Bonus paycheck

An extra paycheck in a month: the third when you're paid every two weeks, or the fifth when you're paid weekly.

If you plan your budget around two paychecks a month but get paid every two weeks, two months a year will have a third paycheck. If you're paid weekly, four months a year have a fifth.

Your monthly bills are already covered by the other paychecks, so a bonus paycheck is money you can plan on purpose: an emergency fund, an extra debt payment, a big purchase, or a sinking fund for something coming up. It isn't a raise, so it's worth deciding what it's for before it lands.

BudgetWatch finds your bonus paychecks for the year ahead and counts down to the next one. You can also try the bonus paycheck finder on our home page.