How's Everyone Doing in LTL Right Now?

I was never canceled during covid. Im getting canceled now here and there but during covid I kept right on trucking.

 

Weird, I wasn't at OD during covid, I was OTR. When the rona shut down everything I was getting 500 mile weeks regularly at a mega. I heard 08 was a real rough time at the yard as well.

 

UPS offers full-time drivers a buyout of $1,800 per year of service if they agree to resign

 

So something worth sharing came to my mind.

My colleague that I followed from USF Holland to my current job (he actually got me my job) had an incident. Said he woke up with some weird pain in his chest. Went to the hospital and had it checked out and they told him it was like a mini heart attack or something. And of course since my friend is a CDL holder this whole thing was reported to the DoT. I am not sure how all this works since I am under the impression that HIPA or whatever prevents doctors from sharing this, so maybe someone else can give me some insights on it.

So, with his heart attack or whatever behind him, the DoT has suspended his CDL for 60 days. He also has to do a stress test and is now on the hook to retake his DoT physical every year. I don't know how his health insurance situation is since it is tied to a workplace that he has been barred to work at, so I am guessing it is coming out of his own pocket.

I guess my bottom line with all of this is that life can be pretty rough with layoffs ...and in my case having an entire company fold and lose my job all together. But with my coworker, that train came in fast and out of nowhere. One day he was working and the next day he is in the ER followed by 60 days of being forced not to work. I have no idea how his financial situation is, but I could not imagine having this type of forced unpaid vacation. I learned from Holland, and can as of now; survive five weeks, maybe six weeks ....but not eight.

It really just shows how fragile and delicate this balance is in this industry. You have to worry about your company doing well enough to stay afloat and then hope you have enough seniority to survive if there is a layoff. Then to top it off, if your health takes a crap, then DoT has their thumb on the scale and issues a one size fits all solution to every problem, regardless how it impacts the person on the receiving end. It's just another reason why people aren't lining up for this line of work anymore. If it isn't the ACTUAL job then there is something else that creates an incredible stress on someone.

Anyway, hope everyone has a plan and a backup to your plan. But more importantly I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else, at least not until you hang up your truck keys for good. Happy weekend all!

 

That's why I never let lifestyle creep happen. The men in my family have been driving trucks for years and quite literally have seen it all. Flying high for a decade just to lose it all in a matter of weeks. Have about 35% of a cheap house's cost saved up, don't think I'll buy until I'm at 50% assuming I can do that without prices outrunning my ability to save.

 

We bought a house for $155,000 but only financed $62,000. We also don't escrow our taxes, HOA fees, or insurance... so our monthly mortgage is $333.37 a month. Once a year I pay $850 in property taxes and $200 in HOA fees. Our insurance is paid monthly @ $110. The reason we did everything we did was in case something happened to me. As long as my wife could generate $333 a month she would always have a place to stay, this is cheaper than renting anywhere else in our area. With my mortgage being so low, this allows me to put additional principle only payments down, saving me thousands in interest over the life of the loan. Right now I should have my remaining balance paid off in 3-5 years.

My best advice to anyone looking at houses (especially first time home buyers) is to wait until you have a good credit score and interest rates drop back down to 5% or lower. Right now interest rates are north of 7% in some areas and you will be paying thousands of dollars extra just in interest fees. Also pay down at least 20% so that you can avoid the useless PMI fees that you service monthly. And finally, stay out of HOAs if you can. Ours is not terrible, but they can be a huge pain overall if you neglect your lawn or something stupid. Our next property is going to have 35 acres of woods in the middle of nowhere of Montana.

 

7% is about the historical average for mortgage rates. Rates dipping below 5% will likely never happen again in our lifetime. Jerome Powell won't drop the federal funds rate substantially given economic indicators, and even if Trump fires him and installs a loyalist, the chairman doesn't set rates. The FOMC votes. He'd have to fire half the FOMC and install yesmen. If this happened the US and global economy would collapse. It would literally be a doomsday scenario and even the Senate would likely block this from happening since they confirm nominees. It's another one of Trump's chest beating threats.

Additionally, given how tariffs, the copper tariff, immigrants who build houses being deported, and the likely rise of the 10/yr bond which mortgages are based off of, and the lull in home price increases...

I can't believe I'm saying this with the incredibly overpriced homes out there but, now would probably be a good time to buy.

 

But never in an HOA of course.