Having a budget and sticking to it is the key to financial success, but in order to create a good budget, you must be aware of how much you earn and how much you spend, every month. The problem here is that many people are not sure that how much their income will be every month. If you are a self-employed professional, you probably find it very difficult to calculate the accurate figure for your income. Even salaried individuals may have certain additional sources of income, such as commissions, incentives, and other such things. The amount of the salary may vary from one month to another. However, even if you have irregular income, you can still create a good budget for you. Here’s how.
Listing The Things Where You Will Be Spending Your Money In A Given Month
Since you are not aware of the exact amount of your income, you should start by listing the things that you are going to do with money in a particular month. This has to be an extensive list, covering all small as well as big expenditure. The list can include the money you transfer to the retirement fund, your insurance bill, the mortgage payment, gasoline purchase, and even grocery expenses. Do not hesitate in listing even the outlandish things that you very well know that you will not be able to do, such as purchasing a new car. List each and everything.
Set Your Priorities
Once you are ready with the list, the next thing that you have to do is to set your priorities. Here is an example. Groceries probably make the most important thing on which you will be spending your money. So, groceries are at the top, which can be followed by paying utilities as the second most important thing. The third one is paying rent. The fourth may be some basic clothing. The idea is to create a list numbering down from the most important to the least important. Keep the less important items as secondary. This way, when you get the money, you are aware that how you have to spend the same. Start by paying for the most important things first. This strategy will also save you from overspending on things that are not that important.
What If The Income Is Highly Irregular
There are also people who have very irregular income, something like this - they earn $20000 a month and then nothing the next two months, then $10000 and then nothing the very next month and so on. For example, the income of a real estate agent is always like that because their income is solely based on commissions. You obviously cannot skip eating and driving for a given month and go for a luxury vacation the next month. The best strategy in this case is to find out the average monthly income, put all the money you earn in a bank account, and then withdraw the amount of average monthly income every month.
Thus, we can see that budgeting is also possible with an irregular income. It may a bit more difficult than creating budget on a fixed income, but it is still possible and will work.