Paying off the card or pay later?
A little from each pay, and a date it’s gone. No shame, just a number and a finish line.
💳 Credit card$2,000
From each pay$90
Gone in23 pays
Example. Doesn’t include interest.25 Payday Planners so far. Join the first 100
Free pay planner · Works with any bank
Plan your next pay.
Everyone has a plan for your next pay: the rent, the card, pay later. Make yours first. Decide where it goes before it hits your bank, then tick it off on payday.
- Free
- No bank login
- Nothing to log
Payday check-in · example
$2,400 landed
0 of 5 set aside · $0
Sound familiar?
Pay lands Thursday. By Tuesday, it’s gone.
Not because you’re bad with money. Because the pay never had a plan, and everyone else did: the rent, the card, pay later, every app on your phone.
They say buy now, pay later.
We say plan now, stay in the black.
Example pay. About half of employed Australians run out of money before payday at least sometimes (Finder survey of 854 employed Australians, July 2024).
$2,400 lands on ThursdayLeft to chance
- Rent−$900
- Groceries−$430
- Power, phone, internet−$280
- Fuel−$120
- The card−$150
- Pay later instalments−$95
- Subscriptions−$64
- Takeaway and bits−$298
Left by Tuesday: $63. And no real idea where the rest went.
Your number, now · No sign-up
Something big coming? Make it lots of small drops.
Pick what’s coming, say how you’re paid, then slide. Each drop is one pay.
What's coming?
How are you paid?
4 pays to go$225 a pay
Big drops. This is usually where Christmas ends up on the card. Start earlier and they shrink.
That's $225 from each fortnight's pay, rounded up to the dollar like the app. One pay at a time.
Want the whole method? How to budget fortnightly pay, in about two minutes a payday →
Free tools · No sign-up
Got a big cost coming? Work it out in two minutes.
Planner
🎄 Christmas budget planner
Add presents, food and travel, and see what to put aside each pay to be ready a week before Christmas.
Planner✈️ Holiday budget planner
Flights, stays, food and spending money, split into what to put aside each pay before you go.
Spreadsheet📊 The pay planner spreadsheet
Your pay, bills, plans and debts in one sheet, with what to put aside from your next pay. Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers.
How it works
Three steps. Then it’s just payday.
- 1
Set your pay
How much lands, how often, and when. Weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
- 2
Plan your next pay
Tick your bills from a list and add what’s coming: Christmas, rego, the card. Each gets a number for every pay.
- 3
Check in on payday
Move each amount in your own bank, tick it here, and watch the drop fill. The rest is yours.
- Nothing to log
- No receipts
- No bank sync to break
- Short pay? Choose what waits
One pay at a time
Get back to black. Then stay in the black.
Christmas, rego, the trip home
Ready a week early, paid with money you already have. Not on the card in January.
🎄 Christmas$900
5 of 9 pays done$100 a pay
Shared, it’s lighter
Invite someone to a plan. You both see the same plan, and each person’s share filling up. Sorted before the weekend, not “you owe me” after.
✈️ Bali trip$4,800
AminaReady
Sam3 pays to go
Our goal
Help a million people plan for their next pay. For free.
25
Payday Planners so far, of the first 100.
25 on the app and web, 1 with the spreadsheet. The goal: 1,000,000.
Most of us learnt to earn a pay long before anyone showed us how to plan one. We’re changing that, one next pay at a time. And planning your next pay is free.
- 100
- 1,000
- 10,000
- 100,000
- 1,000,000
Why it exists
More than 250 paydays in a row. Most of them came and went.
I haven’t missed a pay in ten years, and I still couldn’t tell you where most of them went. I got a pay rise almost every year, yet my bills grew right alongside it, and I was leaning on interest-free cards and buy now, pay later more than ever.
I was earning more, but I wasn’t planning it. That’s why I’m building Back to Black: plan your next pay before it lands. I haven’t figured it all out. I’m learning too, one pay at a time.
Not ready for an app?
Start in your browser, or with a spreadsheet.
Use it on the web
The same planner in your browser, on any phone or computer. Nothing to install, and it stays in step with the app.
The pay planner spreadsheet
Your pay, bills, plans and debts, and what to put aside from your next pay. Works in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers.
From the blog
Plain-English guides to planning your pay.
Get back to black
All posts →Rates rose again: how to ask your bank for a lower rate before 13 November
The fifth rate rise of the year hits variable loans from Friday 13 November. Work out what it costs you per pay, and what one phone call to your bank could win back.
Stay in the blackHow to afford Christmas this year, when it’s only four pays away
Christmas is about eight weeks away, which is four pays if you’re paid fortnightly. Count them and work out what each one can give, and you’ve got a Christmas budget that won’t follow you into January.
Pay planningHow to budget fortnightly pay (in about two minutes a payday)
Pay lands on Thursday. By Tuesday it has quietly left the building. Here’s a payday routine that takes about two minutes, the maths nobody explained, and the two months a year that pay you three times.
Questions
The quick answers.
Something else? Email hello@backtoblack.app.
Prefer the long version? Read the guides.
Is it really free?
Yes. Planning your next pay is free: your pay, expenses, plans, saving and debt goals, and the payday check-in. One day we'll charge for extras, like sharing plans with other people.
Is this a loan or a pay advance?
No. Back to Black never lends or moves money. It's a plan: you move your own money in your own bank, then tick it off.
Do I have to log every purchase?
No. You set your expenses up once and they come round every pay by themselves. There’s nothing to log.
Does it work with my bank?
Yes, any bank, because you move the money yourself and tick it off.
Do I need to link my bank?
No. You never link your bank or share your banking login.
Can we use it together?
Yes. Invite someone to a plan and you both see the same plan, each person’s share and how ready it is.
What’s “set aside each pay”?
It’s the amount to move on each payday so a plan is ready a week before it’s due, rounded up to the dollar.
I’m paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Does it work?
Yes. Tell it how often you’re paid and every amount is worked out for your pay.
Is it on Android?
Yes, it's on Google Play. It's on the App Store for iPhone too, and the web app works on any phone or computer.
Is this financial advice?
No. The app shows the numbers; you decide.
Is my data safe?
You never link your bank or share your banking login, and we don’t sell your data. Your account is stored in Sydney and encrypted, and our app servers are in the US. You can delete everything at any time.
Did you plan your next pay?