1 paycheck a month living

[Bang!Zoom!]

How many of you guys are out there living on 1 paycheck a month? This will be a new little twist in our lives shortly. For me, my first thought was extending even more the grocery budget and meals (if that's even possible) - but I'm wondering, if you went from weekly/2 month pay to once a month, what impacts or changes did you experience?

 

Pro's, con's?

[Acorn]

Is the total income the same?

 

We have a monthly deposit, and I can't see how it would be different if the same amount was divided by 2. We do buy most things with a cash back rewards credit card and pay the total balance each month.

[shinyhappypeople]

How many of you guys are out there living on 1 paycheck a month? This will be a new little twist in our lives shortly. For me, my first thought was extending even more the grocery budget and meals (if that's even possible) - but I'm wondering, if you went from weekly/2 month pay to once a month, what impacts or changes did you experience?

 

Pro's, con's?

 

DH gets paid once a month (last business day of the month, which is TOMORROW! Woot!).

 

It's not a huge deal, it just requires serious self-discipline on my part to not spend it all in the first two weeks. The best part is that all the fixed expenses (mortgage, water bill, etc) can be paid right at the start of the month. I get all that out of the way and can physically see how much left I have to spend on the non-fixed stuff.

 

I've found it helpful to put a weekly spending cap on myself so that last week of the month isn't miserable.

[Spryte]

We adjusted most of our bills to come out closer to the paycheck date (in our case, the first part of the month). You can call companies and ask about that.

 

Other than that, we just budget for the rest of the month. Once you're used to it, it's not bad.

[Kipling]

My dh's new job will be one paycheck per month instead of two like we're used to, and we're actually excited about it. We always make a monthly budget, but in the past, we've had to juggle which bills to pay with which paycheck (ie. mortgage, groceries, and phone first paycheck; insurance, electric, water, & groceries second paycheck). Now, with one paycheck, we can pay the monthly bills when they come in knowing that we have all the money we're going to get for the month.

[regentrude]

Do you mean a reduction of income to one half, or simply being paid the whole amount once a month?

If it is the latter, I don't see what the big deal is; neither DH nor I have ever been paid every other week.

[Bang!Zoom!]

The funds won't be changing that much, just the frequency of pay.

 

Instead of once every two weeks, paychecks are issued just once a month...

 

But that is a good question Acorn- we are moving from one tax system to another; I'm not perfectly clear yet on the effects of that. There will be changes with everything from utilities, water, gasoline, housing-all of it.

 

I can do some pretty good guessing from averages posted online on what to expect, but reality is going to be far different than random ideas. I'm personally not a mall person nor a materialistic type, so those things aren't really going to matter.

 

I've been handling the food budget on a twice a month basis, but I can clearly sense once a month planning would be the way to go as we transition and discover changes we didn't plan on...but maybe you are right-

 

Maybe there's no difference at all?

[regentrude]

If you don't want a difference, you can simply spend half the money the first half and not touch the other half until two weeks later. I would find monthly budgeting much more efficient though.

[Mommee & Baba]

In a sense we are. 1 of our paychecks pays all the BIG bills and leaves us with very little spending but gas. The other paycheck pays smaller bills and gives us most of our grocery money. So overall we have 1 paycheck a month for groceries.

 

This is a RECENT adjustment for us as my dh's payday's changed. We're learning how to live within our means without much of a choice now!:001_huh: Which I'm super thankful we are having to do this.

[OH_Homeschooler]

It's challenging in the sense that sometimes there are 4 weeks between paydays and other times 5 weeks (DH gets paid on the 3rd Friday of every month). So when it comes to expenses paid by the week, that 5th week can be a real strain sometimes. We try to plan our budget for the "average" month--e.g., multiply total salary by 12, then divide by 52, to get the actual weekly amount for budgeting purposes. Similarly, when planning for things like groceries, we have to remember there are 52 weeks in a year but only 12 paychecks.

Edited September 27, 2012 by OH_Homeschooler

[Bang!Zoom!]

I keep trying to think into the future and write down ideas. My brain is stuck on Ziploc containers, address books and wanting to price freezers. This seems to all be creeping up really fast.

[ocelotmom]

When DH got a job and I quit mine, around the time DS was born, we went from once a month paychecks to twice a month, and that was a really hard adjustment for us. The first paycheck was pretty much eaten up rent and bills, and then we'd be really tight for a few weeks until the second paycheck. Then we'd go a little overboard because we'd been so tight, rather than saving so that we wouldn't be so tight the next month :p

 

It took some time to adjust our money management :p

 

So anyways, I don't think one is necessarily easier than the other, assuming the same amount total - you just have to adjust your money management strategies appropriately.

[Carrie12345]

I keep trying to think into the future and write down ideas. My brain is stuck on Ziploc containers, address books and wanting to price freezers. This seems to all be creeping up really fast.

