Guides

Most freelancers set their rate by guessing, copying a competitor, or halving an old salary — and then wonder why a "good" hourly number still leaves them short. Here is the actual math, worked end to end.

Freelance income arrives with nothing withheld — so the money for April, and the three payments before it, has to come from you. Here is the actual math, the real calendar, and the rule that keeps a good-faith estimate from turning into a penalty.

A $120,000 1099 contract looks like a clear win over a $100,000 W-2 job — until you run the self-employment tax and the missing benefits through the math. Here is the actual comparison, with the numbers shown.

Every "how much do YouTubers make" answer that quotes a single number is wrong, because the number that matters — RPM — swings roughly tenfold between a gaming channel and a finance channel with identical view counts.

Raising your rate feels riskier than it is: the math below shows a properly sized increase can survive losing real clients and still leave you ahead. Here is when to raise, how much, and exactly what to say.

Fixed fee or hourly is not a coin flip — it is about who holds the risk if your estimate turns out wrong. Here is how to pick the right one, price it honestly, and check the number against what you actually earn per hour once the work is done.

No employer means no 401(k) match and no HR department picking a plan for you — the choice, and the paperwork, is yours. Here's what a Solo 401(k) and a SEP-IRA actually let you contribute in 2026, and why they're rarely equal.

Two deductions move the needle on a self-employed tax bill more than any others, and both hinge on a method choice most people guess at instead of calculating. Here is the actual math for each, side by side.

How much a blog makes per 1,000 pageviews depends almost entirely on which ad network is running its inventory — RPM swings roughly 10x between AdSense and a premium network, before affiliate or sponsored income even enters the picture.