Self-Employed Budget Planner

Enter a conservative, realistic expectation for a typical month — closer to your recent average than your best month ever. The planner works out what is left from income you can reasonably count on, so a cautious figure gives a cautious answer.

Because money you have already promised to the tax office or your future self was never really yours to spend. Reserving it first means the "safe to spend" figure is genuinely safe — there is no nasty surprise waiting at quarter-end.

Anything that arrives whether or not you land a client this month: rent or mortgage, insurance, loan repayments, core software subscriptions, phone and internet. Variable, optional spending (eating out, new gear) comes out of the safe-to-spend figure, not here.

That on a typical month, your expected income doesn't cover the tax and savings you set aside plus your fixed costs. The figure shown is the size of that gap. It's information about your numbers, not a verdict — change any input to see how the gap moves.