 

I don't understand. Well, I love freezers and ziplocs, lol, but I don't understand how they come in to play here. You can still grocery shop 2, 4, 20 times a month if you like. You just have to divide the money.

[Bang!Zoom!]

I think it has to do with more of a pattern around here than anything. I leave lists laying around and lay low till approached with "what do we need?" and then haul those out and talk.

 

My personal rule is, if it's not on the list, we don't do it. I think for me to function in this at peak, I have to learn to put my mind out there twice as long.

 

We'll probably spend less this way; I can be very forgetful.

[Pawz4me]

I wish DH got paid once a month! IME it's a lot easier to budget that way than it is with every-two-weeks paydays.

[KRG]

I actually like a one paycheck a month. Dh started a new job last year and it's 2 paychecks a month and I hate it(it's even quite a bit more $)! With one paycheck you can pay all the bills at one time and you know exactly what is left. Now the bills are split here and there. The 2 checks are different amounts and as much I try I can't even out the bills and it always feels like we are short.

[Miss Peregrine]

We pay all our bills as soon as the money gets deposited. I have them taken out automatically on the 5th. For things like electric and gas we have level pay so no fluctuation. If I find that a phone bill changed by a few dollars(when I actually get the bill) I will send the difference.

 

We have been doing this for years and I am still not that great at the grocery part. We are always scrounging the last few days of the month. :lol:

[kokotg]

DH gets paid once a month and has for nearly 10 years now. It doesn't seem like a big deal during the times when we're doing pretty well money-wise and aren't living paycheck to paycheck. When we're short on money, it's an awful long time between checks. Worst thing about it is there's never an "extra" check--the two months a year when you get 3 paychecks if you get paid bi-weekly.

[Scarlett]

DH gets paid once a month (last business day of the month, which is TOMORROW! Woot!).

 

It's not a huge deal, it just requires serious self-discipline on my part to not spend it all in the first two weeks. The best part is that all the fixed expenses (mortgage, water bill, etc) can be paid right at the start of the month. I get all that out of the way and can physically see how much left I have to spend on the non-fixed stuff.

 

I've found it helpful to put a weekly spending cap on myself so that last week of the month isn't miserable.

 

When I was married to my now XH he was paid once a month. I loved it. Loved seeing what was 'left' and knowing that all the bills for the month were paid up front. Sometimes a bill or two would straggle in and I had to keep an estimated amount set aside for that.

 

I divided what was left by the 4 Fridays left in the month (the day I went shopping for food) and made sure I stayed within that budget.

[Alyeska]

We adjusted most of our bills to come out closer to the paycheck date (in our case, the first part of the month). You can call companies and ask about that.

 

Other than that, we just budget for the rest of the month. Once you're used to it, it's not bad.

 

Agreeing. We pay all our bills during the first part of the month and grocery shop once a month.

 

It takes some getting used to...it can be hard to spread out what is left after all the bills are paid. There have been some months where we end up broke a week before payday because of odds and ends that come up.

[DawnM]

I started my career being paid once per month. I worked for over 10 years before DH got a job and he is paid twice a month. (we were married two years before he worked since he was in grad school.)

 

I found it easier to just have one and make a monthly budget.

[Seasider]

In a word, BUDGET!

 

Some other random thoughts:

 

Make sure you have some in a "miscellaneous" category, because things do pop up mid month that could not have been foreseen.

 

Utility averaging helps to keep that expense predictable.

 

As you adjust, make some freezer meals at the beginning of the month so that if your grocery dollars run low, you've got food on hand.

 

Keep a running list of what needs/expenses might be coming up the following month - helps to be able to plan to spend for it.

 

You can put yourself on a bimonthly pay schedule by having the paycheck deposited into a savings account, then transferring half out on the 1st and 15th of the month.

 

Actually, getting a big bunch of cash at a time can make buying bulk purchases easier, and save you money. Just don't make *all* the bulk purchases in the same month!

 

You will adjust!

[tex-mex]

If you don't want a difference, you can simply spend half the money the first half and not touch the other half until two weeks later. I would find monthly budgeting much more efficient though.

:iagree:

 

We are a one paycheck family. No credit cards, no eating out, no movies/dvds, no pricey cell phones, and now are considering cutting the DSL or cable bill to save even more $$. ;) It can be done! But budgeting is very important to track where the pennies go.

[abacus2]

It wouldn't make a difference to us. We use YNAB and have built up the recommended one month buffer so we spend February's income in March, March's in April, etc. It is a great relief never to have to worry about timing bills to match paychecks.

[mytwomonkeys]

my husband gets paid 1x monthly. it's been over a year now, and at his last job it was 2x monthly. it was a little bit of an adjustment, but we just budget everything and meal plan. it works fine. the last week is a little thin usually (especially if there is 5 weeks between), but we've never run out of food or had to dip into savings or anything.

Edited September 27, 2012 by mytwomonkeys