Designing and Executing a Monthly Budget

Updated September 02, 2016

When you are paid once a month it can make budgeting both much easier and much more difficult at the same time. When you are paid once a month you can pay all of your bills at the beginning of the month, and you do not need to worry about setting aside a certain amount from each paycheck to cover your rent or your mortgage. This makes paying your bills a lot easier. However, it is more difficult because it is easy to go through all of your other money quickly and leave you falling short at the end of each month. You should not forget to plan for seasonal expenses when planning out your budget. Here are some tips to make budgeting easier when you get paid once a month.

1
Pay All of Your Bills at Once

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If you are paid once a month, you can sit down and pay your bills the day that you get paid. It is easier to do this just once a month, and it saves you time since you are doing everything all together. If you have set bills for your cell phone or cable bill, you can pay this at the beginning of the month. If you have bills automatically deducted from your checking account you can set this to come out the day after you get paid. This will simplify the entire process. The one difficulty you may have is with bills that change such as your utility bills. If this is the case you can speak to the company to see if you can change your billing date. Most companies are willing to work with you to change the due date. You should also be setting aside money each month into savings. This will help you stop living from paycheck to paycheck. More

2
Switch to Cash Only for the Rest of Your Budget Items

Switch the remaining categories in your budget to the envelope system or to a cash only basis. This means that you will not use your debit card at all, but will only use the cash for each category to make your purchases. You can withdraw the money from your bank at the beginning of the month and then put the correct amount into each category. This will stop you from blowing all of your money on eating out the first week since the categories are divided up already and you know to stop spending in one category when you run out of money. More

3
Divide Up Your Category Limits for Each Week

If you find that you spend most of your grocery money at the beginning of the month or if you have a difficult time with other categories such as entertainment you may want to split up these into smaller weekly amounts. You can set a limit for each week, and only take that amount with you when you go shopping. You can also make weekly envelopes for each category. This is the best way to stop overspending. It can help you stop eating beans and rice at the end of each month and help you stay on track.

4
Stick to Spending Limits

The key to making it to the end of each month is to stick to your weekly limits for each category and to not overspend in any category. As you switch to cash for your entertainment, groceries, and clothing money, you will soon learn to stop overspending. It is important to stop spending once you run out of money. Cash can help you do this, and setting weekly limits can help as well. It is important to make sure that you don't forget common budget categories. You can also look for new ways to save each month to help you stick to your spending limits.  More

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