The problem with bi-weekly pay that I’m finding is that it makes it extremely hard to make work with a budget. Although, as others have pointed out, $60M a year pay will total out to be the same no matter how you’re paid, that’s not really true. Most people are paid on Fridays. The number of Friday’s varies from year to year. Most have 52, but 2012 has 53. Not that it’s a big issue but, your yearly pay can vary.

The next issue is, some months have 4 fridays, some have 5. People paid bi-weekly will get paid twice a month or three times. One month you may be paid the first week of the month when most bills are due, other months your first paycheck won’t be until the second week. Some said “Bank the 3rd one” but that’s not really a viable solution for many, they need every penny they get to keep things rolling in their household. From June 1st this year till June 1st the next, there are 4 months with 5 Fridays.

I think people pretty much know what their bills are and what week they have to pay them. I’m not so sure they put aside money for periodic expense i.e. (car insurance…) and saving or investing. For them, the ultimate question for budgeting bi-weekly pay and making sure they bank the right amount of money for future stuff is “What do I really have available each week after paying my bills, saving for my future and putting aside money for periodic items that come up?” When you put this down on a spreadsheet which many people use, it is one cryptic chunk of math. Some periods you can budget for 4 week interval, some 6 and some must go up to 8 week intervals in order to limit your spending to assure yourself you don’t get caught short during a given week.

For people that are paid weekly, twice a month or monthly none of this is really an issue.

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