AIBU to ask how to cope when moving from weekly to monthly pay.

[SoSickOfCovid19]

DH starts a new job in a weeks time, he currently gets paid weekly new job will move us to monthly pay. Due to the dates of the change he will get his last weeks wage on 23/4/21, nothing in April from new job as they take first two weeks in hand, so won't be paid anything from then unti 31/5/21 where he will get a full months wage. We are a family of 5 and I stay home with the kids. How do people budget food costs? I currently spend £140 a week on food and would like to carry on weekly shopping as fridge freezer is no way big enough for a months worth. With things like clothes, shoes, toys etc for the dc do you wait until the week before next pay day then buy these things or do you buy as soon as you get paid.

While you get the hang of it it might be best to wait until the week before pay day but I just buy things as and when I need them in the month. I'm good at budgeting though.

We have enough savings to cover our expenses the month with no pay so not worried about that period of time and have a credit card if an unexpected emergency was to pop up, so to be clear I am not asking for money.

Never been paid weekly, only monthly.

I just budget weekly still and ensure I stay within the limit I set myself. If for some reason I don't, then I tighten my belt the week(s) after.

It really is no different, apart from those first few weeks. Just need to be disciplined.

When I first went to monthly pay, I put my wages into one account and "paid" myself a weekly wage into a different account.

@SoSickOfCovid19

We have enough savings to cover our expenses the month with no pay so not worried about that period of time and have a credit card if an unexpected emergency was to pop up, so to be clear I am not asking for money.

Not really sure I understand what you are asking then. If you are not normally living from one pay packet to the next, then surely you can buy clothes and toys at any point in the month.

I tend to try and arrange all direct debits to go out within a few days of being paid - I also make any big purchases and transfer some into savings - I also probably do a bit bigger supermarket shop especially non food items - then I know how much I’ve got left each week and try and stay within it

I’d use the next couple of weeks pay to stock up on anything essential - pasta / rice / tins / full the freezer - batch cook some meals like spaghetti Bol etc. Anything essential for kids clothes (I mean really essential). That way you can hopefully have a bit in to tide u over.

Then just pull the reins in and try to spend as little as possible til u get paid again.

I time all my bills to go out as soon as I’ve been paid. Or move the money somewhere else that’s absolutely not for spending. That way I know what I’ve got to last me til next payday (paid monthly). Then I try to split that into 5 (not 4 as loads of months are effectively 5 weeks!!) and work on that as a rough weekly budget.

If I were u I’d try to be as frugal as u can in the first couple of months and work out what u could have spare each month that way and then see where u can relax a bit. I find it’s a mistake to do a massive shop etc as soon as I’ve been paid as I tend to run out before the end of the month that way. Much better trying to think of it as 5 weeks broken down.

You could always set up another account and pay yourself weekly if that helps

Think about it, op, it is not any different getting paid weekly or monthly, you simply have to knuckle down, be responsible, and budget. Get out some paper or make a spreadsheet, and write down every single expense you have and the day bills are due/date you pay them. Remember everything you spend money on from subscription services, utilities, rent/mortgage, food, household products, etc. Keep a log of every penny you spend for at least the next 3 months going forward. Only use cash when out of the house for small purchases.

Honestly, this is a great opportunity to really get a handle on how you're spending your money.

@Aprilx we have enough saving for that 6 week period not much beyond that, credit card is not used willy nilly. I was just making it clear I was not begging!

I've never been paid weekly. We put things on a credit card that is set up to be paid in full a couple of days after our pay comes in. It's not much different really to paying as and when.

I'm not sure what you're asking either. Monthly seems much easier to me as most of our bills go out monthly too. We have DDs arranged to go out just after payday so we only ever really see what money we have left after bills.

If you have savings to cover that period then just buy things when you want, from the savings rather than pay?

Most companies (as far as I know - my knowledge is a bit out of date!) will pay an advance of 2 weeks money, 2 weeks in, if he asks them and explains he's moving from a weekly to a monthly wage.

In terms of food and household budgeting, being paid monthly is loads better because you can stock up on bulk deals which saves money. Buying for the month is comparatively much cheaper than buying for a week! It takes a bit of getting used to but I think once you get used to it you'll prefer it

@Aquamarine1029

Think about it, op, it is not any different getting paid weekly or monthly, you simply have to knuckle down, be responsible, and budget. Get out some paper or make a spreadsheet, and write down every single expense you have and the day bills are due/date you pay them. Remember everything you spend money on from subscription services, utilities, rent/mortgage, food, household products, etc. Keep a log of every penny you spend for at least the next 3 months going forward. Only use cash when out of the house for small purchases.

Honestly, this is a great opportunity to really get a handle on how you're spending your money.

Fab advice - you couldn't choose a better time for an overhaul.

This is what I did: Opened second current account. Put as many bills as possible on monthly direct debit. Work out the total of these bills and add some extra (whatever you see fit/can afford) just in case...

Assuming DH's wages go into the existing account. Subtract the monthly bills total I just mentioned and move the rest of the money to the new account. Doing it this way saves having to piss about changing account numbers etc.

