Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links and we may receive a commission through them, but this is at no additional cost to you. For more information, please read our privacy policy.
Most W-2 workers get paid twice a month or biweekly.
Most W-2 workers get paid twice a month or biweekly. If you, like many others, are getting paid biweekly, there are two months in 2023 in which you will get three paychecks and it all depends on when you get your first paycheck of the year.
If you are getting paid on a semimonthly schedule, usually on or around the 15th and the last day of the month, that's 24 paychecks every calendar year.
However, if you have biweekly pay periods, like every other Friday, that would end up being 26 paychecks in a year.
If you are getting 26 paychecks a year that would mean there will be two months every single year that you would get three paychecks instead of two.
What months are the three paycheck months in 2023? Good question, this year that depends on the day you received your first paycheck of the year.
If you get your first paycheck of 2023 in the first week of January, your 2023 3-paycheck months are March and September. Here are the typical semimonthly pay schedules:
If you get your first paycheck of 2023 on January 13th, your three-paycheck months will be June and December. Here you can take a closer look:
If you get paid every other week (biweekly pay schedule), but not on Fridays you can easily figure it out on your own. Grab a calendar and your favorite marker and create your own pay calendar. You can do this by circling the first day you got a paycheck in 2023 and then circle every two weeks until you find your 3 paycheck months!
Unfortunately, your boss doesn't just hand out extra income or a third check on a biweekly schedule. Here's a simple tip to help you make your 3rd paycheck feel like a bonus: budget as if you were only getting two paychecks every month.
It sounds easy, doesn't it? However, if you do that, all your expenses for the month will be budgeted based on a normal two paycheck month. When you get that extra payment, you'll find a lot of cash in your pocket. If you haven't started a monthly budget yet, a three paycheck month is the perfect excuse to get started.
You should treat that money as a bonus. You can do whatever you would like with it, but here are some good ideas to help you on your way:
Three paycheck months provide you with many opportunities to improve your financial situation and set some financial goals. You can make your future a little more secure, pay off some outstanding debt, or take care of a large expense. This is the real thing. Not often are we provided such an opportunity to improve our financial position, increase our monthly cashflow, and get a couple of extra paychecks. A noteworthy takeaway is that this is the right time to lean more into personal finance. This is an easy way to get your feet wet and put into practice all you have been learning about personal finance.
If you aren't tracking your net worth yet, make sure to check out Personal Capital. This is a great way to chart your net worth at different times and see how your regular expenses and these new additional funds affect your overall net worth. It is mentioned a lot, but the more you save the more you have.
No matter how you plan on using those third checks make sure to be intentional with your money. Your future self won't regret it!