SCHNEIDER CHOICE PROGRAM - FREEDOM AWAITS " YOU " by JAR-HEAD

I am in no way struggling.......now you've met 1

 

I've actually met quite a few lease drivers who have failed. And all on choice board. Again biggest reason improper fuel management, improper home time management, to high payments to company. Talk to ooida they'll say thing don't do lease purchase.

 

If you are struggling on Choice..you really need to self evaluate.

I mean sure it's a lot to digest in the beginning..just don't over think it.
It's easy to get caught up in trying to calculate this or that.

Plain and simple if you have money in the bank after all expenses you're doing ok.
Sure maybe it's not what you think you should be making..if that's the case strive to improve how you run.

I think one of the biggest problems people run into with Choice is they want INSTANT gratification.(which is a big problem nowadays)
You have to work at it..just like everything else.

Now you've met 2.

 

*edit*
I just realized that I had forgotten that someone had mentioned that , taxwise, it was better to lease (in their situation)

*edit* X2 lol
I had meant financing the used truck on my part. I would still have a payment, just not(hopefully) $3k a month.

I just cant imagine rent a truck for $3k plus a month and not paying it off. 36k a year just thrown away. Yes, you always have a warrant, but do trucks honestly cost 36k a year in repairs, to make it a better business decision?if I paid 18k for a POS that lasted a year with no major repairs, I could resell it and buy snothee 18k truck and run that for a year or spend 18 on rebuilding it. The money(on paper) that I would save makes my jaw drop. Everyone acts like if the truck is over a few years old, then its going to catch fire on the side of the road.

I am in no way trying to be disrespectful. I am honestly trying to understand and plan my own future. If you could cut your truck payment in half, that would be another 18k in your pocket a year. Yes issues happen, but they may not happen to you. The 2 best trucks I have ever driven had over a million miles on them.

It might be an interesting thread if I went choice with a beater truck. And then at the end of the year We could compare numbers and see if my cheap truck, but perhaps in the shop a little more, rated in net profit vs a full on leased truck.

Again, no disrespect meant, I love all these choice threads and I thank you all for posting these threads. The I/cs here are just amazing people

 

Five months on Choice, only one zero settlement. Even with the truck problems I have had/am having. I take time off when I want and for how long I want, this time was for six days. I can run four or five days straight and easily bring home $1500-$2000.
I like this......

 

The same could be said for people who rent vs buy a house. My dad rented every day until he died m. Why? He didn't want to be responsible for the upkeep and headache that went along with ownership. Didn't want to be tied down to one spot for his whole life.
I personally wouldn't mind "renting" a $159,000 truck for $36,000 a year just because I get tired and bored driving the same truck all the time. No out if pocket repair costs, latest and greatest features in driver comfort and fuel economy and in 3 years I get to start over again. So while you may enjoy driving that 18k pos I wouldn't. I like being comfortable and I love technology and I want both in my truck.

 

There has to be money to be made in leasing cause lots of companies do it. You don't think they buy new trucks every 3 years do you?

 

And that is a great point! I've always been in basic or sub-basic trucks. Ive never had a full on, top of the line truck (or even been in one). It may behoove me to go down to a dealer and put my nose in one.

 

Even worse than that, in my experience, is dealing with things that are tax deductible when they have no idea what that means. Seen too many people spending money they shouldn't be spending on items they wouldn't have otherwise bought, just because they can write it off on their taxes. The common misunderstanding is that, by doing this, the government is paying for your purchase.

I think it's very impressive that you know this. Talked to tons of O/O, even one's who've been in business for years and make a very good living, and nobody seems to get this. I think it must come from not making the full transition from being a company driver, where miles mean money, to being a business owner. Many end up just being a driver who owns a truck, and running their business as such.

To simplify, I think too many feel that "the wheels must keep turning because that's what makes money", when the proper outlook would be "make money, and be willing to let the wheels turn if that's what's needed to make the money that day". Might seem like a fine point to some, but I think it's a very important distinction in your mindset. As a business owner, your primary goal is to bring in money, and moving the truck should only be a means to that end.

I often wonder if there might be a good niche on the boards for people who get this. Know your costs to let the truck sit (fixed vs. variable) and see what the rate does for that. Don't blow off a load based on nothing other than it making you sit somewhere. You hear it all the time from drivers who refuse a load because they will be sitting until Monday morning, without having the first clue what that does to the rate. Check the numbers and see if it pays you to sit, then accept or refuse based on that. I'd much rather get paid to sit in a truckstop all weekend, or at a dock all day, than have to run down the road to make that same money.


For the record, I am not an O/O, so take what I said as you will. I've been a driver for long enough that I get that side of it, a business owner long enough that I get that side of it, and have come close to putting the two together several times.