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Free budgeting resources
Your bills need dates. Your budget does too.
If rent leaves before your wages arrive, a monthly surplus does not solve the timing problem. A paycheck budget follows the money in the order it arrives and leaves.
Start with the available balance in the account that will pay the bills. Check pending payments so you do not subtract them twice. Plan through the next payday, then extend the window through the bills that follow it. Keep separate accounts separate until you explicitly include a transfer.
2. Enter dated income and expenses
Use take-home pay, due dates, minimum debt payments and a realistic allowance for everyday spending. Keep uncertain income clearly labelled. A credit limit is not income. When money moves between your own accounts, it changes each account but does not create income across both.
3. Find the lowest balance
After each row: new balance = previous balance + money in − money out. In the sample worksheet, $500 falls to −$200 after $700 rent, then rises to $1,000 after $1,200 pay. The earliest shortfall is Tuesday, even though Friday looks comfortable. Sample numbers exclude fees and other spending.
4. Check the plan before relying on it
If the balance falls below zero or your chosen buffer, identify which assumption would need to change. A new due date only belongs in the plan once the payee agrees. Include groceries, transport and pending transactions before treating any remaining amount as spending room.
Use the free worksheet
Download the CSV below and open it in Excel or import it into Google Sheets. Replace the sample dates, amounts and opening balance. Keep rows in date order. Columns C and D hold positive money-in and money-out amounts. Column E calculates the running balance. Blank rows already contain formulas through row 32; copy the formula down if you add more rows. The lowest projected balance includes the opening balance. Use one currency per sheet.
When you get paid every two weeks
Biweekly and twice-monthly pay are different schedules. Enter the actual payday dates rather than assuming every month has two checks. A month with three paydays is not automatically spare money; check the bills that follow the last check.
These public discussions describe individual experiences, not a survey or endorsements of Wiggle Budget. The examples below are illustrative.
The month works on paper. The week before payday does not.
A reader in r/budget asked how to divide monthly bills between biweekly paychecks when the dates do not line up. Replies suggested different approaches, including assigning bills to the paycheck before they fall due and keeping a separate bills account.
Start with the balance available today, then put each bill and paycheck in date order. The lowest balance matters as much as the ending balance. In the spreadsheet, check the running balance before the next payday, not just the monthly total.
Example: start with $500. Rent of $700 is due Tuesday, leaving −$200. A $1,200 paycheck on Friday brings the balance to $1,000. The positive ending balance does not cover Tuesday’s shortfall. This example excludes other spending and fees.
You can use the worksheets on their own. If you want to keep bills, account links and projected balances together, explore the Wiggle Budget spreadsheet. Results depend on the amounts and dates entered.
