Paycheck Bill Planner See which paycheck pays which bill.
Enter how often you are paid and your bills. The planner assigns each bill to the last paycheck that arrives before its due date and shows what is left on every paycheck.
1. Your pay schedule
Use your take-home pay, the amount that lands in your account.
2. Your bills
Name, amount and the day of the month each bill is due.
Your numbers stay in this browser tab. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
Estimates only. The planner treats each payday as the exact date you enter, so move a date if your employer pays early for weekends or holidays. It is educational and not financial advice.
How does the paycheck bill planner work?
A calendar-month budget assumes your money arrives evenly. For most people it does not. If your bills cluster early in the month and your paychecks land on different dates, one paycheck can carry most of the load while the other has room to spare. The planner makes that visible before it becomes a late fee.
The rule it follows
Each bill goes to the last paycheck that arrives on or before its due date. A payday that falls on the due date counts, because the money is in your account that day. A bill due early in the month, before your first paycheck, goes to the final paycheck of the previous month, and the planner labels that paycheck as a carry-over.
What you get
- Every paycheck in the month with the bills assigned to it.
- What is left on each paycheck for spending and saving, or how much it is short.
- Monthly totals for income, bills and what remains.
- A note when a month has three paychecks, which happens twice a year if you are paid every two weeks.
A worked example
Press Try an example above to load this one. You are paid $1,400 on the 1st and the 15th, and your bills are rent $1,150 (due the 1st), car payment $320 (3rd), electric $90 (9th), phone $60 (12th), car insurance $120 (20th) and internet $65 (24th).
The 1st paycheck has to cover rent, the car payment, electric and phone: $1,620 against $1,400, so it is $220 short. The 15th paycheck covers insurance and internet, $185, and has $1,215 left. Across the whole month there is $995 left after bills ($2,800 in, $1,805 out), so the money exists. It simply arrives on the wrong dates.
Ways to fix a short paycheck
- Ask the biller to move the due date. Many lenders and utilities will shift a due date to a day that follows a payday, often for free.
- Pay one bill early. Pay the phone bill from the previous month's last paycheck, which may have room.
- Keep a one-month buffer. Once your account holds a month of bills, each paycheck pays the next month's bills and the timing problem disappears. Our guide on how to stop living paycheck to paycheck shows how to build one.
Questions about paycheck budgeting
What if my paychecks are different amounts?
The planner uses one amount for every paycheck. If yours vary, enter the lower amount to be safe, then treat anything extra as a bonus for a goal or a buffer. You can also run the planner twice and compare.
What if I am paid every two weeks?
Choose "Every two weeks" and enter any payday, past or future, as the reference date. The planner works out every payday from it. Two months a year you will see three paychecks.
How do weekends and holidays affect paydays?
Some employers pay on the Friday before a weekend payday. The planner uses the exact date you enter, so if that happens to you, choose the biweekly or weekly option with the real date of a recent payday.
Is anything saved or sent?
No. The calculation runs in your browser, and nothing you type is stored or transmitted. Closing the tab clears it. Use the print button if you want to keep a copy.
Does this replace a budget?
No. It covers bills only, the part of a budget with fixed dates. A full budget also plans groceries, spending money and savings. Use the monthly budget calculator for that, or the free Paper & Prosperity app.