Budgeting can be a challenge for anyone who has an irregular income. This includes freelancers, students, or anyone whose income is not paid at regular intervals. There are a couple ways irregular income can be handled in NeoBudget. Here’s the method I recommend.
First, create an envelope labeled “Income”.
When you receive income, don’t use the “income allocation” feature in NeoBudget. Instead, just record it as a regular deposit and stick it in your “Income” envelope. This envelope will accumulate all your income throughout the month.
Now, create a fake income source. You will use this to transfer money out of your “Income” envelope once per month. To do this, set up an income allocation. Set the amount to $0.00.
Figure out how often you want to pay yourself (I recommend once per month because it’s easier to track). Figure out what you want your “salary” to be. That is, the fixed amount you will transfer from your Income envelope to your other envelopes each month. Lets say it’s $2000. In the income allocation, put -2000 (negative 2000) in the Income envelope. Then, distribute the $2000 across your envelopes as you need.
Then, at the first of the month, go to “Add $” and select the “Income” button. Record this fake transaction. Since the amount is actually $0, this won’t upset the balance of your budget. It only moves money from your Income envelope to your other envelopes.
In this way, you’ll also build a cushion in your Income envelope for when times are a bit harder and income is sparse. If a lot of money builds up in the Income envelope (more than you need as a cushion), then transfer some of it to a savings account.
