Salary planner: how to plan what happens on salary day

What is a salary day plan?

It is a short routine for the first day of the pay cycle. You write down what is already promised, so the rest is clear. It is a plan for your own money, made by you. There is no rule about how much goes where.

What are the steps on salary day?

1. Note your take-home pay. Use the amount that arrived, not your gross salary.
2. List your fixed dues. Rent, EMIs, SIPs, bills, premiums, and money for parents.
3. Add what you choose to set aside. For savings, a goal or a yearly cost. The amount is your choice.
4. Work out what is left. Pay minus dues minus set-asides.
5. Spread it over the days. Divide by the days until the next pay day.

For the full thinking behind these steps, read Salary day is not spending day. For a printable list, use the first-of-the-month checklist.

What does a worked example with ₹75,000 look like?

₹75,000 − ₹45,500 = ₹29,500. Divided by 30 days, that is about ₹983 a day for food, travel, shopping and anything else. If you also choose to set aside ₹6,000 for a goal, what is left becomes ₹23,500, or about ₹783 a day. The set-aside is your choice, and the maths simply follows it.

Which tool does this for me?

The salary allocation calculator takes your salary, rent, family support, SIPs and bills, and shows what is left after the day-1 commitments and what that is per day. You can also see the quick version on the left-this-month page.

How do I keep the plan going after salary day?

A plan only helps if the numbers stay current. Two habits help. The first is the daily pace: read the daily spending limit method to see why recalculating each day keeps the figure honest. The second is a look back: the monthly money review guide shows how to compare one month with the last.

What about yearly costs and bonuses?

Some costs come once a year: insurance premiums, school fees, a festival. Divide the yearly amount by 12 and list that share as a monthly due. A ₹18,000 yearly premium becomes ₹1,500 a month, which is the figure used in the example above. A bonus is not part of your normal pay, so keep it out of the monthly sum and plan it on its own. See the annual bonus guide.

What if my pay date moves or my income changes?

Run the same steps from the day your pay arrives. The days to the next pay day may be 28 or 33 instead of 30, so the per-day figure changes a little. If your income changes each month, use only the amount you have actually received so far, and add the rest when it arrives. A plan built on money that has not arrived is a guess, and this page does not guess.

How does Kubear keep my salary day plan?

Kubear keeps your bills, EMIs, goals and spends in one place, so you do not rebuild the list each month. It shows what is left to spend this month, and today, after your bills and plan. Tap the number to see how it is worked out. You can switch on reminders for bills, EMIs, renewals and goal dates, and you choose which ones.

Kubear shows facts and maths from your own records. It does not choose how much you set aside, and it does not suggest a split. See what Kubear does or the Kubear facts.