Get paid monthly but, want to budget a weekly amount.

[darkriver19886]

I currently get UC and PIP due to long term mental health issues. I am struggling to manage my money monthly. The only way UC will pay me fortnightly is if they pay my landlord direct, I am unfortunately reluctant to do this as there has been problems with rent not getting paid on time and most advice services advise avoiding this option.

I am good at paying my bills (rent, electric etc) but often spend the last two weeks of the budget period stressed as I struggle to manage the left over money. I do have a support worker but, he isnt good at advising budgets.

So I want to do a weekly budget based on my monthly income once bills are paid but I am getting confused.

Am I right in thinking I need to times whats left by 12 and then divide by 52?

Sorry for the lengthy post but dont want to drip feed etc

That's correct. What I do personally is monthly amount left divided by 4 so that there's a small amount left over each month to cover unexpected bills.

Calculate your regular bills, rent, council tax, utilities and subtract them all from your total monthly incoming right at the beginning of the month. That should leave you with a figure which you can divide by 4 or 5 depending on how long the month is.

indeed

Multiply by 12 and divide by 52
Can you draw the amount of money you have to spend out on cash each Monday to last you the week?

Incidentally did you know you can ask to pay your council tax weekly? This may help you if you’re doing a weekly budget

It will be slightly more complicated since PIP is paid 4 weekly (13 payments a year) while UC is paid monthly (12 payments a year).

To calculate weekly PIP just divide your payment by 4, to calculate it monthly you need to multiply by 13 and then divide by 12.

Heres how i started to budget....

I get paid on 28th of each month. I add up how much my bills cost and have a standing order set up to pay that amount into a seperate bank account on pay day. My direct debits come out of that account whenever they are due.

I then count how many weeks i have until the next pay day. It can vary, most are 4 weeks but it can be 5.

Divide what i have left and thats my weekly amount. Withdraw from the bank that amount each week....put your cash card away somewhere!

If you dont spend the weekly amount then the next week only withdraw enough to top it up. Ie you have £50 but only spend £30, next week withdraw £20.

By the end of the month you may even have some savings.