Bills Must Be Paid Beginner Guide: Your First Loop

Quick answer

Your first loop in five steps: protect the bill, buy one fix at a time, expect bankruptcy

Every run is a race between stamina (every smash spends it; at zero the run ends) and bills (ignore them and the collector takes 20-50% of earnings). The first cycle is a tutorial: pay the $20 opening bill before buying upgrades, buy only what fixes the current bottleneck, and do not fear bankruptcy — paid bills convert into Legacy Points that make the next cycle stronger. A normal first cycle takes roughly 15-30 minutes and ends with 5 bills paid.

Stamina math

Stamina is your timer — treat every swing as a coin

The stamina cap grows over the run — official screenshots show roughly 130-140 mid-game (community reading). Anything that cuts swing cost, restores stamina, or raises the cap is more money per run, which is why stamina upgrades rank near the top of most priority lists.

First-cycle checklist

The first-cycle checklist

1. Read the desk and the bill first. Know the bill amount and deadline before you spend a dollar (bills show the amount and due date).
2. Smash the nearest, easiest piggies. Chasing fast or distant targets burns stamina (reasonable conclusion).
3. Pay the opening $20 water bill as soon as you can. It is a spending-discipline check, not a challenge (confirmed).
4. Buy one solution at a time. Community order: Base Damage → Stamina → Starting Piggies → Hit Radius/Collateral → Attack Speed → Loot. Do not buy nodes that do not fix the current bottleneck.
5. Choose a perk after each paid bill. Read all three; prioritize stamina and income early, damage and luck later (community guides).
6. Do not force the cycle to survive forever. When the next bill needs far more than a normal run earns, pay one reachable bill, then reset. Five paid bills ≈ $2,015 → 40 Legacy Points (confirmed).

Desk diagnosis

Read the desk before buying an upgrade

The four states that decide your next purchase (community guides agree):

Gambling corner

The gambling corner is entertainment, not income

The coin-flip (50/50), All or Nothing, and Piggy Shuffle exist mostly for three achievements. Community consensus: play each once early while the stake is pocket change, then ignore it. The developer states the coin flip is genuine physics 50/50 (the developer confirmed it in a reply quoted by the community guide).

FAQ

Beginner FAQ

Q: How long is one run?
A: Runs are stamina-limited — usually 1-3 minutes early, longer as the cap grows. A cycle (between bankruptcies) spans several runs and bills.

Q: Should I buy everything affordable?
A: No. A cheap upgrade that improves a non-bottleneck resource is wasted money. Buy one fix at a time (player reports consensus).

Q: Is bankruptcy bad?
A: No — it is the intended reset. Paid bills convert to Legacy Points (1 point per $50 paid, confirmed), spent on permanent rings and bracelets.

Q: Does paying early help?
A: Only once you own the early-payment rings (extra desk piggy per 4 days early; +2% attack speed per day early, capped at 25% — confirmed in screenshots). Early payment without those rings just pulls the next bill's deadline forward.

Q: Do demo saves carry over?
A: No. Demo saves do not transfer to the full game (per community reports; the developer hasn't commented).

Myth vs fact

Common myths, settled

Confirmed Myth: "The coin flip is rigged." — The developer says it is physics 50/50.

player reports Myth: "Buying attack speed early is a must." — The settled community priority is damage first, then reward, then stamina — and skip attack speed early.

Confirmed Myth: "Bankruptcy deletes progress." — It converts paid bills into Legacy Points; wallet cash does not convert, so pay one more reachable bill before resetting.