Greetings to you all and Happy New Year!
As we sort through our finances and get ready for tax returns, I wanted to share something that has been a total game-changer for managing my sewing business income.
The Challenge We All Face
Can we talk about something real for a minute? Managing money when your sewing income goes up and down like a rollercoaster is HARD!
The Struggle is Real
One month you’re rolling in alterations, feeling like a financial rockstar. The next month? Crickets. November and December hit, and suddenly you’re wondering where all your customers went. Then January limps in, and you’re still waiting for things to pick back up.
Sound familiar? Yeah, me too. Some areas really don’t have a slow season, and yours may be a different time of year, but most of you can relate to the fluctuations of our work loads.
I Found a Solution (And I Promise It’s SIMPLE)
I’ll be honest—I’m a simple-minded person. I hate spreadsheets. My eyes struggle with the tiny print. My engineer husband LOVES them and has spreadsheets for everything. But that’s just not how my brain works! So here’s my very simple way to balance my income:
Here’s What I Do:
First, I look at what I made last year total. Let’s pretend it was $24,000 (just using easy numbers here).
I divide that by 12 months. That gives me $2,000 per month as my “average.”
Now here’s the magic trick: I opened a separate bank account called my “overflow” account. (The bank was totally fine with this, by the way!)
During busy months when I make MORE than $2,000? The extra goes straight into overflow.
During slow months when I make LESS than $2,000? I pull from overflow to bring myself up to my $2,000.
Once my overflow account hits around $6,000 (about 3 months’ worth), then any “extra-extra” money gets earmarked for fun stuff—vacations, Christmas shopping, that new serger I’ve been eyeing… you know, the good stuff!
Why I Love This
It’s like paying myself a steady “salary” even though my customers don’t show up steadily. No more panic during slow months.
And best of all? It’s SO simple I actually stick with it. No complicated formulas. No spreadsheets that make my head hurt.
Your Turn!
January is honestly the perfect time to set this up. While you’re thinking about taxes and last year’s numbers anyway, why not take 20 minutes to:
- Add up what you made last year
- Figure out your monthly average
- Call your bank and open that overflow account
- Start fresh with a system that actually works
I’m telling you, this one little change took SO much stress out of my life.
Here’s to a year of feeling more in control of our money—without becoming spreadsheet people!
Love, Dee Dee
P.S. Seriously, if you try this, I want to hear about it!