You know how hard it can be to budget when your income is unpredictable if you've ever tried it. It seems like every way to make a budget assumes you get a neat pay cheque every two weeks without fail.
But if you work for yourself, on a contract, or as a side hustle, or if your income changes from month to month, those old budgets don't work. For years, it felt like I was playing whack-a-mole with my money.
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Some months I had more money than I needed, and other months I had to work hard to pay rent. I tried using popular budgeting tools that told me to give each dollar a job, but how could I do that when I didn't know how much money I was going to get?
I overplanned, didn't make enough money, and always felt like I was failing, even when I was doing everything I could. I tried a lot of different budgeting apps, spreadsheets, and advice columns before I found a simple change in my thinking that made everything better, budget based on your lowest reliable income, not your average or best month.
That one rule kept me stable without making me guess or go too far. It was the first time that budgeting didn't feel like gambling. I began by figuring out what my "baseline income" was. This wasn't a made-up number or even the average of the last six months.
It was the least I could expect to bring in during a slow month, and I knew I could make it through even if business was slow. At the time, that amount was $1,900 a month for me. It wasn't glamorous, but it was true. I made a simple monthly budget that fit within that number once I had it.
Only rent, food, transport, phone, and the least amount of debt payments. This wasn't meant to be my "forever lifestyle," but it was a steady base that I could always go back to. That made me feel very calm. I wasn't making guesses or betting on clients paying early anymore.
I had a plan for the months when money was tight, and it worked. Then came the next important part: what to do with the extra money when it came in. Some months I would make an extra $600, and other months I would make $1,200. In the past, that money would go to random purchases or emotional spending.
But once I had a starting point, I made what I now call a "money funnel," which is a simple way to organise my extra cash. First, I'd fill in any categories I had cut short during the lean month. For example, I might add back $50 for fun spending or restock the grocery budget if I had cut it earlier.
Then I would put a set amount of money into savings, even if it was only $100. After that, I would pay off any debts I was working on with an extra payment. And if I had any money left over, I let myself spend it without feeling bad about it. This structure made every extra dollar into something useful.
It wasn't about limiting; it was about rhythm. During this time, something surprising happened: I stopped being afraid of months when I didn't have a lot of money. They didn't feel like emergencies anymore because I had a budget for them. I could rely on the basics without getting scared because I knew the system had already thought of that.
It also made months with a lot of money feel like an opportunity instead of a pressure cooker of "what should I do with all this?" I won't lie: this method didn't make every month easy all of a sudden. There were still weeks that were hard. There were still late payments from clients and gigs that fell through.
But now I had a base. Even in the middle of the chaos, I had order. That was the key. It gave me space to breathe, clarity, and most importantly, a feeling of control. I always felt like I was behind when I used the old way of budgeting. This way of doing things made me feel better.
It helped me see the difference between survival and abundance and give them both the same level of respect. That's the truth about having an irregular income: it doesn't mean you're irresponsible or broken. You just need to do things differently. One that respects your reality instead of punishing you for it.
If your income changes every month, you should stop using rigid templates and shiny charts. First, ask yourself, "What is the lowest income I can count on?" Start with what you have, not with what you think you should have.
You don't need to impress anyone with your budget. It's there to keep you safe. What is your baseline number, the amount you know you could live on if things slowed down? And what would happen if you made your budget from that truth?
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