheduled deposits and withdrawals.  It makes planning really easy.

My DH  (paid every 2 weeks) does first paycheck of the month pays the mortgage (due 15th of the month) and groceries.  The second  paycheck pays everything else (due dates usually around the 1st of the month).  When the extra pay months come around, we save it or spend it based on whatever is going on at the time.  

[Deleted]

Aug 23, 2019 10:27:52 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Aug 23, 2019 9:59:29 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

The trick is to get a month ahead in your account. Figure out what your bills are for a month and work towards having that much in your account by the end of the month. Anything you have over and above that amount at the end of the month will be "extra" and you will be safe putting that towards debt and savings.

Yeah that.  Getting a month ahead was a game changer for me.  Unless it's something that doesn't bill until later, I pay everything on the first of the month and am done. 

Triple approve this, my spreadsheet always has all my monthly bills appearing prior to income giving me the extra month.

[msventoux]

I think it’s not that difficult. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Using YNAB or a spreadsheet should make it even easier.

[Blonde Granny]

My 2 deposits occur on 1st of the month (VA disability) and my SS is on the 3rd Wednesday. Sometimes that Wednesday is as early as the 15th, but the next month the 3rd Wednesday might be the 21st.

All my utility bills are on auto pay and run from 5th of month to the 25 th of the month. My big yearly bills are handled by using a personal escrow account. Add up all your once a year bills, total it and divide by 12. Put that much aside each month to cover the bills when they come in.

I second YNAB.

[TheOtherMe]

My pension is paid on the 1st of the month.  I have a budget and check registers on Excel.  

I update it as I spend money so I know where I stand.  

Doesn't mean I always spend my money wisely, but I put 1/12 of the annual payments in a savings account each month so I have the cash to pay when it comes due.  

My spreadsheet is always projected out a month.  

[buystoys]

DH's pension is paid the first and our SSDI is paid the first Wednesday of the month.  I keep a little bit more than a month's worth of bills in my checking account so I just pay the bills as they come in. 

[moneysquirrel]

I receive my late DH pension on the first and SS comes in second Wednesday of the month. Now that I am on a mainly fixed income I am consistent with tracking my finances. 

I am another that uses a spreadsheet.  My Excel spreadsheet has several sheets to it. You can do the same with Google Sheets or any spreadsheet program.

These are the ones I think are the most useful.

 The one I sue the most is the checkbook register.  I project expenses for the month in it.  I color in the unpaid items that are projected and remove the color once the bill is paid. Doing this for a while I have a good handle on what the monthly expenses are. I also put aside a certain amount per month for those yearly needs -- about 1/12 of what I expect I will need.

 Another sheet is the annual expenses -- this includes the months that certain items are due and estimated amounts needed. 

I have another sheet which keeps track of the money I have put aside for those annual needs, emergency funds, membership fees, premiums, etc.

Also have a budget sheet that tracks the monthly expenses.  This helps to give me an actual view of what I have spend.  It helps when I plan the next year's estimations. 

[Deleted]

Some of us actually get paid once a month.  It isn't awesome either since it is a long time between paychecks.  The trick is to lay out everything that you need to pay that month.  That way you know how much is left.

However, when I switched to using exclusively CC instead of a debit card, I recognized that with a debit card I was paying for stuff as I used it or whatever.  It struck me as really dumb to switch to paying it a month later.  August's paycheck is for what I spend in August.  So I set up my CCs as uncleared debits in my electronic check register.  I paid them off the day I received the bill and sometimes sooner.  

That isn't a budget, though.  That is tracking.  So in August I used an old copy of YNAB to set up a budget.  It has really given me a clearer perspective on what I am spending.  I am retired and want to live on my pension+Social Security.  I am enjoying it because I feel in control.  Before, I would see a book I would like to read for $2.99 and simply buy it.  Now I check to see if I can get it at the library.  I postpone some wants.

YNAB has a trial period.  And I have heard you can usually get that trial extended if you are having trouble figuring it out.

Something to think about . . .

