The real problem is not the amount, it is the variability
Earning $1,200 one month and $300 the next is harder to manage than earning $700 every month. The brain adjusts to the best month, never to the worst. So the method consists of hiding your own money from yourself.
The four accounts
A collection account where everything arrives; an operating account for business expenses; a provisions account for tax and surprises; a personal account where your salary lands. No personal spending ever leaves the first three.
Set the salary on the low average
Take your last six months, drop the best and the worst, average the remaining four and pay yourself 60% of that. It is a small figure; that is precisely the point. Surpluses accumulate and smooth the lean months without you having to think about it.
When to raise that salary
When your provisions account covers three full months of costs, raise your salary by 15%, no more. Repeat every six months. Within two years most of our coached members pay themselves more than an employee in their sector — without ever having been afraid at month end.