How Much to Set Aside for Bills Each Payday
List your regular bills and how often each is charged, choose how often you are paid, and see how much to put aside each payday to cover them across a year.
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Your Pay
How often are you paid?Choose one to see the amount to set aside each payday.
Your Bills
You will need: recent bills or statements, how often each is charged.
Enter each regular bill as the amount of one bill and how often it is charged: rent, rates, power, insurance, phone, subscriptions, rego. Leave out spending that is not a bill.
Planning aid only, not financial advice. Every amount is one you enter. This works out an average provision across a year; it does not track due dates, send reminders or connect to a bank.
Add a bill with its amount and how often it is charged to see what to put aside.
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Frequently asked questions
How much should I set aside each payday for bills?
Add up what your bills cost over a year, then divide by the number of paydays in a year. Enter each bill as the amount of one bill and how often it is charged, and choose how often you are paid. A $450 quarterly power bill is $1,800 a year, which is $69.24 a fortnight once the share is rounded up to the cent. The calculator does this for every bill and adds the shares together.
How is the amount rounded?
Each bill's share of a pay is rounded up to the next cent, and the amount to set aside is the sum of those shares. The breakdown therefore adds up to the headline exactly, and over a year you set aside slightly more than the bills cost, never less. The calculator shows that small extra, which is under one cent per bill per pay.
Does this mean my next bill is covered?
Not necessarily. The amount is an average: over a year, the money set aside matches the bills. If a large bill falls due soon after you start, not enough will have built up yet, and you will need money from elsewhere or a head start. The calculator does not track due dates.
How many paydays are in a year?
The calculator counts 52 weekly, 26 fortnightly or 12 monthly paydays a year, and converts bills the same way. A calendar year is slightly more than 52 weeks, so some years have 53 weekly or 27 fortnightly paydays. An extra payday puts a little more aside than the bills need.
What should I count as a bill?
Regular costs you are charged for: rent or mortgage repayments, council rates, strata, electricity, gas, water, insurance, phone and internet, subscriptions, car registration and memberships. Day to day spending such as groceries and fuel is not a bill and is better budgeted separately. If a bill changes in size, enter a typical amount.
Is my list saved, and can I share it?
Your list is saved in this browser on this device as you type, and nothing is sent to a server. Share makes a link holding a copy of the list. It is a snapshot: whoever opens it gets their own copy, and later changes do not sync. This calculator does not connect to a bank, track due dates or send reminders.