[Sharon]

For years I was paid the 15th and the last day of the month, that made things much easier, now I am paid bi-weekly (don't like those creeping pay days).  It took some doing when money was really tight, I think I might have even done it when I received a bonus, but I now pay my mortgage in the middle of the month for the next month.  It evened out the bills some.  When I had high credit card debt I again knew pretty closely what I would be throwing at it that month but chose the payday I wanted to use.  Sometimes the money stayed in the account for a couple of weeks but then again it evened things out.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Aug 23, 2019 10:03:09 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

except magically - payday on 1st to cover mortgage, and then another paycheck the 29th for next months mortgage

That's not magic, it's one of your two 3 paycheque months of the year. I have one this month. If yours happens in November your next on will be in April.

I budget on 2 paychecks/months....

getting 3 is magical!

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Aug 23, 2019 9:52:15 GMT -5 @aj said:

My biggest planning irritation point is all my large yearly bills (50% of recurring expenditures) come in a 3 month period, property taxes, football tickets and insurance.

For monthly bills I have done my best to have them all hit on the 20th of every month so I only have one major reconciliation point about the 22nd.

My sewer bill is quarterly and my water bill is every other month, they just really like to mess with people in this area.

there is that!

I used to pay my car insurance once every 6 months, but now I've put it on monthly, even though there is a small charge for that.....

Water bill is every other month, but I just stick it in the monthly budget or else I'd be surprised at some point....

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Aug 23, 2019 18:02:07 GMT -5 moneysquirrel said:

I receive my late DH pension on the first and SS comes in second Wednesday of the month. Now that I am on a mainly fixed income I am consistent with tracking my finances. 

I am another that uses a spreadsheet.  My Excel spreadsheet has several sheets to it. You can do the same with Google Sheets or any spreadsheet program.

These are the ones I think are the most useful.

 The one I sue the most is the checkbook register.  I project expenses for the month in it.  I color in the unpaid items that are projected and remove the color once the bill is paid. Doing this for a while I have a good handle on what the monthly expenses are. I also put aside a certain amount per month for those yearly needs -- about 1/12 of what I expect I will need.

 Another sheet is the annual expenses -- this includes the months that certain items are due and estimated amounts needed. 

I have another sheet which keeps track of the money I have put aside for those annual needs, emergency funds, membership fees, premiums, etc.

Also have a budget sheet that tracks the monthly expenses.  This helps to give me an actual view of what I have spend.  It helps when I plan the next year's estimations. 

I do have a spreadsheet with all bank and cc transactions since first of the year. And I do find that helpful.

But I don't find that that particularly helps to project out if I need to save some money from one month out a few months, because the paychecks cartwheel through the various dates of the month.

So - based on my budget - Two paychecks will always earn enough every month to pay the bills - but it doesn't mean that a particular paycheck will come in in time for it's bill.

I would like to get a month ahead, but that might take me some time, and I don't like my money wasting away either!! I don't have a lot of it, and if it is there, it needs to work! I have been thinking about keeping my money in my money market fund, and transferring into checking as needed. I usually have quite a bit in checking. Right now, nearly 5k. But all of that is needed for bills before my next paycheck. I get interest on the checking acct, but it is only 3-4 cents a month. My money market got 13 cents with only 200 in it.

So if I can get a little bit ahead, it would be nice to have my direct deposit go into the money market - keep a month's expenses there, and I can transfer what is needed to checking on a weekly or every-other week basis. I'll have to think about that a bit. That might take even more planning, lol. 

I'm kind of laser focused on finances at the moment, but that might not last!

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Aug 23, 2019 20:20:04 GMT -5 @bamafan1954 said:

Some of us actually get paid once a month.  It isn't awesome either since it is a long time between paychecks.  The trick is to lay out everything that you need to pay that month.  That way you know how much is left.

However, when I switched to using exclusively CC instead of a debit card, I recognized that with a debit card I was paying for stuff as I used it or whatever.  It struck me as really dumb to switch to paying it a month later.  August's paycheck is for what I spend in August.  So I set up my CCs as uncleared debits in my electronic check register.  I paid them off the day I received the bill and sometimes sooner.  

