Budgeting for gig workers: what an hour is really worth

Gross pay is not your pay

Take a shift: earnings minus fuel, minus per-mile vehicle wear, minus platform fees, minus tax set aside. What is left, divided by hours worked (including waiting time), is your real hourly rate.

Track four numbers per shift

1. Hours online, start to finish 2. Miles driven 3. Gross earnings 4. Fuel or charging cost

That is enough to rank days, areas and platforms by actual profit.

The per-mile cost most people ignore

Fuel is visible. Tyres, servicing, brakes and depreciation are not, but they are real and they arrive together. Set aside a per-mile amount into a vehicle fund from day one — see sinking fund categories.

Tax: pay yourself last

Move a fixed percentage of every payout into a separate tax pot the day it lands. Money in your current account will be spent; money in a tax pot will not.

Budget on your worst week

Take your lowest month from the last six and build essential spending on that. Good weeks top up the buffer. See budgeting on an irregular income.

Know when to stop working

More hours at a bad rate is not progress. Once you know your true hourly rate by day and area, you can work fewer, better hours.

Track it all in one place

MoneyQuilt's driver tools log shifts, mileage and fuel, then show earnings per hour after costs — plus the tax pot and buffer alongside them.