New drivers don’t have instant, overnight success, but by taking the time to create a business plan that accurately reflects your expenses you can make it as a successful road warrior. Check out major trucking expenses your business can save on.
Learn To Save On Enormous Trucking Expenses
Lodging and Meals
Life on the road is expensive. Buying fast food and sleeping in motels can quickly add up. Instantly save on lodging costs by options to sleep in your rig. With comfortable bedding, you’ll sleep like a baby.
Then make the healthy, cost-effective choice to cook in your rig. By having a few groceries to cook your own dinners you’ll quickly save tons of money. You can also purchase your snacks in bulk and take them with you on the road. This way you don’t have to buy expensive options every time you get hungry.
Don’t forget to accurately calculate your Per Diem, the daily deduction for life on the road. This will give you a lot of money back at the end of the year when you file your personal tax return, or you can use the TAP app to handle it all for you.
Fuel
Fuel is your number one expense, so it’s pretty beneficial to learn how to save. Sure, you can get paid more to travel more miles, but you will also cut the major expense of fuel by simply slowing down a little. You will save about 27% of fuel by going 65 mph instead of 75.
Also, it’s good to gradually speed up and come to slow stops instead of mashing the pedal and slamming on your breaks. Reduce idling time as much as you can at truck stops, but still, make sure your truck warms up.
Plus, it’s good to avoid rush hour traffic and heavily congested areas that will have you stuck in stop and go traffic for hours. Try to drive at night or plan routes that avoid downtown areas.
Maintenance
You can’t truck without your beloved truck! You need to take care of it now to prevent expensive problems from popping up later. Trust us, by taking the time to take care of your truck now, you’ll save time, money, and hassle.
Don’t skip out on the little things such as checking your fluid levels, looking at your belts and tubes for signs of wear and cracks, get your tires rotated, change your oil, and more. If your truck breaks down, you won’t know how long you’ll be without it and your income will be put on hold until you can make deliveries again.
Take Care of Yourself
You need to be able to drive your truck to make loads. You can’t do that if you’re injured or sick. Be sure to get the proper nutrition to fight off colds and get the proper exercise to prevent yourself from developing health conditions.
Trucking can lead to an extremely unhealthy lifestyle if you let it, and you don’t want to foot the insurance bills due to developing conditions like sleep apnea, heart diseases, cancer, and more. Take every opportunity to move around and make healthy eating decisions whenever you can.
Happy Truckin’
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