How to Budget When Your Income Changes Every Month
How to Budget When Your Income Changes Every Month Most budgeting advice starts with a sentence like "take your monthly income and divide it into categories." That sentence is useless if you made $2,400 last month and $900 the month before. Freelancers, gig workers, commission-based salespeople, and seasonal workers make up a growing share of the global workforce, and almost none of the standard budgeting content is written for them. Here's a system built specifically for income that moves. Step 1: Find Your Baseline, Not Your Average Don't budget off your average monthly income. Averages hide risk — if you made $4,000, $1,000, and $3,000 over three months, your average is $2,667, but you don't actually know you'll get $2,667 next month. You might get the $1,000 month again. Instead, look back 6-12 months and find your lowest earning month . That number is your baseline. It's the number your essential expenses need to fit inside, because it...