Going from weekly pay to fortnightly, or even monthly cycles can be daunting and frustrating during the transition.
You go from copping a nice little chunk of money in your account every seven days to blowing your monthly budget in the first week and spending the remaining time until payday trying not to breathe in case that, too, costs money.
It’s a juggling act that takes a lot of practice, so here are some tactics to ease into the heartbreak that is fortnightly and monthly payments.
Obviously, none of these tactics are fool-proof and there will still be some teething involved, but luckily, if you do find yourself in a bind towards the end of your pay cycle, there are services like MyPayNow that act as a buffer (which you can read more on below).
Hidden accounts
I’ve been on a monthly pay cycle now for over two years and believe I’ve just got the hang of it exactly .01 months ago.
I told you it was tricky.
A huge helping hand, however, has been opening a hidden savings account. It doesn’t matter what bank you’re with, as long as you have a savings account that you can’t easily access on your phone (or readily take money out whenever you please).
By restricting your access to money, you’ll be forced to budget more carefully with the money you can access.
Slowly building an emergency nest egg
You may have noticed (well, it was hard to miss) a lot of adults flocking back to their family home last year, seemingly to avoid the strain of rent while also dealing with the mess of 2020 as a whole.
If you’re able, move back with the ‘rents for a few months to build up a buffer fund. That way, when you do move out again and if an unexpected cost comes along, you won’t immediately panic and spend your fortnightly/monthly wage.
Again, it’s not a possibility for everyone but if you can, do it.
MyPayNow
If you don’t have an emergency nest egg and you realise there are still a few days to go before more money goes into your account, make use of the real-time wages service, MyPayNow.
It is honestly hard for anyone to stick to a budget for longer than a week, so if you’re inching towards payday and your account is dwindling, MyPayNow can be used to access small chunks of your future wage to help you out with groceries, petrol or any other expenses that you stumble across.
With MyPayNow, you can access up to 1/4 of your upcoming wage* to help you crawl across the finish line. Even accessing $100 bucks to make sure you’re paying all of your rent on time can be super handy.
If you’re getting paid fortnightly or monthly and it looks like the pay’s going to come in later than planned because of a bank snafu, this would also be a great time to utilise real-time wages.
What’s the catch, I hear you say? MyPayNow does charge a flat-rate service charge of 5% of the advanced wage amount, so if you got out $100 of your wage, you’d pay $5. Not too shabby for a helping hand, if you ask moi.
Organising your monthly bills
There’s nothing more demoralising than thinking you’re actually on track with your budget for a pay cycle, only to be randomly hit by a landslide of subscription payments you completely forgot about.
Where you can, time all of your bills to fall on the day you get paid – that way, every recurring payment will come out when money’s coming in, so it’s easier to keep track of and you won’t get smacked in the face by a rogue Spotify Premium cost.
Free stuff
Places like Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace are a treasure trove of free bits and bobs – if you’re looking in the right place.
This is particularly convenient if you’re currently moving into a new place and you need to fill the place with….objects. Microwaves, fridges, TVs, beds – it all adds up and can easily wipe the progress you’ve made with your budget.
Hit up mates, go online – if it’s free and it’s half-decent, take it.
*Eligibility & fees apply
