Asked on Reddit: My Bills Are Due Before Payday — What Do I Do?

Can adjusting your bill due dates make it easier to keep enough money in your account to cover necessities? Maybe so.

That’s what one Redditor wondered after realizing how difficult it is to pay all the bills at the beginning of the month and have money to spare before the second paycheck of the month hits.

It would be easier if the bills were spread out more evenly over the month, the Redditor noted.

Other Redditors were quick to point out that lowering overall spending would also help, as would building up an emergency fund to handle any extra expenses.

But timing is important, too. In fact, financial experts say that it’s relatively easy to change the due dates of bills. Doing so can help preserve a more even cash flow throughout the month.

That’s exactly what Adrienne Taylor, an accredited financial counselor and founder of Tailored WealthSaver, a financial consultancy in Houston, does.

She set her mortgage and utility due dates for the beginning of the month and the rest of her expenses — including her credit card bill — for the 21st, so the payments are spread out and don’t hit all at once.

“It gives me flexibility so the majority of my first paycheck isn’t going toward all of my variable expenses along with mortgage and utilities,” she says.

She recommends the strategy to her clients to help reduce their stress levels. "It helps mentally to spread things out."

Here are some techniques to consider when it comes to timing your paycheck with your bills.

Organize your current due dates

Step one of setting up a payment schedule that works for you is knowing exactly what bills are due and when. List them out and decide where you might want to make adjustments.

“If you put down in writing what you have coming in and when, it can do you a lot of good. It’s a great management tool,” says Lamar Brabham, CEO of Noel Taylor Agency Financial Services in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Otherwise, he says, you could check your bank account right after getting paid and mistakenly believe you have a lot of spending money. In reality, those funds might actually need to go toward upcoming bills.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offers a helpful template for listing out your bills and due dates and identifying timing challenges. The bureau suggests asking lenders or service providers for a different due date if it would help you manage your cash flow.

Design a schedule to fit your needs

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach for scheduling payments because everyone’s cash flow is different. If you earn on an irregular schedule each month through freelance or contract work, for example, you might want to schedule your payments for as late in the month as possible to ensure the cash is deposited in time.

If you’re on a more predictable schedule, then you might want to set up autopay for your bills in the days following your paycheck deposit.

Taylor prefers the manual approach. “I like the control of making the manual payment,” she says. “I have a reminder on my phone on the 17th to remind me to pay on the 20th, and the bills are due on the 21st,” she says.

Brabham encourages his clients to arrange for bill due dates to be five to seven days after paychecks get deposited to ensure a smooth cash flow.

Request date adjustments

Many providers make it easy to change due dates, but in some cases you might need to show a consistent payment history or pay in advance to change the date.

“Contact each one,” Brabham says, adding that utilities can often be adjusted online. Credit card issuers might require a phone call to customer service.

“Most will be accommodating if you explain that you get paid at a certain time because they don’t want to be chasing you for the money,” Brabham says.

“If you can get it done, it will relieve a lot of stress,” he adds.

Create a “float fund”

Ernie Wingard, a financial representative at Capital Choice Financial in North Richland Hills, Texas, encourages his clients to create what he calls a “float fund,” which is a savings account separate from an emergency fund.

It is designed to handle bills that need to be paid before the next paycheck arrives. Otherwise, he says, people tend to turn to a credit card, where an outstanding balance can accrue interest.

“That creates a secondary problem,” he says.

Wingard suggests putting the value of your monthly bills into the “float fund” and keeping it in a high-yield savings account that’s easily accessible.

That strategy, in addition to adjusting payment dates, can help ensure you have enough money to cover outstanding bills, he says.

As for the Redditor who originally asked about timing due dates, a new payment schedule would likely be helpful — along with lowering variable spending to allow for more of a cash cushion each month.

“Don’t budget every penny, so if something unexpected pops up, you can handle it,” Brabham says.