Budgeting and financial planning are great ideas, but how in the world do you budget or plan when you don`t know from one month to the next how much money you`re going to earn? You have months at a time when you earn very little money, and then during the prosperous months you`re busy playing financial catch-up - and then comes another tough time.

It`s a difficult situation, but there are ways to approach the problem that, over time, will provide some stability for your finaances.

The first trick is finding out how much it actually costs you each month to live; chances are it costs more than you think it does. Add up all your expenses - food, gas for the car, rent or mortgage payment, utilities, car payments, car and health insurance, and so on. Don`t forget periodic payments like license renewals and car registrations, birthday and holiday gifts and cards, Lotto tickets - anything that costs you money. A good exercise is to carry a small notepad around with you for a couple months and keep track of everything - I mean every penny - you spend. Allow yourself a certain amount for entertainment; if you put yourself on such a strict budget you can`t enjoy yourself you won`t maintain it.

Once you`ve decided whaat it costs you to live each month, that`s what you live on. Open bank accounts for each broad category - monthly expenses, weekly expenses, and so on - and then deposit the amount of money you need per month into the appropriate accounts as the money comes in. Separating monthly from daily expenses actually frees you up; if you know you`ve got money stashed safely away for the rent, heat, etc., and you see a pair of shoes or a book you really want, just check out your daily expenses account; you may find that if you eat rice and beans for a few days you can spring for the impulse buy without wrecking your budget. Just don`t, under any circumstances, raid the monthly expenses account!