Budget

Two points. First I am glad you have never faced such a situation that you have not had to touch any emergency cash, you are blessed.

Next point I hope you will consider. Over the last 60 or so days bad actors have hacked into computer systems all across the US. What happens if per chance they are able to hack into the ACH system and shut them down? Or take the ATMs down? In these situations, even Comdata/EFS is generally not going to work which means a lot of trucks are going to be stranded. It would shock most Americans to know just how much financial transactions are handled via satellite! In fact, a few years ago a system went down and a lot of ATMs went offline. At least with some cash, you can go a few days even a week or so, and be able to eat. Oh, and one more thing, while this may seem remote, right now I don't put NOTHING past these crooks!

You are right to keep cash. For general OTR I still stand by my comment about NEVER trust your carrier will get you home. There but by the grace of god is NOT a good way to truck in my opinion!

 

I haven’t been OTR for about 4 years now, but I wouldn’t trust them either.

 

In this day and age, a credit card is much safer to use for day to day expenses. I your credit card is compromised, the credit card company's money is at stake, and you can contest it. If your Debit card is compromised, your bank account is suddenly empty. It can and will be remedied, but.........it can take a while. In the mean time, you have NO MONEY IN THE BANK! It happened to my Son's buddy when he was in the Army. It took several days and lots of BS to get HIS MONEY back.

 

That weblink is to a cancerous site.

 

Precisely why I use my credit card for everything. I don’t even have a debit card.

 

In this day and age, YOU can be robbed and have a thief take all your cash, I have seen this happen several times. Credit Card companies can AND DO turn them off by mistake. My Credit card was turned off because an ignorant person at the bank confused my SSAN with someone that had just filed bankruptcy! It took me almost 3 months to get that account back. Listen, anybody ignorant enough to have all their money in the same account the debit card is tied to deserves to lose their money. I ALWAYS spoke to the lady that managed the Regions Bank branch in my hometown. She knew my voice ALL I had to do was call her if I needed to put some cash in my checking account. My pay was direct deposited at 75% and 25% went onto my fuel card. Most of the time I was calling her to move my money from checking into savings. Regions also had some great safeguards in place. I once had my debit card number used by a thief. This person was working the C-store at the Petro in Jackson Mississippi. I bought gas at the gas pump for my POV and somehow she got my number and did a manual entry. Took close to $50 that night. Regions questioned that 2nd charge and the next day I was called and asked about it. Petro had to eat that money because Regions refused to allow the ACH transaction PLUS that girl was fired. Through that entire 3 or 4 days my ATM balance was $50 lower and after 72 hours was replaced. Debit cards today are generally safe. I have used one for almost 25 years now and that incident at the Petro was the only time I had an issue.

The moral of this story is really not about what card you use. It's about NOT putting all your eggs in one basket and ALWAYS having an option!


EDITED to add something I consider critical. For OTR truckers using a bank app or a website can be a pain. Even after I got access to my banking info once the system detected my IP was different would make me jump through hoops just to get in. Once in Texas my bank totally froze me out and I had to call them. I bring this up because a lot of people use banking websites today!

 

Well, I commend you for trying to be wise with your funds. But, I kinda think you might have your timing a bit off. If you haven't been OTR, I recommend spending the first few months concentrating on doing this job. For most of us, it is pretty much all consuming in the beginning. So, I wouldn't put too much effort into the finer minutia of squeezing a buck. After a few months, when doing the job gets alot more manageable and you actually have some 'free' time to organize a budget, you'll also have a bit of experience with this life and it'll be easier to conjur up and adhere to a reasonable budget and have a better idea what will work, for you!, and what probably won't.
My thoughts anyway.

 

2% cashback always a good thing. Especially after big expenses (of course if you always paying in full during next statement
On another hand 50/100$ will be in handy if you have let say nail in a tire, you can stop at neatest mechanic shop pay them each and be served quickly and fast without waiting 2+ hours
Also I had I few times situation when truck stop had problem with payment system, and cash was a way to go to pay for scale , or small food items

 

Yup, I pay it off every month. I use my card like a checkbook. If I don’t have the money in the bank, I don’t buy it. And yes, that cash back is nice.

 

I try and use the same chain of Truck Stop for all my fueling. This way the points, free showers and special offers pile up nicely.