Weekly pay and monthly bills....how to manage?

[Sarah Lou 80]

I'm trying to sort my bank account out as I'm constantly living in my overdraft. In theory we should have a good chunk of money to spare each week.

Both OH and I are paid every Friday but obviously all our bills are monthly. What I've been trying to do is just draw out cash for the week so that that is all we have to live on. I buy the food shopping on our debit card and the little bit of cash is for topping up food throughout the week so the bank account doesn't get touched.

I've also been thinking about changing some of the dates our direct debits come out as most bills come out at the beginning of the month. Would it be crazy of me to say have the mortgage come out on it's own during the first week, and then utility bills and council tax another week and the rest split into the the next two weeks? I know the dates of the direct debits will mean that the day of the week it is drawn will be different each week but I'm trying to work out what to do for the best and anything to do with numbers fries my brain!

Any help and advice will be so greatly appreciated

 

[aimee-lou]

I have all mine come out on the 1 day. I then have a bills account where the money from each payment gets moved to as soon as we get it. We then have a joint account where spare cash goes to buy food, petrol and anything else. Works 90%of the time. I get paid every 4 weeks so it gets tricky sometimes.

 

[adrie]

I'm trying to sort my bank account out as I'm constantly living in my overdraft. In theory we should have a good chunk of money to spare each week.

Both OH and I are paid every Friday but obviously all our bills are monthly. What I've been trying to do is just draw out cash for the week so that that is all we have to live on. I buy the food shopping on our debit card and the little bit of cash is for topping up food throughout the week so the bank account doesn't get touched.

I've also been thinking about changing some of the dates our direct debits come out as most bills come out at the beginning of the month. Would it be crazy of me to say have the mortgage come out on it's own during the first week, and then utility bills and council tax another week and the rest split into the the next two weeks? I know the dates of the direct debits will mean that the day of the week it is drawn will be different each week but I'm trying to work out what to do for the best and anything to do with numbers fries my brain!

Any help and advice will be so greatly appreciated

It may sound like a bit much, but pay off the overdraft in one swift chunk (or two, or three). Then only use it minimally and you won't have to worry about it. I had three lean months some years back as I got into a rut with maintaining higher balances on a credit card. Paid it off in full that three months and have never not paid any balances in full each month, since. So freeing!

I knew someone who had overdraft so high that every time she was paid, the majority just paid off her overdraft and she was left with nothing really. Yeah, that may suck for a week or two, but seriously, to be rid of it is way easier than to constantly play some balancing act. It's never not going to be owed.

Personally, my account is automatically debited the last day of each month for my student loan, the first day or two of the new month for my bank acct. fees, and the middle of the month for insurance fees. Maybe it's not too difficult to manage though, because in total that only equals about 300$ a month.