{"id":"life-fl-irregular-income-budget","audience":"freelancers","category":"everyday-life","track":"life","technique":"examples","title":"Set a monthly budget base from uneven freelance income","free":false,"task":"Your freelance income swings month to month, and you've decided to budget from your lowest recent month. From your last 4 months, get exactly 3 numbered lines in plain text, under 70 words: 1. the 4-month average with the math; 2. the lowest month, using the corrected figure; 3. your monthly budget base, which is the lowest month minus the 25% tax set-aside, with the math shown. No other advice. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.","materialLabel":"Your income log and notes (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"FREELANCE INCOME LOG - Jun to Sep 2026 (fictional)\nOwner: Bea Lindqvist, illustrator\n\nJune ........ $5,200 (3 clients)\nJuly ........ $3,600 (1 big project)\nAugust ...... $2,800 (slow month)\nSeptember ... $4,400\n\nCORRECTION: August included a $400 late payment that was really for June's work. My bookkeeper moved it. Corrected numbers: June $5,600, August $2,400.\n\nMY RULES (decided with my bookkeeper)\n- Budget from the lowest month, not the average.\n- Set aside 25% of income for taxes first.\n\nNOTES\n- Expecting a big holiday project in November, maybe $6,000. Not counting it.\n- Friend says to budget from the average, it's more \"realistic.\"\n- Studio rent: $900. Software: $120/month.","rules":[{"type":"numberedItems","count":3},{"type":"maxWords","max":70},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Missing the correction","why":"The AI uses August's original $2,800 and gets the wrong base.","fix":"Add: \"Use the corrected numbers: June $5,600, August $2,400.\"","checks":["r1","r2"]},{"title":"Reopening your rule","why":"The AI argues for budgeting from the average like your friend.","fix":"Add: \"I've decided to budget from the lowest month. No other advice.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"No math shown","why":"The AI gives the numbers without working.","fix":"Show it: \"1. Average: ($5,600 + $3,600 + $2,400 + $4,400) / 4 = $X\".","checks":["r0","numberedItems"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for \"under 70 words\" and it often lands well over.","fix":"Cap each part: \"each line under 16 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Leaving the format to the AI","why":"The AI adds a title, bold labels and sub-bullets, which turns a quick note into a page.","fix":"Add: \"Plain text, no bold, no headings, no intro.\"","checks":["plainText"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Uses the correction","patterns":["correct","\\$?2,?400","bookkeeper"]},{"label":"States your rule","patterns":["lowest month","decided","my rules?"]},{"label":"Shows the math","patterns":["/\\s*4","show.{0,15}(math|work)","25%"]},{"label":"Sets the number of lines","patterns":["\\b(3|three)\\b.{0,20}(lines?|numbered|items?|steps?)"]},{"label":"Sets a word limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)"]}],"hint":"If you don't state your rule, the AI will pick its own. Tell it the rule, which numbers are corrected, and the shape of each math line.","rubricLabels":["Line 1 gives the 4-month average as $4,000 with the math shown ($16,000 / 4); either the original or corrected figures give the same total","Line 2 gives the lowest month as August at $2,400 (the corrected figure, not $2,800)","Line 3 gives the budget base as $1,800 with the math shown ($2,400 - 25% = $2,400 - $600), and the answer gives no other advice"]}