Finances & BudgetingFree budget tool
Paid every two weeks? Your paydays drift through the month, so the paycheck that pays rent keeps changing. Enter your pay and bills to see which paycheck covers each bill, how much to hold back, and which months bring a third paycheck.
Highlights
This planner splits every paycheck (or monthly salary) into buckets, such as bills, savings and spending. Then it gives each bill to the payday that has to pay it.
If a later paycheck can't cover its bills, it tells you how much to keep back from an earlier one. It works with any pay schedule, more than one income, and every currency in use around the world.
The example below is already filled in. Change the income in Step 1, the buckets in Step 2 and the bills in Step 3. The results in Step 4 update as you type.
ExampleExample figures loaded. Change anything.
Add every income you get paid from.
Fixed amounts first, then percentages. "What's left" takes the rest.
Per paycheck $990.00
Per paycheck $270.00
Per paycheck $180.00
Per paycheck $360.00
Monthly bills and the day they're due.
Paying ahead
A buffer for slow transfers. A bill due just after a payday is paid from the paycheck before it.
Your split
Salary: $1,800.00, every two weeks
Each bill goes to the latest payday before its pay-by date.
October 2026
Hold back $400.00
Salary $1,800.00
Bills $345.00 from $990.00 bills money
Keep $400.00 of this payday's bills money for the Oct 23 payday, which can't cover its bills alone. $245.00 is still free.
Short by $400.00
Salary $1,800.00
Bills $1,390.00 from $990.00 bills money
Covered by money held back from an earlier payday.
Biweekly budgeting guide
Biweekly pay means 26 paychecks a year, but your bills come monthly. So the paydays move around the calendar, the paycheck that pays rent keeps changing, and twice a year a third paycheck turns up. This planner lines them all up month by month.
Paid on another schedule? The paycheck split calculator handles all of them.
Worked example
The example in the planner: 1,800 every two weeks, with 55% going to bills.
Rent of 1,250 is due on the 1st and bills are paid two days early. In October, the last paycheck before November's rent is the one on October 23, which also has the insurance due on the 25th. That's 1,390 of bills for 990 of bills money.
The October 9 paycheck only has streaming and the car payment, so it holds back 400 for the 23rd. In January 2027 there are three paychecks, and the rent moves to the third one, on January 29.
| Payday | Bills money | Bills | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 9 | 990 | 345 | Hold back 400 · 245 free |
| Oct 23 | 990 | 1,390 | Short by 400 |
Three-paycheck months
If you're paid every other Friday, you're on one of these two cycles. Find a recent payday to see which.
Paid on another weekday? Enter a recent payday in Step 1 and the planner flags each three-paycheck month as you move through the calendar.
Making it work
Plan for two paychecks a month, and let the extras work for you.
Method
The same rules apply to every plan, so you can check any result by hand.
This is a planning tool, not financial advice. It uses the take-home figures you enter and doesn't work out tax. Last reviewed .
Common questions
Common questions about budgeting a paycheck that arrives every two weeks.
The last one that arrives before rent has to be paid. If rent is due on the 1st, that's usually the paycheck in the second half of the month before. Because biweekly paydays drift a couple of days earlier each month, the paycheck that pays rent changes over the year. The planner works this out for every month.
Usually two a year when you're paid every two weeks, because 26 paychecks don't fit into 12 months of two. Which months depends on your pay dates. Some years have 27 paychecks, which gives a third three-paycheck month.
Plan around two paychecks a month and treat the third as extra. Give each bill to the payday before it's due. If the second paycheck has rent and the first only has small bills, keep some of the first paycheck back for rent. The planner shows the exact amount as "hold back".
Your bills are already covered by the usual two, so the third paycheck is free to send to savings, an emergency fund or extra debt payments. Deciding before it arrives makes it much less likely to disappear into everyday spending.
No. Biweekly means every two weeks, always on the same weekday, which is 26 paychecks a year. Twice a month (semimonthly) means two fixed dates, such as the 15th and the last day, which is 24 paychecks a year. Choose "Every two weeks" or "Twice a month" in Step 1 to match your payslip.
Ready-made plans
The same planner with a different starting plan. Your saved plan comes with you to each one.
Related tools
Turn a photo of a bill list or payslip into rows or text. These tools also run in your browser, with nothing uploaded.