Get the template
Free, no signup. The paycheck budget is the Paychecks tab of our bill tracker workbook, so you type your bills in once and both tabs use them.
| Payday | Bills through | Amount | Bills it covers | Safe to spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Oct 30 | Thu, Nov 12 | $1,800.00 | $1,767.00 | $33.00 |
| Fri, Nov 13 | Thu, Nov 26 | $1,800.00 | $103.00 | $1,697.00 |
| Fri, Nov 27 | Thu, Dec 10 | $1,800.00 | $1,625.00 | $175.00 |
| Fri, Dec 11 | Thu, Dec 24 | $1,800.00 | $245.00 | $1,555.00 |
How it works
- Your paydays, worked out. Put in your next payday and how often you are paid: weekly, every two weeks, twice a month, or monthly. The sheet lists the next eight, with real dates and the last day each one has to cover.
- Each bill lands on the check before it. A bill counts against the most recent payday before its due date, which is the check that has to cover it. Bills that repeat count under every check they fall on, so next month's rent is already under the right payday.
- What's left, per check. Safe to spend is the paycheck, minus what you move to savings on payday, minus the bills it covers.
- A short check is one cell. If a paycheck comes in short, change its amount on the Paychecks tab and what's left follows.
- No categories. There is no grocery line, no gas line, no envelopes. Bills and savings come off the top, and what's left is yours. If that sounds like relief, the anti-budget is the idea behind it.
Set it up in ten minutes
- On the Start here tab, fill in the blue cells: your next payday, how often you are paid, a typical take-home paycheck, and what you move to savings on payday, if anything.
- On the Bills tab, replace the sample rows with your own: the bill, the amount, the next date it is due, and how it repeats.
- Open the Paychecks tab. Each row is a payday, the bills it has to cover, and what is safe to spend after them.
- When you pay a bill, set Paid to Yes. When it comes around again, move Next due forward and set Paid back to No. The paychecks already count the months ahead.
If you are paid every two weeks
Monthly bills and a biweekly paycheck never quite match. Most months bring two checks, and rent comes out of one of them, so one check feels tight and the other feels like a raise. Twice a year a month brings three.
Because the template lists real dates rather than "check one" and "check two", you can see which check carries rent, which one has room, and when the third one is coming. Weekly works the same way, with four or five checks a month.
When the spreadsheet stops working
A spreadsheet only knows what you tell it. It will not remind you a bill is coming, it will not notice a check came in short, and it lives on a laptop while the moment of doubt happens at a register.
Forseera is a bill tracker for iPhone that keeps the same picture current on your phone: each paycheck, the bills it covers, and what's left, with a heads-up before each bill is due. $8.99 a month or $69.99 a year after a 7-day free trial. The template is free either way.
Questions people ask
Is the paycheck budget template free?
Yes. No email, no signup, no watermark. Download the .xlsx or open it in Google Sheets and keep it.
Does it work as a biweekly budget template?
Yes. Choose Every 2 weeks on the Start here tab and it lists your next eight paydays, fourteen days apart, including the months with three.
What if I am paid twice a month?
Choose Twice a month. After your first payday it alternates between the 15th and the 1st. If your dates differ, type over them on the Paychecks tab and the bills follow.
Where do groceries and gas go?
Into what's left. The template does not split spending into categories on purpose: it takes care of the bills and savings, and the rest is yours to spend.
Is this the same file as the bill tracker spreadsheet?
Yes. One workbook: the Bills tab is the bill tracker spreadsheet, and the Paychecks tab is the paycheck budget. You type your bills in once.
Keep the template. Or take it with you.
Forseera keeps what's left current on your phone and gives you a heads-up before each bill is due. Seven days free.
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