Is my goal doable?

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by CalculatedRisk, Nov 6, 2022.

  1. chrismcallister34

    chrismcallister34 Light Load Member

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    Yep for sure for sure. I plan on doing the same once I start. I plan on saving heavily wherever I can while also leaving a little bit of wiggle room to take a 34 or home time somewhere that sounds like fun for a little R&R. I plan on saving for a truck if the o/o market ever settles down to where an o/o can get a decent rate. But doesn't look too promising right now with the way the stock market is doing, and fuel is gonna go back up in a month or so. I also plan on saving to start real estate investing.
     
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  3. Redtwin

    Redtwin Road Train Member

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    Definitely doable, especially if you plan to stay in central Florida. Decent selection of houses sub $200K, even more choice if you don't mind a condo or townhouse.

    Best way to save money is to set yourself a savings goal. When I first started OTR, I was essentially homeless (crashed on Aunt's couch) didn't have a car and my only bills were cellphone and a small storage unit, both of which ran me about $150 per month.

    I was averaging a little over $1K gross per week so set myself a goal of banking at least $3K per month. $850 a month was more than enough to feed me and buy toiletries and do laundry etc, so I had no problems meeting my savings minimum.

    I would occasionally treat myself if I had a really good paycheck, but I never put away less than the $3K.

    That was over 6 years ago. Almost all OTR companies are now paying more than the 37CPM I started with so you should be able to save more than I did each month. Shoot for $4k per month. $48k per year after 5 years and you can buy outright. I have to agree with another poster though. Don't fixate on buying cash. Waiting 5 years could mean that $200k house is now $300k and still out of reach.

    Once you have enough to put 20% down (thereby avoiding pricy mortgage insurance ), I would buy. Make sure the mortgage doesn't have early payment penalties, then triple up on principle payments every month. House will be paid off and you will also be taking advantage of increasing property value.

    OTR trucking was a life changer for me. I can't think of any other field that offers the chance to turn around someone's fortunes without needing to shell out significant money getting a degree or putting in years of apprenticeship etc.

    A high-school drop out with very basic reading comprehension can walk into $60k their first year on the job. Sleeper trucks offer savings on accommodation that probably only the military can match and the military option certainly isn't available to us older folk looking for a second shot at a career.
     
  4. roundhouse

    roundhouse Road Train Member

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    That was my experience

    In 1988 I was working for a state govt earning $995 a month . which for the rural areas it was in was actually a pretty good job , they’d have 300 applicants for every job opening .
    But I was living in a trailer park and just barely getting by .

    I started driving trucks and the first month I earned $5000

    and I actually lowered my living expenses , I sold my Car and stopped renting a single wide in a trailer park and started living in the truck and staying with friends or family on the rare weekend that I wasn’t working .
    The place I signed on with paid extra for weekend work so I did as much weekend work as I could find


    Bought the first electric 12
    Volt fridge , and I’d eat breakfast and lunch from the cooler , and usually eat out for dinner at a restaurant.

    i was able to save up and get my first house less than four years later in 1992 ,
    I didn’t pay all cash for it , and it was a small unfinished one room cabin on seven acres that was getting foreclosed on.
    But I still have own the place , it’s my weekend getaway now .

    trucking helped me break free from being perpetually poor

    as did not having any consumer debt
    I learned the hard way not to borrow money for anything except real estate . never borrow for a car and never ever run up credit cards that you can’t pay off every month .
     
  5. CalculatedRisk

    CalculatedRisk Medium Load Member

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    Thank you guys I really do appreciate it for the replies and cold hearted truth. The decisions I would be making not only affect me, but my family as well.

    I lost my dad in 2019 at the end of 2019 to be specific. We were talking about letting me try truck driving again. long story but I don’t want to post it. anyways, before anything can materialize my dad passed away due to pneumonia and congestive heart failure. It’s been a roller coaster trying to get my eggs in order. The one thing I learned from my father was never give up on your dreams.
     
  6. CalculatedRisk

    CalculatedRisk Medium Load Member

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    If I can get on a work release program from disability, which I will be investigating starting next year, I’m going to do it. Those who know me know that I will never give up on anything.

    My sister has given up a lot since my dad passed. It’s not about repayment to buy us a house. It is about doing the right thing and paying off her house and hopefully selling that and putting a nice down payment on a big house.

    Those who have families with people who have challenges know what I’m talking about. I just cannot wait and see where life takes me.
     
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  7. chrismcallister34

    chrismcallister34 Light Load Member

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    Never give up man. Follow your dreams. When faced with an obstacle find a door to walk through it. The best successes come from many failures. You're going to fail more than you will ever succeed. It's how you bounce back after that failure that's going to bring you closer to success. The all-time home run leader in baseball struck out more than twice as many times as he hit home runs. As long as you have your mind set on something, you can achieve anything. Always shoot for the moon, and if you fail, you'll still land among the stars. You can do it brother.
     
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  8. stacks

    stacks Road Train Member

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    Good luck on
    Your journey there may also be other options like operating heavy Equipment bulk earthworks road building
     
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  9. GYPSY65

    GYPSY65 Road Train Member

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    I personally am not a huge fan of Dave Ramsey but I think you could learn a thing or two from his views on getting out of debt. In this case a better home and how to go about work
     
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  10. GYPSY65

    GYPSY65 Road Train Member

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    I preach much of the same
    Failure’s are only failure’s if you stop moving the needle
    Otherwise failures are just pieces of education that get you across the river
     
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  11. chrismcallister34

    chrismcallister34 Light Load Member

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    Yeah for sure. His ways of getting out of debt are good, but if you're trying to get a home, you need credit. And if you don't have credit cards that you're using and consistently paying them off every month, it's hard to prove you're credit worthy to a bank if you've already closed all of your credit cards. If it's recent, then it's easier because they're still recent. They still remain on your credit report and still reflect on your average age of account history, and still reflect on on-time payments, but your debt-to-credit ratio isn't there anymore, and you aren't showing any available credit that you're consistently paying paying off. It's funny that banks will lend to someone that's more in debt than someone who has absolutely no debt, because that person who has debt pays off that debt every single month. That person that's living debt-free is a risk to lenders because they're not showing any history that they're paying monthly debts off. The only time that living debt-free is a solution is when you're at retirement age, and you're living off of your savings, retirement, and investments accrued during your life.
     
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