Matt makes $80 a month mowing lawns. his friend james also mows lawns, but he makes x dollars less per month than matt does. james makes a total of $816 per year. how much less each month does james make than matt? equation: 12(80 – x) = 816 solve the linear equation to find the value for x. how much does james earn each month? remember that x represents how much less per month james makes than matt.