How-to tutorial
How to budget on a biweekly paycheck
Getting paid every two weeks means 26 paychecks a year, not 24. Two months each year you get a third paycheck, and your pay dates drift across the calendar. A budget built around your pay dates instead of the calendar month handles all of that without the scramble.
1. Set your pay schedule to biweekly
In Settings, choose biweekly and enter your next pay date. Alto then plans in two-week pay periods that match your real cash flow, so "this period" always means the stretch you're actually living in.
2. Give each paycheck its own bills
Instead of waiting for both checks to add up, decide what each paycheck covers. A common split: the first check of the month handles rent or mortgage, the second handles utilities, groceries, and everything else. When a paycheck lands, you already know its job.
3. Split big monthly bills across two checks
A large bill due once a month is easier to absorb in halves. Set the category to fund from both paychecks so half is waiting by the time the bill arrives. In Alto you assign part of the total each pay period, and the envelope fills up before the due date instead of draining one check.
4. Plan for the three-paycheck month
Twice a year your normal bills are already covered by two paychecks and a third one shows up. That's the one to plan on purpose — send it straight to an emergency fund, a debt payment, or a sinking fund for an annual expense before it quietly disappears into everyday spending.
- Build or top up your emergency fund.
- Make an extra payment on a credit card or loan.
- Pre-fund annual bills like insurance or holidays.
New to this? Start with the paycheck-to-paycheck routine or set up your budget in Alto.