Build a budget that works with irregular income

Help me build a budget that works even though my income changes from month to month. How I earn: [e.g. "freelance design", "rideshare plus a part-time job", "commission sales"] My income for the last 6-12 months: [MONTH-BY-MONTH AMOUNTS, after tax if known] Fixed monthly costs: [rent, utilities, insurance, minimum debt payments, phone] Flexible costs: [groceries, gas, eating out, fun - rough monthly amounts] Savings I already have: [AMOUNT, or "none"] Taxes: [taken out automatically / I pay them myself / not sure] Work through it like this: 1. Find my baseline: the bare-minimum monthly amount I need to cover essentials. 2. Compare that to my lowest-earning months and tell me honestly whether there is a gap. 3. Set up a simple system: a holding account for income, a fixed "paycheck" I pay myself each month, and where extra money goes in good months (buffer, tax set-aside, goals, in that order). 4. Suggest a target buffer (in months of baseline costs) and a realistic path to reach it. 5. Give me a short lean-month plan: what to cut first, in order. Return: a table with Category | Monthly amount | Essential (Y/N), my suggested monthly "paycheck", the good-month and lean-month rules as short bullets, and one thing to do this week. Use only the numbers I give; mark anything missing as [ADD AMOUNT]. If I pay my own taxes, remind me to confirm the right set-aside percentage with a tax professional or official tax guidance for my country.