Lessons

Twelve months, not the good one

What it is

Everything that landed across the last twelve months, added up. Not a typical month. Not last month.

Why it matters

Freelance money arrives in a season and then stops. One month tells you almost nothing. And the month people remember is always a good one. Divide a real year by twelve. The answer is usually about a third below the story.

The method

Open the bank app. Add up every payment for twelve months. Then count how many of those months paid you anything. You get two figures back. The honest average, and what a working month earns.

Example

Danish invoiced PKR 2,400,000 over a year. Eight of the twelve months paid him. So PKR 300,000 is what a working month feels like. PKR 200,000 is the honest monthly figure. Both are true. Only one pays the rent in February.