Are you actually making money after ALL expenses… or just think you are?

See average debt in america. Compare to how many people.always whine about being broke. Look at where they live. What they eat. And where they drive. Enough said.

 

Same thought here


“A new app for truckers! By ####ing idiots- for ####ing idiots!”

 

Quick answer. No, a lot of owner operators aren’t actually earning extra money above the basic necessity to keep the wheels turning and keep one step ahead of the collector man. That’s why so many go out of business as soon as they hit a major breakdown. I personally ran about like that for 7 years before I gave up and quit. Thankfully I wasn’t forced to quit, but I was getting way to close to that.

 

I dont track the day to day. Same lane, same customers, same mileage, same fuel economy each week... so its all pretty easy. Ill look at ytd every quarter or so and adjust forecasting if needed and go from there. I dont measure any cost by mile or quote by the mile. But I will work that out for my own satisfaction.

 

Trucking is super easy to track. A pencil and a ledger will do the job if you don’t have a computer. Income minus expenses, doesn’t get much simpler than that.

 

A lot of guys just scrape by, but If you bring in enough to keep your bills paid (including the IRS and state) and your truck fixed, plus a little profit, that’s fine if you enjoy what you do. If your goal was to make a lot of money doing the least amount of work, trucking is a bad choice to begin with. In fact I would say if your primary goal in life is to make a lot of money and chase the almighty dollar, you’re likely on a fast track to an unhappy and unfulfilling life anyway and should re-evaluate your priorities, but that’s an aside.

 

Well, I apologize for reporting your post in your previous thread, because you sounded exactly like an AI conversation, but that's the way some folks come off.

I probably should have just asked you a tricky trucker question to verify you were human.

Like "What might you not be wearing, if you were communicating on a device in a creepy whisper, and - what would you commonly be told?"

 

Like @ElmerFudpucker told me:

If you are taking out a cash advance for a Godfathers Pizza, you need to idle the truck less.

When you turn a trailer in, switch name brand tires out with Double Coins.

Rent a 2026 Cascadia and go to local shippers, they will think you are both sensible and dependable.

Showing up to a customer in a tuxedo T-shirt never hurts.

Aim for diamond status at Loves each month not only for the prestige but also the savings.

 

I will sum up my thoughts. The goal is to clear no less than $4.5k a week (after fuel) Out and back weekly with a back load easily clears 5-7k+ in chemical tankers. So yes we make money.