When I was growing up, money was never something that fluctuated. My parents both worked as customs officers, and with tenure came a kind of financial certainty that I barely questioned. Every month, their salaries arrived on time, regardless of what was happening in the broader economy. That certainty influenced far more than just the balance in their bank account. It shaped the way they made decisions, planned purchases, and thought about the future. Buying something expensive was not a gamble on whether next month’s income would be enough; it was simply a question of whether the purchase fit within a long-term budget.
When I became self-employed, I stepped into an entirely different world. Here, everyone seemed to agree that income naturally rises and falls. Some months are exceptional, others are disappointing, and this rhythm is often presented as an unavoidable consequence of participating in a free market. It is almost treated as a law of economics: freedom means uncertainty, while stability belongs to salaried employment.
For a long time, I accepted that assumption without questioning it. After all, if customers are free to buy or not buy, and if markets are constantly changing, then fluctuating income appears to be an inevitable outcome. Yet the longer I have observed different businesses, the less convinced I have become that this explanation is sufficient.
