Put in one real payday. The calculator lists every payday for the next two years and marks the months that bring an extra paycheck, so you can plan for it before it lands.
Simplified on purpose. Paydays that fall on a weekend or bank holiday are often paid a day or two early, which can move one payday into the previous month — check your employer's calendar for those. What is reliable here is the pattern: every two weeks is 26 paydays a year, so two months (sometimes three) get a third one. The full spreadsheet goes further — it matches every bill to the paycheck that pays it, shows the paychecks that will come up short weeks ahead, and keeps your set-asides for the year.
It depends on the weekday and date of your first payday, so there is no single list for everyone. If you are paid every two weeks you get 26 paydays a year - two in most months and three in exactly two months (occasionally three months, when the year has 27 paydays). Enter one real payday above and the calculator lists yours.
Most people paid every two weeks get two in 2027. Which two depends on your payday: someone paid on Friday 8 January 2027 gets them in April and October. The exception is a payday that falls on Friday 1 January 2027 - that schedule has 27 paydays in the year, so it gets three: January, July and December. The calculator works it out from your own date.
Most budgets are built on two paychecks a month, so the third one is not needed for regular bills. Decide before it arrives - an emergency fund, a debt payment, a sinking fund for Christmas or car repairs - otherwise it tends to disappear into ordinary spending.
No. It shows when the money arrives. It does not match each bill to the paycheck that pays it, warn you when one paycheck comes up short, or keep a year of set-asides - that is what the full Paycheck Budget spreadsheet does.
The calculator above shows when the money comes. The full Paycheck Budget & Bill Planner spreadsheet shows where it goes — every bill matched to the paycheck that pays it, what is left over each payday, the short paychecks flagged before they happen, and the extra-paycheck months planned ahead. It opens in Excel and works just as well in free Google Sheets.
Get the full Paycheck Budget spreadsheet Or start with our free Mini Budget Tracker