The new account is now what is left for non-bills, presumably this will include groceries. Split into 4, either mentally or physically - whatever suits you and there you are.

Our direct debits are randomly spread through the month currently as the money comes in in smaller chunks, so I was wondering about things like that. Is it easier to have them all go out together a day or so after pay day? Is it better to do a massive monthly shop or do you find it gets eaten quickly and your left spending more? When do you transfer to savings just before pay day or just after? Stuff like that is what I'm asking really.

If you're used to shopping weekly, I'd do as a pp suggests and transfer the "housekeeping" money to a separate account.

Remember that some months will be "5-week months", ie your normal shopping day will occur 5 times, and allow for this by making the payment bigger than 4x your weekly shopping costs. The amount should be at least 4.33 times the weekly spend. If you can afford to make it a bit more than that, you could build up a surplus for Christmas, birthday treats etc.

Also if it's going to be tight through May (and I understand you are not begging!) I think it would be perfectly reasonable for your husband to ask politely for one or two weeks' pay earlier than end of May. It's a pain with the season change and kids needing clothes. Hopefully school won't insist on uniform shoes next term.

All direct debits come out the day after DH gets paid and then we know everything is paid. Then some goes to savings and some is for food, clothes, etc. Our food bill is pretty much the same every week so we know how much roughly needs to be in there for that.
It took a bit of adjusting to as DH used to get paid fortnightly but it works fine now. You'll get used to it and figure things out.

Is it better to do a massive monthly shop or do you find it gets eaten quickly and your left spending more?

For most people, doing a massive monthly shop is a terrible idea and leads to loads of waste. I would do a weekly meal plan and buy things/ingredients that lend themselves to flexibility.

I have bills - housing/fuel/council tax water etc etc going out a couple of days after payday. I also have a dd to pay of the credit card at that point.

Food I still shop weekly

Other stuff I budget for as and when, holidays, school uniform etc by putting some aside along with bits.

Ah I'm with you. Yes we like to have DDs go out straight after pay day (1st of the month as it's easier than messing round with 30ths/31sts), then we spend through the month, and whatever is left gets moved to savings unless we know we have some big expenses coming up. Or you could siphon some off into savings at the beginning of the month if you prefer. Hopefully you will find it easier in the long run.

Our council tax is paid over 10 months so we put our big car expenses - servicing, insurance, tax - in the other 2 months.

Ah yes as @LakieLady says some months will be "5 week" months if you have a set date. And also sometimes places pay a bit early for Christmas.

I would phone all the companies and see if you can move direct debit date to nearer the start of the month and then get them all paid and out the way each month. Anything at the end of the month I move to savings but I know some people like to move some at the start to make sure it gets saved. You might have to try a few routines to see what works best for you. Instead of a pay day treat I like to have an end of the month treat the day before once I've moved my money into savings. That way I resist the urge to spend all my money on pay day. I do the same with shopping and buy a couple of cheaper weeks of food before I let myself look at the more fancy food for a treat.

@SoSickOfCovid19

Our direct debits are randomly spread through the month currently as the money comes in in smaller chunks, so I was wondering about things like that. Is it easier to have them all go out together a day or so after pay day? Is it better to do a massive monthly shop or do you find it gets eaten quickly and your left spending more? When do you transfer to savings just before pay day or just after? Stuff like that is what I'm asking really.

I find it much easier to have all DDs go out close to the start of month straight after we've both been paid.

Shopping wise we get some stuff "monthly", like cleaning products; pet food etc, usually at the start of the month, but actual food we do weekly as not enough freezer room, plus we often do Gousto meal plans which are ordered every 4 days or so. So we have an overall budget per week for food shopping that gets divided roughly by number of weeks per that month, and we stay within this each week as far as possible.

A proportion towards savings gets transferred straight after pay day, too, so we know what's left. We try to keep this amount as consistent as possible and it can be more or less each month depending on DP's overtime.

I'm paid monthly into one account then pay myself weekly from that as I could never get used to monthly pay. So every week on what would have been my payday (Thursday) the amount of money for that weeks comes into my account, anything left over gets transferred back into the wages account. Obviously if I need anything I will take money from the wages account if I have it there, but this works better for me.

I would move your direct debits close to payday as I find it helps to keep track but actually if you've budgeted well then it shouldn't matter.

Pre Covid we'd do a monthly meal plan and buy all the tins, packets etc and any meat we could freeze then shop every few days for fresh veg, bread etc
Now we have a weekly delivery so we rarely have to go into shops.

It's not too difficult once you get used to when stuff goes out.
We do 2 big shops a month (Inc putting bread in the freezer) have a milkman and a veg box weekly. Meat goes in the freezer.

As suggested do a spreadsheet/budget plan and dates. I personally move money into savings at the beginning of the month and if any left over at the end. But get used to monthly first so suggest moving at the end til your in the swing of things.

I don't buy toys or clothes monthly more like twice a year and it just comes out of savings to do so.