Wednesday Notes: Budgeting as a Server
- Ellie Porter
- Feb 12
- 3 min read
Tips are unpredictable. You never know for sure exactly what you're going to make and the paycheck that comes at the beginning or end of the week is not exactly sustainable to live off of alone. The best way to budget, if you're a server, is to budget by evaluating your expenses first and then aiming to make an amount that's comfortable to live on.
Example:
Your portion of rent is $750
Car insurance $250
Health insurance $150
Gym $40
Groceries $300
Going out $250
Beauty treatments $300 ($150 per appointment at two appointments a month)
Total: $2,040
This is what we need to make for the month. In yesterday's blog post we discussed the calendar method. For servers, it's not the most effective but can still work to your advantage. My method for this type of work is a little different.
Work hours in the restaurant industry are not consistent and full time is even more evasive. Here's what I do:
Rent is due on the first, Car insurance is due on the 15th, health insurance on the 5th, Gym on the 20th, Groceries bi-weekly, going out every other week, and same for beauty treatments.
Now, let's say you work four or five days a week. The week that was second to last of the month you worked Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. And you make $150 each day. For the first week you made: $750. Excellent!
The last week of the month you worked four days (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday) and made $150 Wednesday and $150 Thursday. Then on Friday and Saturday you made $200 each day. So in total, for the last week of the month you have $700. Now we can pay rent between what's left over from the last two weeks.
(Pro Tip: Get a tip tracking app for your phone from either Google Play or the App Store! It'll make your life so much easier to keep track of your income and estimate your earnings per hour)
According to our calendar, expenses for the second to last week of the month equate to roughly $170, and the last week they're only $150. This means that out of the $1450 you made in the last two weeks you only are looking at paying out $320. Let's also assume your employer pays you on Monday and your paycheck is $90. Meaning you have the $750 for rent, the $150 for grocery day and the $300 for the health insurance. Now, anyone who's ever been a server can tell you that tips are not always consistent so you have to pick up whatever shift comes your way. However, these numbers are entirely made up to illustrate how to manage your income so you have your bills paid on a weekly basis.
What's leftover?
$1450 - $320 = $1,130
$1,130 - $750 = $380
$380- $150 = $230
$230 + $90 = $320
$320- $300 = $20
That $20 looks daunting, but you never know what the schedule is going to be unless they schedule out several weeks in advance. Hypothetically you're working on Monday and still have money coming in so the $20 isn't a huge issue.
Once the first of the month's bills are paid, the rest of the month is significantly easier and whatever you don't use during the middle of the month can go towards your next set of bills. The beautiful part of being a server is that you get to make people feel good, serve a good meal, and make money on the spot. The downside is that the money isn't always consistent so you end up having to work when you'd rather be home.
In the beginning we established we would need $2,040 for the month's expenses. Granted, this doesn't include gas or other transportation costs, credit cards or student loans. The principle still applies that if you know the estimate of your cost you can work to earn around that. Since we know that we need $2,040 for the month and maybe a little extra to smooth out the beginning of the month we can aim to work a little extra to ensure we have that money on hand when we need it. If the rough income is $700 per week you should be able to meet the expenses when they come up and then apply a little extra to a fund for the beginning of the month. This way your expenses are always met and you can put some of your tips aside for a rainy day.
Naturally, I made something for you! It's a free download for the weekly tracking of your daily income/tips and your expenses. Just click the button below, download and print! Happy Budgeting!
TBM
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