Openbox Money

Paycheck budget

Budget by paycheck: see which bills each paycheck has to cover before the next one arrives, and what's left of it to spend. No sign-up.

By Travis Haggar. I build Openbox Money. I'm not a financial adviser.

Drafted with AI help. Updated .

Sources: BLS, Consumer Expenditures in 2025 (Oct 29, 2026). Not financial advice. Spot a mistake? support@openboxmoney.com

Your pay

What reaches your account after taxes.
For savings or a goal, before spending.

Your monthly bills

A name, the amount and the day it's due each month.

  1. Bill 1

A day past a month's end, like the 31st, falls on that month's last day.

November 2026

Example: $1,850 take-home on the 1st and 15th, $150 set aside from each, and five bills. Type your own above.

2 paychecks in November 2026: $3,700.00 in, $1,658.49 to bills, $300.00 set aside, $1,741.51 left to spend.

  1. Paycheck on Nov 1 · covers Nov 1 to Nov 14

    Pay
    $1,850.00
    Rent, Nov 1
    $1,400.00
    Phone, Nov 8
    $65.00
    Streaming, Nov 12
    $15.49
    Set aside
    $150.00
    Left to spend
    $219.51

  2. Paycheck on Nov 15 · covers Nov 15 to Nov 30

    Pay
    $1,850.00
    Car insurance, Nov 20
    $118.00
    Internet, Nov 28
    $60.00
    Set aside
    $150.00
    Left to spend
    $1,522.00

Add your pay above to print your own plan.

Runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent, saved or put in the page address.

How it works

Each paycheck pays the bills due from its payday up to the day before the next payday. Pay every week or every 2 weeks counts from the payday you pick, forwards and back; pay twice a month or monthly lands on the days you choose, and a day the month doesn't have, like the 31st in April, moves to its last day.

Left to spend is the pay, minus the bills it covers, minus what you set aside. When a paycheck can't cover everything, the paychecks before it, from the same month or the month before, hold back what's needed, nearest first, so a month's last paychecks can hold back for any short paycheck the next month. What no paycheck from this month or last covers shows as $0 left and how much more is going out than coming in, never a figure below $0. The month's line adds up its paychecks' cards.

Use your take-home pay, what actually reaches your account. This page doesn't work out taxes. For context, the average U.S. household spent $81,905 in 2025, according to the BLS.

Want a starting split for what's left? Try the 50/30/20 calculator, or put your due dates on a bill calendar. More free tools.