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The MoneySwell Cashflow Goals tool is an easy budgeting tool. And since spending happens with after-tax dollars, this is the place to think about your income in after-tax dollars too (i.e. your “net” income).

Income Sources

Employer Paycheck Income: If you get a paycheck from an employer, taxes are deducted from your gross income automatically. Therefore all you need to do is look at the “Net” line of your paycheck and enter that value. Use the dropdown to select the frequency you’re paid that amount.

Self Employed or “Non” Paycheck Income: If you’re self employed you’ll need to estimate your net income and ensure you’re allocating enough for taxes. The same applies to any other income you may receive like cash tips or side gig work.

Note: If you want to project net income from a job you have not yet started or you’re not sure how much you should allocate for taxes for non-employer based pay, use a paycheck calculator. Remember if you’re planning to allocate a portion of your salary to a retirement fund, or if you will be paying for some of your health insurance costs, these will be subtracted from your gross income along with taxes before you know your final net income.

Notes on Frequency Choices

For any choice you select from the “Frequency” drop-down, MoneySwell will calculate your monthly equivalent income for you. For example, if you’re paid $500 twice a month, MoneySwell will multiply $500 x 2 to show $1,000 of estimated income for the month. There are unique multipliers for each choice. They are as follows:

When in doubt, set a frequency slightly less often than you expect it might me. It’s always better to budget conservatively.

• Weekly – 4x: Obviously not every month has exactly four weeks so if you want, you can take your weekly net earnings, multiply those by 52 (weeks per year) then divide that by 12 (months per year) to get a more accurate picture of your average monthly net income.

• Twice a Month – 2x: If you get paid every other week, most months this will mean you get two paychecks. However, if you would like to account for the months where you get an extra paycheck, multiply your net paycheck by 26 (total paychecks per year) then divide that number by 12 (months per year) to get a more accurate picture of your average monthly net income that accounts for all paychecks.

• Once a Month – 1x: MoneySwell is summing monthly income so no multiplier is needed.

• Irregular: If you have a job or an income source that is irregular in frequency or amount, estimate the low and high amounts you might expect in a month. MoneySwell will average those two numbers. For example if you typically make between $100 and $200 a month for dog walking, MoneySwell will estimate $150 per month.

Once you’ve entered all your sources of income, make a note of the date and your estimated income in this task’s notes field (available to logged in users). Hopefully you can look back on this number someday and be proud to have seen your income rise.