Hellobee Boards

DH used to work for tips, so we were (in the past) used to fluctuating money. Thankfully (maybe) pay is more stable now so we're able to better budget (but he probably made more in tips, so it sorta sucks)

But because we had that mindset previously, once pregnancy is confirmed, we start setting aside a "daycare" payment each week into savings. We figure it helps us get used to living without that money, and it also creates a cushion we can dip in to once baby is here if money gets tight.

I'm facing having to take leave without pay, so i think it'll be pretty essential to us this time to have that cushion.

I'm the one with the fluctuating income so we use YNAB to budget and I also pay myself a set amount that's based off my estimated monthly. Extra $$ goes into a buffer for the lean months. This way I can budget based on my income spread out over the year but it's already in my account.

My husband and I are both salaried + commission. I guess the biggest thing we do is don't change our spending pattern in good months. My husband's commission check this month was the same amount as my annual salary. So obviously it was a very good month. We won't buy anything extravagant or anything we wouldn't normally buy. We'll just put a crap ton of money in to savings. So should he have some bad months on the future, we're well padded.