How broke were you when you entered the trucking business ?

Getting through training is the toughest part as a lot of the things you do to conserve money, like eating out of the truck instead of at restaurants, aren't really practical during training. You might get a trainer with a decent size cooler and lets you use it so you can do the lunchmeat thing. But sometimes the trainer isn't using these things. Plus it's tough to buy the things that save you money, like the ovens and coolers, when you are starting but if you think "conservation of funds" and be a real cheapskate at first you can do it.

I also advise folks to avoid those cash advances if at all possible. That's where a lot of new folks get into trouble. They cash advance away their pay checks. Cash in the pocket goes quickly OTR. Discipline in waiting for payday to get what you want will go a long way in helping you hold on to as much of your money as you can and ease the crunch we all (most of us) feel when starting.

Oh, and if you can, get your driver rewards cards day one and to the extent possible; stick with the same truck stop so you build up points. They really do help. But it takes a while if you fuel at TA today, Pilot tomorrow and Loves the next day. You can't always do it like that but it's good when you can (sticking with a particular chain). I recommend Loves over the others because their level up system allows you to accrue points faster than the others. The downside is you might be having to stay at a place you don't normally fuel at and might not have a shower credit and might have to either buy one, break your loyalty and fuel there or wait til you get to where you usually like to fuel.

I'm lucky, Loves is my company's primary. I stay Platinum and hit Diamond a couple times until I got this new truck that gets really good MPG and weather got such that I don't idle any more. I just got a brand new Cobra 29 LX BT for free and if you count the $20 rebate in a way they paid me to take the radio off their hands. Only took me a couple of months to save up the points because I was Platinum and Diamond. Downside is I have no shower credits at anywhere other than Loves and only a few points on my Pilot// Flying J card. So I'm kinda stuck with Loves but refills and showers are free and unlimited and the run I have is dedicated so it works for me. Doesn't work like that for everyone. I just got lucky I guess. I'm dedicated regional so I run pretty much the same roads all the time and have my fuel stops and break spots picked out so it doesn't present me any problems. That's usually not the case starting out but you should be able to favor a particular chain and accrue some points fairly quickly and I advise saving them for a rainy day or a particular larger purchase rather than using them to pay for your snacks each day, although that is some help too if your a snack eater.

 

Attention was calling, the bill was overdue!

 

yes, everyone says the same thing about advances (every company, ever driver, and every person who's never been in a truck) the ONLY reason I had to do it was because I had a bill I had to pay and I had no money to buy food

its not always easy to use the same company for fuel, we all know that

your company uses excusivley Loves? thats great and all but what if you're in an area without a Loves?

 

This entire story sounds exactly like the position my g/f at the time, wife now and I was in when I joined the Navy in 2000. No jobs, rent was past due, electric was about to get shut off, both cars were broke down. I was considering robbing a carry out for some cash. I decided against it. We had $5 left and I went to the store 2 blocks up, bought a loaf of bread, a half a gallon of milk, and a half dozen eggs. With what change I had left over I bought a scratch off instant lottery ticket. Won $500. Went home, told me g/f we paid $290 for our rent, $100 for the utilities, and the rest went for groceries, I called my mother and asked her to take me to the local military recruiter cause I was joining. Over the next month, my parents moved my g/f and our daughter in with them, I went off to boot camp.

Today Im in a job that I used to love doing for 7 years, been with my current company for 5. Started out at $33,500 a year, and took them 3 years to get us our first raise (35c). Since then Im not even making $34,000 a year and were not allowed overtime. I force myself to get out of bed in the mornings. I didnt even clear $30,000 last year as I was off for 3 weeks for a back injury not associated with work, and my 401k contributions drew my take home down. I quit busting my ### for my company when for our 5 year anniversary they took benefits away from us, and said they werent as profitable as they had anticipated they would be. We just bought a house in sept, and can make our payments, as well as the rest of our bills, but were not able to get ahead. We own one car and its 12yrs old. My wife works, and makes as much as I do. Its time for me to do something that Ive always wanted to do. Its in my family. Father, step father, grandfather, several cousins, father in law. All drivers.

I realize its not a glamorous life driving, and being away from family. However, I know I can make more than I am making now. My father has agreed that if I make it to my 5 years and still want to stick with it, he will assist me in buying my first truck and will put me in contact with his broker. I want to get into skateboarding for now, thats what my grandpa did. I know its hard, but when #### is hard is where I try harder. Im sick of fielding phone calls about bills being past due.

 

I think this is what is called "gaining life experience." Almost all of us had to go through it! (Some of us actually learned from it.)

 

When I decided to go into trucking I was making $1.50 an hour, immediately went up to $4.70 an hour when I got in a truck!LOL Felt like a rich man!

 

I was a part time janitor while in CDL school back in 08. So pretty broke. But I never been completely broke ever since I joined the workforce. I always saved my pennies and dimes. I didn't last as a trucker in 08 but returned recently. In my return I lost thousands. Don't ask me how...I guess the little stuff just added up...Its crazy! Slowly getting used to OTR...its not easy sometimes.

 

Working a bs job before trucking, still had a couple grand saved for rainy days..

 

Wilco has the best points system and usually the cheapest fuel but unfortunately theres not a lot of them around.

 

Not me but a friend of mine who I brought with me from California had literally $100 in his pocket and that is it. I told him that since he had no GF and no wife and no kids the perfect job for him would be OTR so there ya go, went through school at a Community College and got on with PTL now every time I see him he buys me dinner which is roughly every 3 months. I'd say I made a good investment.

Oh and of course now he has more money than me lol.