Gig-economy jobs and how to manage the irregular income

Set a baseline for expenses. The key to managing money when your income goes up and down is establishing a baseline of how much money it takes to run your household. Ask yourself, at a minimum level, how much you need to pay for the essential and important things every month — rent/mortgage, transportation, utilities, food, insurance, cable, etc. You can build in some frills, but you must be prepared to cut them out if you don’t earn enough to cover all your necessary expenses in a month. Total up the monthly expenses and you’ll have a good idea about how much you need to earn at a minimum.