It’s not easy saving for retirement when you work a full-time job that provides a steady income every month. But if you work as a freelancer, small business owner or independent contractor? Saving enough for retirement can be even more challenging because your income can vary so much each month.

One month, you might rake in a big amount of money. The next? Your income might slow to a trickle. Because your expenses don’t follow the same pattern, saving money for retirement can be a challenge.

Here are five steps to take to save for retirement when you’re self-employed:

1. Be Realistic About Your Retirement Date

Freelancers and independent contractors often say that they can keep working for as long as they need to. But that attitude isn’t necessarily realistic.

Freelancers are really no different from anyone else, they have to get real about how long they will be able to work and how much they’ll need to save to enjoy a comfortable retirement.

Why the Self-Employed Can’t Put off Retirement Forever

Even the self-employed should bank on retiring sometime around the age of 65. Even if they want to work longer, there is no guarantee that anyone will want to pay them past this age.
This means that you can’t put off saving for retirement—or saving enough each year for your retirement years—just because you think you can work forever.

2. Catch up on Retirement Savings

If you want to have enough money for retirement, you generally need to save at least 10 percent of your salary every year if you are in your 30s, 12 percent in your 40s and about 40 percent in your 50s.

What if you haven’t done this because of the fluctuations in your income? Then it’s time to start putting money in a retirement savings account now.

In case you are older and you haven’t saved enough money, don’t fret about your past missteps, it’s too late to do anything about the past. But you can start putting away more money now. You can also look at your expenses to make sure that you aren’t leaking money unnecessarily each month.

3. Build a Larger Emergency Savings Fund

It’s important for those with unpredictable incomes to establish a deeper pool of assets. This will help cover emergencies and serve as a safety net during lean times.

How Much Freelancers or Business Owners Should Save in Emergency Funds

Once people have this larger emergency fund, they won’t be as tempted to skimp on stowing away money for their retirement because they’ll have the money they need to get them through those months when not as many checks are coming in.“Instead of the usual three to six months of expenses recommended for an emergency fund, I’d recommend establishing an emergency fund that will cover at least nine to 12 months of expenses,” Miller says. “These funds can be used to tide you over if there isn’t enough income coming in.”

Instead of the usual three to six months of expenses recommended for an emergency fund, I’d recommend establishing an emergency fund that will cover at least nine to 12 months of expenses. These funds can be used to tide you over if there isn’t enough income coming in.

4. Split Savings in Accounts for Various Financial Goals

Those with unpredictable incomes need to take even more control over their finances than typical salaried employees if they want to make sure they have enough money for retirement.