Guides
How to run the household money.
Practical how-tos, worked examples with real arithmetic, and no lectures. Written by the people who build Payday Plan.
Plan the month by paycheck, not by calendar
Your bills run on the calendar but your money arrives on paydays. Line them up by paycheck and the tight weeks stop being a surprise.
The extra paychecks: what to do with a three-paycheck month
Paid every other week? Twice a year, a month brings a third paycheck. Here's how to spot those months now and give that money a job.
BillsForward the bill, skip the typing: emailed bills, set up properly
Most bills already arrive by email. Forward them to bills@paydayplan.app, or set a filter once, and this month's amounts wait for a yes.
PaychecksWhat "free to spend" should actually mean
Your balance isn't your spending money. Here's how to work out the number that is, paycheck by paycheck, and what to do when it comes out small.
Getting startedThe 20-minute month-end recap (and the three questions it answers)
A month is only useful if you learn something from it. A short, repeatable review that turns last month's surprises into next month's plan.
Getting startedSet up your whole household budget in ten minutes, by typing
Most budgets die during setup, somewhere around the fortieth form field. Here's how to get a working household plan down in plain sentences instead.
DebtThe freed-payment rule: what to do the month a debt is paid off
When a loan ends, its payment doesn't vanish. It turns into spending unless you decide otherwise. Here's how to decide, and why the timing matters.
Two of youOne plan, two people: who ticks what, and how not to fight about it
Most money arguments between couples are about not knowing, not about money. A practical setup for sharing one household plan without stepping on each other.
SavingYour emergency fund target: 3 months of what, exactly?
Three to six months is the usual answer, but months of what? Income, your plan and essentials give very different targets.
DebtWhy you should never prepay a 0% plan, and what to do instead
Paying off interest-free money early feels responsible but buys nothing. Where the extra should go instead, and the one kind of 0% deal that needs care.
BillsEstimates to actuals: make your plan honest in three months
Every new budget is built on guesses. Here's a simple routine for replacing them with real numbers, so the plan stops being quietly optimistic.
DebtAvalanche, snowball, or cascade? Ordering debts when one ends
People argue about which debt to pay first. The bigger win is what happens to each payment when a debt ends. Worked numbers for all three ideas.
SavingSinking funds for real life: tuition, trips and car registration
The bills that wreck a budget are the ones that don't come monthly. How to save for them a little at a time, with the arithmetic worked out.
BillsA 15-minute subscription audit
Small monthly charges are easy to ignore and expensive to keep. A three-step, fifteen-minute routine to find them, price them by the year, and decide.
DebtPromo APR cliffs: how not to get surprised when 0% ends
A 0% balance transfer is a deadline, not a discount. How to work out the payment that clears it in time, and when to start worrying.
Your next payday could come with a plan.
Payday Plan is opening to households a few at a time. Ask for a spot, or sign in if you’re already in.