I haven’t been here very long, but it’s already time for my second confession:
I don’t budget all my income every month.
Not only do I work a full-time job, but I also have a part-time job, a few online freelance jobs, and a direct selling business that all generate income for me each month. I work all these different jobs every month not only to pay my bills, but also so I can put more money toward my savings and paying off debt. Plus I like having a diversified income.
But, when I set up my budget plan for each month, I only account for income from my FT job. The rest of the income is highly variable from month to month and I don’t want to get into a situation where I have to rely on it for my everyday living expenses, at least not until my side hustle incomes become enough that I can quit my FT job.
Now, there are both pros and cons to the strategy of not budgeting my side hustle income.
A pro of not budgeting my side hustle income includes having some “extra” income that’s not already allocated to something. This can can help cover some unexpected (ie: non-regular) expenses that occur outside my zero based budget, like this month’s eye doctor and dentist appointments. Ouch!
But, not budgeting this income also allows me to get away with misusing these funds, which isn’t good. I started the year off strong, by putting the majority of my side income towards either increasing savings or paying off debt. Since then though, I’ve become very lax and started using the majority of these fund for “wants” like eating out or going out with friends instead of something productive.
I am human, which means I have to spend some money on fun. I can’t give in to my workaholic tendencies all the time.
But at the same time, I shouldn’t blow all of my side hustle money every month either. So, my goal for the next few months is to split it up between productivity and fun.
My goal for September is to use 50% of my side hustle income toward debt or savings and 50% toward anything of my choice.
As my side hustle income goes up (at least, that’s the plan), I will adjust the percentages accordingly, putting more toward debt and savings. Hopefully by adjusting the percentages as my side hustle income increases, I can avoid having a huge lifestyle inflation situation, because we all know that’s how you get yourself in deeper financial trouble, like debt.
Does your budget include all of your income sources every month? Do you have a different budget confession?
