It's a Team's Life

Home Time

Down Time

Last week was filled with so many things. Unfortunately, not much of our time was spent making money. Instead, we offloaded on Monday morning and then immediately deadheaded over 800 miles to get to our preferred maintenance shop for the truck’s 500,000 mile checkup. All was good but that still came at a hefty price. Also, there was a hotel stay. So there was money spent and not earned.

After we got out of the shop we drove another 500 plus miles home as we had previously scheduled commitments. There were doctor’s appointments, veterinary appointments, heating and air conditioner check up as well as other family obligations. Again, we were spending money on prescriptions for both human and dog, X-rays for pet, installation of new furnace and air conditioner units as well as travel and eating out when spending time with family. Again, lots of money being spent with no income. Such is the life of an owner operator trying to run a successful business.

One might ask, “How can you run a successful trucking business if you are home spending money rather than earning money?” The easy answer is planning and being prepared. Well then, how does someone plan and prepare. There is an old saying that goes, “Make hay while the sun shines.” I did a Google search and here is what I found: 

“Origin: This idiom dates back to medieval England, when farmers relied on sunny weather to cut and dry hay. If they didn't take advantage of good weather, the hay could spoil, leading to poor livestock feed. Thus, it became a metaphor for making the most of favorable conditions.” 

We can apply this to the trucking business too. When loads are many and rates are higher we need to work more to take more home and in turn save more rather than spend it on lavish vacations or expensive toys. This will prepare us for when freight is scarce and rates are low so that we can continue to live a comfortable life with no worries about how we will pay for daily necessities or unexpected expenses such as a pet injury or replacing an entire HVAC system as happened to us last week. 

One final topic to discuss is credit score. Because we have very good credit scores we were able to get 0% financing for 12 months on the HVAC install. While we have the funds to pay for everything outright, it is nice to be able to use someone else’s money for free so that we can hold on to our resources in the event of another surprise. I have already set up payments so that the loan will be paid off before the 12 month timeframe to be sure we are not subject to interest payments that would be retroactive to the beginning of the loan. All of these steps help us to get a good night’s sleep with no money worries during the down times.

Here’s to millions of safe, profitable and WORRY-FREE miles.

Kelly Plumb