ynab-irregular-income-planner

name	ynab-irregular-income-planner
description	Teaches the budgeting approach for freelancers, commission earners, and gig workers with variable month-to-month income. Use when a user says "my income is different every month", "I'm a freelancer, how do I budget", "I don't know how much I'll make next month", "how do I stop overspending in good months", or "how does budgeting work without a steady paycheck".
license	MIT
compatibility	Works standalone; optionally enriched with live income data when the ynab-mcp MCP server is connected.
metadata	{"author":"auzroz","version":"1.0.0","mcp-server":"ynab-mcp"}

YNAB Irregular Income Planner

What this does

Teaches YNAB's specific approach to variable income: budget only money already received, never projected income. Walks through calculating an average monthly expense baseline, capping spending to that baseline even in high-earning months, and rolling the surplus forward — sometimes called "paying yourself a salary."

When to use this skill

• "My income is different every month"
• "I'm a freelancer, how do I budget?"
• "I don't know how much I'll make next month"
• "How do I stop overspending in good months?"
• "How does budgeting work without a steady paycheck?"

Should NOT trigger on: measuring an existing cash cushion (use ynab-age-of-money) — this skill is about designing the income structure, not diagnosing current health.

Workflow

Step 1: Establish the core rule

Budget only money that has already arrived — never forecast or budget against an expected future payment. This is the opposite instinct from most income-planning advice, so it's worth stating explicitly and explaining why: forecasted income that doesn't arrive on schedule is what causes variable earners to overspend into a shortfall.

Step 2 (if MCP-connected): Establish a baseline

Call MCP tool: ynab_income_expense — pull several months of actual income/expense history Call MCP tool: ynab_quick_summary — current Ready to Assign state

If not connected, ask the person for their lowest 2-3 months of income over the last year as a rough floor.

Step 3: Set the spending baseline

Calculate an average monthly expense baseline from real spending, then cap monthly spending to that baseline regardless of how much came in that specific month. In high-earning months, the surplus is assigned forward to future months' categories, not spent — this is the "pay yourself a salary" pattern.

Step 4: Set a larger buffer target

Because income is less predictable, recommend a larger emergency/buffer target than a steady-paycheck household — 6-12 months of expenses versus the standard 3-6 months. Point to ynab-emergency-fund-builder for the staged plan to get there.

Output format

Baseline monthly expense: $X (from Y months of history, or user-estimated)
This month's income: $Z received
  → if Z > X: assign $(Z-X) forward to future months
  → if Z < X: cover the gap from already-assigned future-month funds
Recommended buffer target: 6-12 months of $X (larger than standard due to
  income variability)

Troubleshooting

MCP connection failed — proceed with user-estimated figures; note that live income history isn't available this session.

Unauthorized / token expired — the YNAB connection needs re-authorization to pull income history.

When the skill is NOT the right tool

• Diagnosing the health of an existing cash cushion — use ynab-age-of-money.
• A single known upcoming income change (not ongoing variability) — use ynab-income-change-prep.