Rent has gone up: make a plan for the next three paydays

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A rent increase can leave less room between paydays even when the extra weekly amount looks manageable on its own. The difficulty may be a bill landing before you are paid, a continuing shortfall, or both. A calendar for the next three paydays helps you see which problem needs attention.

You can make one on paper. Write down the dates and amounts of your next three pays, the new rent amount and when it starts, then add the bills and repayments due between them. Use take-home income and costs for the same period. A monthly average can hide the week when the money actually leaves your account.

Start with the increase, then look at the whole period

In this hypothetical example, rent rises from $500 to $550 a week. That is another $100 to find each fortnight. The renter receives $1,900 after tax every two weeks and has $200 available just before the first payday. Assume the increase is already in effect for all the rent payments shown.

Their regular fortnightly costs in this simplified example are $1,100 rent, $400 for groceries, transport and other essentials, and $150 in required debt repayments. They also have a $360 electricity bill due during the first fortnight. These figures are assumptions, not typical household costs. A real calendar needs every commitment, including provisions for less frequent bills.

The first fortnight uses $110 more than that fortnight's pay. The opening $200 covers the difference, leaving $90. In each of the next two periods, pay exceeds the costs listed by $250. That room still has to cover anything missing from the example, including future electricity bills. It should not automatically become spending money.

Check the dates inside the fortnight

A closing balance alone does not show whether you can make every payment on time. Here is the first period again, with a date assigned to each cost. The weekly essentials allowance is set aside immediately, even though it may be spent over several days.

Now move that electricity bill to the day before payday 1. Only the opening $200 is available then, so there is a $160 gap at that moment, even though the overall period can cover it. If a provider agrees to a different due date or payment arrangement, record the confirmed dates and check that they also work in the next two periods. Asking does not change the payment obligation by itself.

Include the bills beyond these three paydays

Use your own pay dates, whether they are weekly, fortnightly, monthly or variable. Enter irregular income only when you reasonably expect it, and keep uncertain amounts separate. A monthly bill belongs on its due date, even when your pay arrives every two weeks.

An annual bill needs room in the plan too. For example, a $520 bill spread over 26 fortnightly pays needs $20 from each pay. If it is due in six paydays and you have nothing set aside, six lots of $20 would leave you $400 short. Divide the amount still needed by the actual number of pays before the due date, then check whether you can afford that amount. Contact the provider if the plan does not cover it.

The worked calendar above does not include that annual bill. Adding a $20 reserve to each period would reduce the three closing balances to $70, $300 and $530. Keep money reserved for a future bill separate from money available to spend.

When moving the dates will not be enough

Keep the same regular costs of $1,650 a fortnight, but change take-home pay to $1,500. There is now a $150 shortfall every fortnight before the electricity bill or any other irregular cost. Delaying a payment could move the immediate problem into a later period, but it does not close that continuing gap.

If this resembles your situation, contact the relevant provider or lender before a payment is missed where possible. Explain what you can afford and ask what assistance is available. Avoid agreeing to repayments that the calendar already shows you cannot meet. A financial counsellor can help you consider the whole situation, including rent, bills and debt. The National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 provides access to free financial counselling.

If you are unsure whether a rent increase or notice is valid, contact the tenancy advice service for your state or territory. This calendar helps with the money dates. It does not determine your tenancy rights or the outcome of a dispute.

If your income covers essentials and required repayments, but several debt payments are difficult to coordinate, compare the current schedule with any proposed change. Our guide to deciding whether to consolidate debt explains how to compare repayments, fees and total cost. Extending the term can lower the regular payment while increasing the total, so another loan needs its own assessment.

Use the same calendar without a rent increase

This method also works when the rent has stayed the same and rent week still feels tight. Leave out the increase and enter the current amount on each due date. The useful question is when the available balance falls short and whether enough income arrives across the whole period.

Copy this table into a note or spreadsheet and add a row for every payment. Keep the rent notice or agreement, bills and repayment statements beside you while filling it in.

Take one useful detail into the next conversation

Write down the earliest date your available balance falls short, the amount of that gap and whether it happens again after the next payday. Those details give you something specific to discuss with a provider, your household or a financial counsellor.

After any change is agreed, update all three periods. Keep the original bill, confirmation of the arrangement and your revised calendar together so you can check what happens next.

Sources

• Moneysmart: How to do a budget
• Moneysmart: Problems paying your bills and fines
• Moneysmart: Financial counselling
• Moneysmart: Managing on a casual income
• Moneysmart: Debt consolidation and refinancing