Flash described the income offset perfectly....bottom line, the money is in the miles. Unfortunately, it seems that mileage is becoming harder to get unless you are in a more rural area. When I lived outside of Sacramento I used to get a lot long mileage assignments, sometimes 200 to 300 miles round trip @ 56.5 per mile. Lake Tahoe, Reno, etc. I should have never moved to SoCal...more assignments, more traffic, way less miles.