Money in, money out · Module 6 of 10
When there is no wage
Managing money without a regular paycheck: cash income, gig work, months with nothing coming in, and making savings last.
Key terms in When there is no wage
- Standard mileage rate
The standard mileage rate is a per-mile amount set by the Internal Revenue Service that taxpayers in the United States may use to figure a deduction for driving a vehicle for business, charity, medical, or certain moving purposes. It stands in for tracking actual costs such as fuel and wear. The agency revises the figures periodically to reflect operating costs.
- Unemployment insurance
Unemployment insurance is a program that pays money to people who lose a job through no fault of their own. In the United States each state runs its own program and sets its own rules. Applicants usually must have earned a minimum amount over recent months and be looking for new work.
Source: USAGov, Unemployment benefits
- Self-employment tax
Self-employment tax is a United States tax made up of Social Security and Medicare taxes that applies mainly to people who work for themselves. It mirrors the contributions that employers withhold from an employee's paycheck, except that the self-employed person works out the amount and pays it directly. The amount is calculated on Schedule SE and filed with the annual income tax return.
Source: Internal Revenue Service, Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes)
Every term on Lever is in the money glossary.
About this module
When there is no wage is part of Money in, money out, one of 15 subjects in Lever. It’s a short run of 7 lessons, about 18 minutes in all, so you can finish it in one sitting.
Every lesson takes one idea at a time. You read it with the math worked out step by step, answer a question that puts it to use, then see why the right answer is right and why the others aren’t.
It’s for anyone who was never taught this, and you don’t need to know anything first. Every lesson is free. Lever works out what you already know, so you can start here or let your path bring you to it.
More in Money in, money out
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1
What lands in your account
Read your payslip line by line and see where the gap between your salary and your paycheck goes.
5 lessons -
2
Your floor and your slack
Work out the least you need each month, the wiggle room above it, and what to do in a tight month.
13 lessons -
3
The size of a life after work
How much of your income to keep for later in life, and why your working years are the easiest time to build it.
5 lessons -
4
The pension that's already being built for you
What the pension deductions on your payslip are buying you, and what changes if you claim early or keep working.
5 lessons -
5
The costs retirement doesn't warn you about
The retirement costs people forget: relying on one income, what a partner is left with, and health costs that rise later.
5 lessons -
7
When the plan stops matching the month
What to do when your budget stops matching real life, including when it’s the budget that needs to change.
6 lessons -
8
Tracking without obsessing
A simple tracking habit you’ll keep, a quick monthly review, and how to stop a raise from quietly disappearing.
6 lessons -
9
Everything you own, minus everything you owe
Your net worth: everything you own minus everything you owe, and why watching it over the years tells you so much.
6 lessons -
10
When the money itself shrinks
How to protect your money when prices rise fast: what to buy ahead, and what inflation does to your debts and your pay.
5 lessons
Try this module
It’s part of Money in, money out. Lever will bring it to you when you’re ready, or you can go straight there.