Here Are The 3 Paycheck Months For 2023 + What to Do With Your Third Check
Last Updated: December 08, 2022 • 6 min read
Author: Zach L.
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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.
Paid Every 2 Weeks?
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.
All Three Paychecks Months in 2023 Starting First Week of January
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:
- January 6
- January 20
- February 3
- February 17
- March 3
- March 17
- March 31
- April 14
- April 28
- May 12
- May 26
- June 9
- June 23
- July 7
- July 21
- August 4
- August 18
- September 1
- September 15
- September 29
- October 13
- October 27
- November 10
- November 24
- December 8
- December 22
2023 Three Paycheck Months Starting January 13
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:
- January 13
- January 27
- February 10
- February 24
- March 10
- March 24
- April 7
- April 21
- May 5
- May 19
- June 2
- June 16
- June 30
- July 14
- July 28
- August 11
- August 25
- September 8
- September 22
- October 6
- October 20
- November 3
- November 17
- December 1
- December 15
- December 29
How Does This Work if I Don't Get Paid on Fridays?
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!
How to Treat Third Paychecks as Bonus Money
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:
Make the Most of Your "Bonus" Paychecks
- Pay Off Debt. If you currently are in debt, this can be a great option. Make sure to start with high-interest debt first. This could be your car payment, credit card debt, or mortgage debt.
- Save For a Rainy Day. An emergency fund is vital to anyone's financial health. This could be put into a savings account (not a checking account), or a money market account.
- Prepay Some Monthly Bills. We prepay our car insurance either six or 12 months in advance. It gets us a better rate, and then we don't have to worry about that expense every month. You can also make an extra credit card payment.
- Start Saving for Retirement. If you need a boost to start saving more in your retirement account, this extra check can be exactly what you need. Take this as an opportunity to grow your nest egg.
- Home Improvement Project. With these extra funds, you could do a project that adds value to your home. This is a surefire way to make that third paycheck feel like it was put to good use.
- Christmas Gifts. Buy those gifts early this year. Be ready when things come on sale, and you can buy toys in the summer that you can then use in the winter for Christmas gifts.
- Treat yourself. I have this last on the list for a reason. Treating yourself is important, but should happen after the other uses for your extra money are taken into account.
Start a Plan
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!
