Income Smoothing Calculator

This tool uses the "pay yourself a salary" approach. It looks at your recent monthly incomes, measures how volatile they are, and calculates a steady paycheck you can safely withdraw each month. The more volatile your income, the lower the paycheck — because you need a bigger safety margin to avoid running out during lean months.

The difference between what you earn and what you pay yourself goes into a buffer account. This buffer covers months when income dips below your paycheck amount. The tool tells you how large that buffer should be based on your income variability. All math runs locally in your browser.

Plan your budget around irregular income with the Irregular Income Budget Planner, or figure out how much emergency savings you need with the Emergency Fund Calculator.