Leaving a steady paycheque — for a lower-paid role you want more, or for freelance work you control — is a cash-flow question before it is a career one. The fear is rarely the new income itself. It is not knowing how long your balance holds while you adjust.
Recurna Flow lets you lower or reshape your income in a private sandbox and watch the forecast respond, so you can see your real runway in weeks before you hand in notice.
How to think about it
- Runway is measured in weeks, not vibes. “I think I’ll be fine” is not a plan. Your forecast turns the question into a date: the week your balance crosses your comfort line at the new income level.
- Model the income you can count on, not the income you hope for. For freelance work, forecast a conservative monthly figure first. If the plan survives the cautious number, anything above it is breathing room.
- Fixed costs do not flex as fast as income. Rent, insurance, and subscriptions keep arriving on schedule after your pay changes. The gap between a lower income and unchanged bills is exactly what the forecast makes visible.
Model it in Flow
You will reshape your income as an adjustment in the what-if sandbox. None of this touches your real data.
- Open the Forecast page, set the account scope to the account your pay lands in, and set the date range to Next 1Y.
- Open the simulation panel. The sidebar slides in and the URL gains
?sim=1. - Tap + to open the Add adjustment sheet.
- If your paycheque is already a recurring transaction, pick the Modify type pill, select it, and lower the amount to the new salary. To model leaving entirely, pick Remove and select it.
- For freelance income, pick New Recurring and add a conservative monthly figure described as Freelance (est.) — or add One-time adjustments on the dates you realistically expect specific client payments.
- Tap Add. The forecast redraws with the new income shape.
Read the forecast
Scroll the week-by-week breakdown and find the week your projected balance crosses your comfort line. That week is your runway — the honest deadline by which the new income, or savings, has to cover the gap.
To compare scenarios — the safe lateral move versus the riskier freelance leap:
- Build the first scenario, then Save it with a clear name like New job — lower salary.
- Build the second as another saved simulation, like Freelance — conservative.
- Tap Compare and select Baseline (no changes) to measure against your current income, or select your other saved simulation to weigh the two paths directly. The chart shows the week-by-week balance delta between them.
Now the decision has numbers under it: how many weeks each path buys you, and how much cushion you keep along the way.
Saving simulations and comparing them side by side are Pro features. On the free tier you can still build the scenario and read the effect on your 12-week forecast.
Exit simulation mode and your real forecast returns untouched — the leap stays hypothetical until you choose to take it.
Want the full runway, not just 12 weeks? The unlimited forecast horizon and the comparison view come with Recurna Flow Pro.