That isn't a budget, though.  That is tracking.  So in August I used an old copy of YNAB to set up a budget.  It has really given me a clearer perspective on what I am spending.  I am retired and want to live on my pension+Social Security.  I am enjoying it because I feel in control.  Before, I would see a book I would like to read for $2.99 and simply buy it.  Now I check to see if I can get it at the library.  I postpone some wants.

YNAB has a trial period.  And I have heard you can usually get that trial extended if you are having trouble figuring it out.

Something to think about . . .

Two companies back, I did get paid monthly. It was a long time between, but I never had to wonder about the timing of bills!

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Aug 23, 2019 10:27:52 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Aug 23, 2019 9:59:29 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

The trick is to get a month ahead in your account. Figure out what your bills are for a month and work towards having that much in your account by the end of the month. Anything you have over and above that amount at the end of the month will be "extra" and you will be safe putting that towards debt and savings.

Yeah that.  Getting a month ahead was a game changer for me.  Unless it's something that doesn't bill until later, I pay everything on the first of the month and am done. 

Interesting!

How do you do that? All my bills are on autopay, and they go through whenever they do.

[oped]

Aug 23, 2019 10:39:10 GMT -5 @aj said:

Aug 23, 2019 10:27:52 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Yeah that.  Getting a month ahead was a game changer for me.  Unless it's something that doesn't bill until later, I pay everything on the first of the month and am done. 

Triple approve this, my spreadsheet always has all my monthly bills appearing prior to income giving me the extra month.

So much This.

[oped]

Aug 24, 2019 5:48:26 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Aug 23, 2019 10:27:52 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Yeah that.  Getting a month ahead was a game changer for me.  Unless it's something that doesn't bill until later, I pay everything on the first of the month and am done. 

Interesting!

How do you do that? All my bills are on autopay, and they go through whenever they do.

You have a period of extra work, sell unwanted shit, don’t buy anything... and all that money goes to cushion.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Aug 23, 2019 20:20:04 GMT -5 @bamafan1954 said:

Some of us actually get paid once a month.  It isn't awesome either since it is a long time between paychecks.  The trick is to lay out everything that you need to pay that month.  That way you know how much is left.

However, when I switched to using exclusively CC instead of a debit card, I recognized that with a debit card I was paying for stuff as I used it or whatever.  It struck me as really dumb to switch to paying it a month later.  August's paycheck is for what I spend in August.  So I set up my CCs as uncleared debits in my electronic check register.  I paid them off the day I received the bill and sometimes sooner.  

That isn't a budget, though.  That is tracking.  So in August I used an old copy of YNAB to set up a budget.  It has really given me a clearer perspective on what I am spending.  I am retired and want to live on my pension+Social Security.  I am enjoying it because I feel in control.  Before, I would see a book I would like to read for $2.99 and simply buy it.  Now I check to see if I can get it at the library.  I postpone some wants.

YNAB has a trial period.  And I have heard you can usually get that trial extended if you are having trouble figuring it out.

Something to think about . . .

I've tried several online tools, and none of them really worked well for me. I'm using excel currently, but not sure if I am missing something there as others seemingly get more out of it than I am at the moment!

I've got all/almost all of 2019 expenses entered there, and it is great to do pivot tables and I can see that I am within my budget every month. So - surely that is step 1! Also - seeing averages and fluctuations on heating and electric is very helpful.

But that still doesn't keep paycheck/bill dates in concordance. Usually - it is just off by one or two days, but puts a big wrinkle into my plans. So I still need to look way ahead before spending "extra" in the account.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Aug 24, 2019 6:09:27 GMT -5 oped said:

Aug 24, 2019 5:48:26 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Interesting!

How do you do that? All my bills are on autopay, and they go through whenever they do.

You have a period of extra work, sell unwanted shit, don’t buy anything... and all that money goes to cushion.

That has absolutely nothing to do with my question?