Balancing a flexible budget

I listed my expected income the other day. While it will provide the income necessary, none of it is a guaranteed check. It is considered, as I have learned, a flexible income. To balance a flexible income, you need a flexible budget. The more I researched, the more I learned, and I thought I would share with y'all!

In my research, I found 2 articles that helped me the most. I'm posting them here for your reference.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/29/pf/real_life.moneymag/index.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_7657140_develop-flexible-budget.html

Now, the first one may be geared towards income changing annually instead of all the time, but it still had some powerful insights. From it I gleaned that I should be able to live off of the least possible amount of money I'll be bringing in. I suppose it's technically possible that I'll have no income for a time, but that is why I want a substantial safety net. That way, if I need to go down to just child support and alimony, I can pull from savings, food storage, and try desperately hard to find new students to tutor.

The second link talks about practically developing a flexible income. This is good, because I was confused about how to start. After reading it, it all makes sense, and I believe it is attainable. According to this link, I should make 2 separate lists. One of necessary monthly expenses, and one of wants. The necessary expenses should be bare necessities, like the smallest amount that I could spend on food. The want list I am going to organize by most important to least important. Because the least I could spend on food is pretty skimpy, I'd add food to the want list as well, and buy those things that I'd like to have, even if it's not necessarily a necessity.

So, in adding up my necessities, I see the least amount of money I will need to make ends meet. I will admit that it's more than I had originally thought, but it's attainable. And now I have a very realistic goal to meet!

If you have any tips on balancing a flexible budget, I'd love to hear from you! If you were looking into making a flexible budget yourself, then I pray this was a blessing for you. God bless, and as always, I thank each one of you for your prayers.