How to track fixed expenses by payday, not by month
Short answer: start your budget on payday, list every fixed expense due before the next payday, subtract the total from your paycheck, and check each one off as it leaves. What remains is what you can actually spend.
Why the calendar month gets it wrong
If you are paid on the 25th, rent due on the 1st is paid from last month's paycheck, not this one. A 1st-to-31st view mixes two paychecks and makes you think you have more left than you do. People in reviews describe it simply: they want "bills AND payday in the same feed."
Step by step
1. Write down your payday and the next one. 2. List every fixed expense with its due day: rent, phone, insurance, installments, utilities. 3. Keep the ones that fall between the two paydays. 4. Add them up and subtract from your pay. 5. Tick each one when it is paid, so on any day you know what is still to come.
Handle the awkward items
For bills that change each month, like utilities, use last month's amount as a placeholder and update it when the bill arrives. For installments, note how many months are left so they drop off on time.
Doing it with Monthkeep
Monthkeep lets you set your payday and runs every list and total from that payday to the next. The home screen shows days until payday and what is left to pay this cycle, and you check items off with one tap.
FAQ
Why track fixed expenses by payday?
Your money arrives on payday, not on the 1st. Grouping bills by pay cycle shows whether this paycheck covers everything due before the next one.
What if I am paid twice a month?
Split your bills into two groups, one for each paycheck, based on which pay date comes before each due date.
What counts as a fixed expense?
Anything that leaves every month on a known day: rent, phone, insurance, subscriptions, loan or card installments, utilities.
Check off fixed expenses by payday: get Monthkeep (Google Play)
← See Monthkeep: fixed expense checklist from payday to payday