Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Mi ingreso sube este mes, por lo tanto voy a ahorrar más. - My income goes up this month, therefore I am going to save more.

Mi ingreso (singular) treats your income as one overall thing: your total income.
- Roughly: “My income goes up this month…”
Mis ingresos (plural) treats income as multiple sources or payments (different jobs, clients, etc.).
- Roughly: “My sources of income / my earnings go up this month…”

In everyday speech, many people say mis ingresos when talking about money in general, but mi ingreso in the singular is also correct and natural if you think of “income” as a single amount.

What exactly does ingreso mean here? Could it mean “entry” instead of “income”?

Ingreso is a polysemous word; it has several meanings, depending on context:

Income / earnings (financial meaning) – that’s the meaning in this sentence.
Entry / admission – e.g., el ingreso a la universidad (admission to university).
Joining – e.g., el ingreso al ejército (joining the army).

Because the sentence mentions ahorrar más (save more) and speaks about a monthly change, the financial meaning income is clearly intended here. Context disambiguates it.

Why use sube instead of something like aumenta or incrementa?

Sube comes from subir, which literally means to go up / to rise / to climb. It’s very common in everyday speech for prices, salaries, income, etc.:

El precio del dólar sube. – The dollar price goes up.
Mi ingreso sube. – My income goes up.

Aumenta (from aumentar) also means to increase, and incrementa (from incrementar) is similar.

You could say:

Mi ingreso aumenta este mes.
Mi ingreso se incrementa este mes.

Differences:

Sube is the most informal, everyday, and very common.
Aumenta is neutral and also very common.
Se incrementa sounds a bit more formal or technical (e.g., in reports).

All are grammatically correct; sube is just stylistically casual and natural here.

Why is it sube (present) if we’re talking about this month, which is still in progress or maybe in the future?

Spanish often uses the present tense for near-future or scheduled events, especially when the time reference is explicit:

Este mes sube mi ingreso. – This month my income goes up / is going up.
Mañana voy al médico. – Tomorrow I’m going to the doctor.

Because este mes specifies the time, the present sube is understood as something happening this month (already arranged or certain). You could say:

Mi ingreso va a subir este mes.
Mi ingreso subirá este mes.

Those are also correct and highlight the future aspect more explicitly.

Could I move este mes to another position, like Este mes mi ingreso sube? Is the meaning the same?

Yes, the meaning stays essentially the same, and all of these are natural:

Mi ingreso sube este mes.
Este mes mi ingreso sube.
Este mes sube mi ingreso. (still correct; slightly more marked word order)

The most neutral are usually Mi ingreso sube este mes and Este mes mi ingreso sube. Moving este mes just shifts the emphasis a little:

Este mes mi ingreso sube slightly emphasizes this month as the topic.

What does por lo tanto mean exactly, and how is it different from así que or por eso?

All three can express a consequence, like so / therefore, but they differ in tone:

por lo tanto – therefore / thus, more formal or neutral, common in written and careful speech.
por eso – so / that’s why, very common and neutral in everyday speech.
así que – also so, very conversational, often used in spoken language.

You could say:

Mi ingreso sube este mes, por lo tanto voy a ahorrar más. (neutral-formal)
Mi ingreso sube este mes, por eso voy a ahorrar más. (neutral, very common)
Mi ingreso sube este mes, así que voy a ahorrar más. (informal, very natural in conversation)

All are correct; the difference is mainly style and register.

Why is there a comma before por lo tanto? Is it required?

Yes, it’s standard and recommended. In Spanish, when a conjunctive phrase like por lo tanto, por eso, sin embargo, además connects two clauses, it is normally preceded by a comma:

Mi ingreso sube este mes, por lo tanto voy a ahorrar más.

This comma separates the cause/result clauses and marks a small pause. You could also write:

Mi ingreso sube este mes; por lo tanto, voy a ahorrar más.

That version adds a comma after por lo tanto as well, which is also acceptable and slightly more formal.

Why do we use voy a ahorrar instead of the simple future ahorraré?

In modern spoken Spanish—especially in Latin America—the ir a + infinitive structure is very common for the future:

Voy a ahorrar más. – I’m going to save more.

The simple future is ahorraré:

Ahorraré más.

Differences:

Voy a ahorrar is very common and conversational, similar to English “I’m going to save.”
Ahorraré is perfectly correct but can sound a bit more formal, planned, or distant in everyday speech, depending on context.

In real-life conversations, you’ll hear voy a ahorrar much more frequently.

What’s the difference between ahorrar and guardar when talking about money?

Both can appear with money, but they’re not the same:

ahorrar = to save (not spend) money, time, etc.
- Quiero ahorrar dinero. – I want to save money.
- Mi ingreso sube, voy a ahorrar más.
guardar = to put away / keep / store something somewhere.
- Voy a guardar el dinero en el cajón. – I’m going to put the money away in the drawer.
- Guarda tu tarjeta. – Put your card away.

So ahorrar implies saving instead of spending, while guardar is just about physically putting it somewhere. In this sentence, ahorrar is the correct verb.

Could I say voy a ahorrar más dinero instead of just voy a ahorrar más? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

…por lo tanto voy a ahorrar más dinero.

Both are correct:

voy a ahorrar más – more is understood as more money, because of the context. This is very natural and avoids repetition.
voy a ahorrar más dinero – makes dinero explicit; it slightly emphasizes that you mean money and not, for example, time.

In typical conversation, voy a ahorrar más is completely clear and natural here.

Can I use mi sueldo or mi salario instead of mi ingreso? Are there differences?

Yes, you can substitute:

Mi sueldo sube este mes, por lo tanto voy a ahorrar más.
Mi salario sube este mes, por lo tanto voy a ahorrar más.

Differences in nuance:

sueldo – usually refers to a fixed salary, often monthly. Very common.
salario – also salary, sometimes used more in legal, formal, or labor contexts, but also in everyday speech.
ingreso(s) – income more generally (can include salary, freelance work, interest, etc.).

If you mean specifically your job paycheck, sueldo is very common in Latin America. If you mean all the money you receive from different sources, ingreso or ingresos is more general.

Is the sentence natural in Latin America, or would a native speaker say it differently?

It is natural and correct in Latin American Spanish as written:

Mi ingreso sube este mes, por lo tanto voy a ahorrar más.

Some very common variants you might also hear:

Mis ingresos van a subir este mes, así que voy a ahorrar más.
Este mes sube mi sueldo, por eso voy a ahorrar más.
Este mes me suben el sueldo, así que voy a ahorrar más.

All of these sound natural; they just use slightly different vocabulary and structures.