When income is uneven, bonus-heavy, or temporary, it’s surprisingly hard to know what money is actually “real.”

I ran into this myself after juggling multiple income streams. Budgeting wasn’t the issue, the issue was trust. Money would hit my account, but I didn’t want to base my lifestyle on income that could disappear or get eaten by taxes later.

This page explains the simple system I use to keep myself conservative when income spikes.

What this is

This is a conservative Google Sheet that helps separate:

• income you can safely rely on
• income that looks good but shouldn’t be spent yet

It’s not a budget, and it’s not tax optimization.

It’s a guardrail for decision-making when income feels high but uncertain.

What problem it solves

People with multiple income streams often struggle with:

• taxes lagging behind reality
• bonuses or side income that feel permanent (but aren’t)
• lifestyle decisions made too early
• constant second-guessing about spending

This sheet answers one core question:

“What money shouldn’t I touch yet?”