Irregular Income

'Intuitive finance' plan can stave off bankruptcy Bankrate.com's Bankruptcy Advisor, Justin Harelik, has some advice for a salesman considering bankruptcy.

He writes:

The best plan, Edward, is to figure out how to ride this out. Certainly there are lawyers who will try to convince you that bankruptcy is your best option, but I disagree. Access to credit is important for people in unpredictable lines of work.

You asked the question: How one can budget with an unpredictable income? This is a good question, and over the years I've come up with an answer that works for people whether their income is predictable or not. Simply, you must stop thinking about yourself as a business and start developing your personal financial intuition. I call this approach "intuitive finance."

I consider the word, "budget," to be a term exclusively for businesses, not individuals. As important as money is, your life is not only about the bottom line. It's also about experiences, memories and enjoyment. This is why having a good time is so essential to an individual, because it reminds us that it is good to be alive and protects our sanity.

Then he goes on to explain a system for initially tracking every expense, and then automating those that are "commitments" (mortgage, car payment, electric bill, etc). This leaves him more time to focus on his other expenditures and see if he can make it through the lean months just paying the minimums.