How do most people cope with repeated 5 week months in this country?

[woody87]

DH and I lived overseas for a number of years, fortnightly pay was standard in almost all industries.

Since moving back to the U.K and both commencing work with the NHS I am astounded that people just put up with repeated 5 week pay cycles.

NHS pays on the last Thursday of the month in Scotland, however nursery fees (£800) are due on the 27th of the month with no exceptions and the latest date that council tax, British Gas and my mortgage company will accept is the 28th!

Therefore this month I had to pay almost £2k of bills out of savings three days before we were due to be paid and I fully accept that I am in a fortunate enough position to actually have a small amount of savings that can cover this.

What on Earth do people do if they don't have savings? Overdraft? Then incurring fees that go into the banks pocket?

This country is a fucking riot.

All money the direct debits and regular bills are paid from a different account. When money comes in the right amount is transferred straight away into the other account so it doesn’t matter what day the bills are paid the money is there.

Change datexof direct debit where you can

I get paid on the same date each month, so don't have 5-week months. I thought this was the norm? But happy to accept if not.

Most nhs workers I know pay most of their bills/ direct debits on the 1st of the month.

But yes, separate bills account is the way to go.

Yes I also get paid on the same date every month. And have done in every job since I started working 25 years ago.

A lot of our bills, mortgage etc come out at the start of the month. So we get paid the 28th of the previous month, then bills etc start coming out on the 1st of the following. Appreciate you have to be able to pay up for one month before adopting that system if everything is set up to come out at the end.

Not everyone does though, lots of people get paid on the last working day of the month. (Most of my jobs have been like this)

DH gets paid every 4 weeks, now that's annoying as it is always a different date each month!

Er, they could put the money aside from the previous month's pay? If you can afford your monthly bills, you can manage your account so that you have the money available to pay them when they are due. I have to pay a large sum quarterly for my nanny's tax and NI, so we put it aside each month, rather than expect to have just been paid it when it's due.

I know that many people on low incomes do have real difficulties caused by the clash between four-weekly pay cycles and monthly bills, but that's a slightly different issue.

There aren't five weeks in any month, at most it is four weeks and three days. You know your bills are due out and when, so you leave money in your account to cover them. It sounds like you're robbing Peter to pay Paul every month because you've spent wages before bills have been paid. It isn't costing you anymore money, you just need to reorganise. You aren't paying your bills before pay day, you're paying them several weeks after pay day. Any that you can move to the beginning of the month do so if it is causing you cash flow problems. Or accept that those "savings" you have aren't savings, they are actually your bill money for the bills due out that month.

I can't say it's ever struck me as an issue! I get paid on the 14th and DH at the end of the month, but we have a separate pot for all bills that gets automatically populated with money and everything just comes out of there so neither of us really have to think about it!

Surely if you know what bills will need to be paid at the end of the month, you just put away the amount you need from your paycheck at the beginning of the month?

I get paid 12 times a year. So does husband. We pay the bills 12 times a year. So far, so good.

The food bill is potentially a few days bigger each month that's longer than 28 days but in practice it's hardly noticeable, but if it's a problem for you, can you do a big shop of non-perishables soon after you get paid, and just buy fresh stuff closer to pay day?

And your 27th bill comes out of that previous pay cheque, it's not an early payment for the next one. You put the money aside for it when you get paid 3/4 weeks earlier.

I get paid the same amount on the same date each month. I have a spreadsheet money in minus regular money out and divide what's left by 4.5. That is what I have to spend on treats clothes etc per week

We just keep a bit of a buffer in the current account. Loses out in some interest but means no worrying about organising money to be available for the regular bills. Think of the first £X in your current account as an overdraft facility you provide rather than the bank for smoothing out cash flow. The cost is loss of interest rather than paying the bank to use it.

If your cash flow is so tight that you have zero savings than you have bigger problems than what day the bills are due.

I get paid "on or before the last day of the month" so it moves slightly if it's a weekend. DH's is similar. Most of our direct debits come out the first week of the month so the week after we get paid. That's been the norm our whole working lives and works smoothly. I'd have thought fortnightly or 4-weekly pay with monthly bills would be far more annoying and harder to manage.

It sounds like you've got stuck in a timing trap of spending money you need to put aside for bills. Once you are stuck in that pattern it's hard to get out of.

Shorter months balance out longer ones, you need to use the shorter ones to get back on a track, but its never full 5 weeks in a month anyway.

My American family members ask me the same, but I think fortnightly is the harder one to manage! I get paid 12x a year. I pay bills 12x a year. Why does the day it falls on matter? Every month you get paid you know x amount has to cover x bills. So you leave it, or transfer it or whatever you do. If you're paid enough to meet your overheads why does it matter?

What am I missing?

It's definitely more of an issue getting paid the last Thursday or Friday than getting paid on a set date like the 28th.

Getting paid on the last Thursday or Friday means you have 4, 4, 5 weeks between pays.
Getting paid on the 28th means your around 30/31 days between pays.

Move your DD to the 1st of the following month, and remember on your 4 week months to set a little aside to cover the extra week on the 5 week month.

Bills go out of one with enough money in there to cover. I’m nhs and our bills mostly come out 1st of the month. For some reason, plusnet is 18th, but I just leave money to cover it.

How is getting paid monthly a “fucking riot” just because you/some people can’t manage your direct debits?

Mine come off on the first of the month now we both get paid at the end of the month. I used to be paid mid month and I staggered them then.

I find it way easier to manage than when I got paid 4 weekly. I found that much harder to juggle.

I get paid on the 25th of the month and bills/council tax/nursery all come out on the 1st, so generally its fine.

It's difficult the first month after you start a job, but OP you need to try and get all your bills (not nursery) moved to the 1st of the month. I've never had a problem doing that with any council or utility company. The nursery demanding 27th is just weird, but sounds like you can't negotiate on that.

It’s the fact it’s the last Thursday rather than a set date.

having bills come off on the 1st is the way to do it.

There's no 5 week month ever.