This is an I-Heart podcast.

Guaranteed Human.

Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of IHeart Radio.

Good morning.

This is Laura.

Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

Today's episode is a reminder that while there are always four of each day and a month,

there are 30 to 31 days in most months, which means that in every month except February

of non-leap years, there will be a fifth of something. Being mindful of using these days

can allow for some fun tweaks to repeating schedules. So if you read a lot of personal finance

literature, you know that one frequently mentioned hack is about using the extra two paychecks many people get each year.

What are these extra paychecks, you ask?

Well, people who get paid every two weeks would get 26 paychecks a year.

If you budget monthly, then in two months of the year, your expenses will be the same, but you will get

three checks instead of two. You could use these two paychecks to accelerate paying off debt,

or to save and invest, without any actual financial pain. Now, I haven't gotten an every two-week

regular paycheck in years, so this

particular life hack doesn't help me. But there are other ways that the fifth time of something in

any given month can be different. For instance, I know some houses of worship do something a little

different on the fifth Sunday of a month.

If there is a fifth Sunday, which happens a few times a year, maybe there is no Sunday school and it's an intergenerational service, or something like that.

You might also use the fifth week of the month to reduce recurring meetings and build in extra space.

...