Is only in the past two years I have ever been paid anything but monthly - I am not sure whether it is has just got more common to be paid more frequently or was just more common in the UK to be paid monthly.

I used to do a budget on a spreadsheet - now I use YNAB software/system (which is like an electronic envelope system really) - we also just pay on credit card what we can and pay that off each month, I check where we are with everything at least once a week sometimes more frequently (I save alot on petrol using credit card because I exchange credit card points for Caltex vouchers). There is a whole system around YNAB which is about basically getting a month ahead (having a month buffer) so you don't have to worry about exactly when paid, it takes a while to achieve it but makes life easier when you get there).