Budgeting for irregular income earners

I know plenty of people that tell me they can’t do a budget because they never know what they’re making month-to-month. These people are considered irregular income earners and consist of folks who are either in sales or are self employed. If you happen to be an irregular income earner and find it difficult to do and stay on a budget, this post is just for you.

It is just as important for irregular income earners to live on a budget than the rest of us. Why? Most irregular income earners have the potential to make quite a bit of money throughout the year and if you don’t manage what you make, you’ll wonder where the money went come tax time.

Doing a budget is rather simple. Take a look at your income over the past year, month to month, and find the month where you made the least. Take that number and create your budget around that. That’s it. Pretty easy right? Any extra income that is above the amount you budgeted can now be placed into an emergency fund, savings, debt or spending. It’s up to you really. But, decide ahead of time where that extra money will go.

What does the budget look like?
Make a list of all of your monthly expenses as well as things you’d like to set money aside for like an emergency fund or debt. List the items by order of priority and pay those first. The form provided at the end of this post will help you get started. This budget works great for any situation, whether it’s for extra income or are straight commission earners.

Happy budgeting!

——————————————————
Allocated spending plan (PDF)