I have been self-employed for most of my adult life, so I've never had the luxury of a clockwork-regular paycheck. Even when I'm working, I can't invoice until I have achieved certain milestones in a project. Then, it can be 30 days (best case) or 90+ days (it happens) before payment comes my way. And long-term, there is usually one really lousy year in every five year cycle; often this happens following completion of a large, difficult job that kept me away from the network that keeps my name in the game.

Needless to say, this influences how I handle my ongoing finances. Debt is poison, and doubly so when the cash flow comes in fits and starts. You don't spend money until you have it in your hand. There has been a decades-long push to create what I call the "castle keep" -- the backstop situation that ensures I am fed, housed, and have financial resources for bad times. I sacrificed a lot to acquire a country property with a creaky old unfashionable house, but it's paid for; and now as long as I can come up with $1500 a year for taxes, nobody can take it from me.
I haven't travelled the world like some; I've driven a lot of high-mile Japanese cars; I don't have a fancy wardrobe or the newest shiny everything. But I don't have to panic at the latest hiccup in the economy either. Believe me, my lifestyle is less stressful than friends who are big spenders and who survive paycheck to paycheck, hoping nothing goes wrong.

I guess my lifestyle isn't for everyone. But with frugal pioneer grandparents on both sides, I guess I come by it honestly. I'm a rabid fixer, scrounger, and recycler -- as much for personal offbeat entertainment as anything. I have also kept up a wide range of "blue collar" skills that I can draw on for casual income if the professional work hits a severe slump (haven't needed it, but I like having options; I might even get a basic steam/boiler ticket and a Class 1 "big rig" licence one of these days, just for entertainment).

Sorry, this is becoming a biographical novel. Hope you can glean something useful from it -- if only this simple message: with persistence and the right attitude, it is possible.