# Biweekly or semi-monthly payroll - which do you prefer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 14, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780 "2012-04-14T20:32:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/1 "2012-04-14T20:32:47Z")
The company I work for was recently acquired by another company. As part of the acquisition, we moved from our payroll system, which was semi-monthly, to their system, which is biweekly. Now while I realize it’s just a different distribution (26 paydays in a year instead of 24), it almost sort of feels like a paycut until that first month where I’ll get a third check in a month - which won’t be until August. It’s not that big a deal and I can cope, but I kind of liked the regular, always consistent, twice a month paydays. (15th and last days of the month are what we had before). I realize there are other types of pay schedules besides these two, but for the purposes of this poll I’m only interested in what you would choose between the two. ---
**Author:** ![MareIt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@MareIt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MareIt)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/2 "2012-04-14T21:04:04Z")
I didn’t care which I had when I wrote checks to pay my bills. Now that I use my bank’s bill pay system, I prefer the 2 fixed dates per month. This allows me to automatically pay EVERYTHING on the day after my bank receives my pay. I have set every fixed cost to pay on the 1st or 16th of each month and when my variable bills hit, I schedule them for the next pay date. Anything still in my account by the 3rd and the 17th is what I have left until the next time I get paid. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/3 "2012-04-14T21:20:37Z")
No really strong opinion but I’ve been on the every other Friday schedule for a decade now and I’m used to it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/4 "2012-04-14T21:24:35Z")
Neither. I much prefer getting paid every Friday. Hardly anyone does that anymore though. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/5 "2012-04-14T23:30:15Z")
Paid monthly for a decade now and I strongly prefer it. Much nicer to get my money in a lump sum right at the start of the fiscal month. ---
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/6 "2012-04-14T23:57:30Z")
I get paid twice a month (15th and 30th) and I would much rather get paid every other Friday. The way our payroll works, it must be available on the 15th, so if the 15th is on a Sunday, then it is memo-posted (showing as pending) on Friday, or maybe Thursday night. If the 15th is a holiday, like MLK day, that just makes it all the more confusing. It would be so much easier to know that I get paid on Friday. No, not this one, the next one. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/7 "2012-04-15T00:03:43Z")
I prefer bi-monthly. You quickly get used to living on two checks per month, and then, twice a year, you get (what feels like) a FREE PAYCHECK to do with what you please. However, working in academia, I get paid once per month these days. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/8 "2012-04-15T00:10:51Z")
I prefer the semi monthly. House payments, car payments, utility bills, and most other large expenses are monthly. In our early days as homeowners we were on the biweekly. That didn’t work too bad because the extra paychecks came about when property taxes were due. There is always something for extra money. Next job was bi monthly. I set up to put enough each pay in the credit union to cover the taxes. I hated being paid weekly on one job. I was always having to run to the bank. ---
**Author:** ![FrancisCastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b4bc9f/32.png) [@FrancisCastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrancisCastle)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/9 "2012-04-15T00:15:13Z")
I prefer bi-weekly. In our household it works out nice because I get paid one week and then my SO gets paid the next week. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/10 "2012-04-15T01:13:06Z")
I like weekly. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/11 "2012-04-15T01:22:15Z")
I used to get paid every other Friday, and I loved it. Especially when my husband got paid on the Fridays I didn’t get paid. Now I get a retirement check on the first of the month, and he gets paid twice a month - I hate it because paydays keep moving around the calendar and I always need to do some mental math to figure out when the next infusion of money appears. Biweekly was so much easier. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/12 "2012-04-15T01:31:52Z")
I’m used to twice a month. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/13 "2012-04-15T01:38:13Z")
Several years ago I had a job where I was paid every other Friday, and I did prefer that to the twice a month arrangement at my current job. As \*\*feppytweed \*\*said, it was easier to remember when I’d actually be getting paid. I also liked the twice a year “bonus” third paycheck of the month. However, like **Manda JO** I think I preferred getting one big paycheck per month to either the biweekly or twice monthly options. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/14 "2012-04-15T01:48:41Z")
> [@Mr.Accident](#): > > Neither. I much prefer getting paid every Friday. Hardly anyone does that anymore though. > [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > I like weekly. I like weekly, too - temps usually get paid weekly. The worst paying method for me is monthly - I seem to be able to budget a lot better when I get weekly cash infusions. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/15 "2012-04-15T02:29:46Z")
Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires that you get paid no more infrequently than bi-weekly. Used to be weekly. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/16 "2012-04-15T03:17:43Z")
I get paid monthly and while it took adjustment when I first started it, I like it now - it makes budgeting ridiculously simple. . ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/17 "2012-04-15T12:10:54Z")
Yeah, don’t care. Used to be paid once a month. Took some adjusting. Before that was paid twice a month. Took some adjusting. Now I’m paid once a week. Took some adjusting. But in the end, it is the same amount of money and I make it work. ---
**Author:** ![pendgwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@pendgwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pendgwen)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/18 "2012-04-15T14:30:29Z")
I like biweekly. I budget based on 2 paychecks a month and then twice a year I get an extra check. This year it turns out that 1 of my extra checks coincides with my vacation. So I’m spending pretty much the entire check on a nice vacation. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biweekly-or-semi-monthly-payroll-which-do-you-prefer/618780/19 "2012-04-15T14:33:37Z")
I only ever worked one job, years ago, where we got paid bimonthly, and I totally miss it. Because you can have everything scheduled to come out at the same time every month, mostly.