{"id":4616,"date":"2009-07-27T05:00:12","date_gmt":"2009-07-27T12:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/getrichslowly.org\/blog\/?p=4616"},"modified":"2019-10-10T18:54:52","modified_gmt":"2019-10-11T01:54:52","slug":"how-to-budget-for-an-irregular-income","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getrichslowly.org\/how-to-budget-for-an-irregular-income\/","title":{"rendered":"How to budget for an irregular income"},"content":{"rendered":"
I’ve been a full-time professional blogger for more than a year now. It has been a fantastic experience, a sort of dream come true. But blogging for dollars is not without its drawbacks. As I’ve shared before, I feel socially isolated. I spend most of my time in this office<\/a>, writing about money.<\/p>\n Also, the income can be irregular. For some bloggers, it is very<\/em> irregular. One month you might have record earnings \u2014 and the next you might experience your own personal financial crisis. Bloggers aren’t the only folks who struggle with the fluctuating incomes, of course. Many self-employed people face the same issue, as do those whose pay is tied to commission.<\/p>\n Creating a budget when your income fluctuates can be a frustrating experience.<\/strong> I am sure that each of us finds our own ways to cope. Today, I want to share the method that I’ve developed.<\/p>\n Most articles I’ve read on this subject suggest basing your budget on your average<\/em> monthly income from the past 12 (or six or three) months, but I don’t recommend that unless your income has wild swings \u2014 $12,000 one month and $0 the next. As this past year has demonstrated, incomes can and do decline. A prolonged decline wreaks havoc with the “average income” budgeting method.<\/p>\n<\/span>Projecting Income<\/span><\/h2>\n