Reddit user asks: How can I handle bills that come due before payday?

Changing bill due dates can make monthly cash flow easier to manage.

Kimberly Palmer, NerdWallet

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Could shifting bill due dates help you keep enough money on hand for essentials? In many cases, yes.

That was the question raised by one Reddit user who realized how hard it can be to cover a stack of bills early in the month and still have money left before the second paycheck arrives.

The user said it would be simpler if the bills were spread more evenly across the month.

Other Reddit users noted that trimming spending would also help, as would building an emergency fund for unexpected costs.

Still, timing matters. Financial experts say bill due dates are often fairly easy to change, and doing so can help create a steadier cash flow throughout the month.

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

She schedules her mortgage and utility payments for the start of the month and puts the rest of her expenses, including her credit card bill, on the 21st so the payments are spaced out instead of landing 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 also recommends the approach to clients to help reduce stress. “It helps mentally to spread things out.”

Here are a few ways to think about matching your paycheck timing with your bills.

Sort out your current due dates

The first step in building a payment schedule that works is knowing exactly which bills are due and when. Write them down and decide where changes might help.

“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.

Without that view, he says, you might look at your bank balance after payday and assume you have plenty to spend. In reality, some of that money may already be needed for upcoming bills.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offers a useful template for listing bills, due dates and timing issues. The bureau also suggests asking lenders or service providers for a different due date if that would make cash flow easier to manage.

Build a schedule around your income

There is no single payment schedule that works for everyone because cash flow looks different from household to household. If your income is irregular because you freelance or work on contract, for example, you may want to set payment dates as late in the month as possible so funds have time to arrive.

If your paycheck schedule is more predictable, autopay may make sense for the days after your deposit hits.

Taylor prefers to pay bills herself. “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 advises clients to aim for bill due dates that fall five to seven days after paychecks are deposited so cash flow stays smooth.

Ask for due date changes

Many companies make it easy to change due dates, though some may ask for a history of on-time payments or require advance payment before making the switch.

“Contact each one,” Brabham says, noting that utilities can often be adjusted online. Credit card companies may 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.

Set up a ‘float fund’

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

The purpose is to cover bills that come due before the next paycheck arrives. Otherwise, he says, people often turn to credit cards, which can leave them carrying an interest-bearing balance.

“That creates a secondary problem,” he says.

Wingard suggests keeping an amount equal to your monthly bills in the float fund and storing it in a high-yield savings account that is easy to access.

Along with adjusting due dates, that strategy can help make sure you have enough money available to pay what you owe, he says.

For the Reddit user who started the conversation, a new payment schedule would likely help, along with lower variable spending so there is more of a monthly cushion.

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