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Old 11-27-2019, 08:57 PM
 
13,811 posts, read 27,448,042 times
Reputation: 14250

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lowexpectations View Post
Walmart is start drivers in the 80k, FedEx here locally is starting cdl drivers in the 70+ range
Yeah the wait is quite long, don't you think guys would just go there instead? It takes years to hit the Walmart experience requirements, not sure about Fedex but UPS also had a wait list, I assume it's the same.

They aren't hiring fresh CDL or local guys for 80k...just like anything if it sounds too good to be true...

Being a single parent there is no way this guy can do that job though.

BUT, that being said, a HS grad can get his CDL and after a couple weeks be driving locally. At 21 you can start doing longer haul stuff. A few years later your wages are in the 60's or higher if going to a larger outfit...not a bad gig until autonomous trucks take over! Beats a barista at Starbucks for $20k a year.
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Old 11-27-2019, 10:24 PM
 
13,754 posts, read 13,320,358 times
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Not for me it's not.
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Old 11-28-2019, 12:08 AM
 
Location: Moku Nui, Hawaii
11,050 posts, read 24,028,301 times
Reputation: 10911
If you've got $25K in savings, find some way to make that work. Does someone need a loan to buy a house? Loan out the money and collect interest. For a house loan, that could garner around 6% and set up the paperwork so there's a lien on the house so if they don't pay, you get the house.



Better yet, put that down on a house and then rent it out. Be sure to do the numbers first and make sure you can rent it for more than the mortgage amount. Or buy a fixer upper house and fix and up then either rent or sell it.


Hmm, maybe buy a coin operated candy machine and ask your boss if you can put it at work? Or a soda/water machine.


Since you're driving a truck, can you move things along your route in addition to what you're trucking company carries? Maybe put the coin operated candy machines along the route you drive?
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Old 11-28-2019, 01:51 AM
 
Location: Phoenix
30,366 posts, read 19,156,062 times
Reputation: 26253
Quote:
Originally Posted by supertrucker212 View Post
I'm a 40 year old single parent, with only a high school diploma and my occupation is a truck driver for a local construction company. I'm just burned out from going to a job and working for someone else everyday. I want my money to make money so I can work when I want. Travel when I want, around my son's school schedule of course lol. I have been driving truck for 15 years it's the only skill I really have. I've been reading a lot that freelancing your skills is becoming the new thing to do, but it's a hard to freelance being a truck driver. I just want to change course and earn more $$$ and have more freedom but in my situation is it even possible. I have a 401 with around 25k if it matters. Thanks in advance
Wife and I were in that cycle for a long time and decided we either had to lower expenses which we didn't want to do or figure out how to make more $...we took steps to increase our income as I became a consultant in my field to international clients....it worked and we have retired early and live well.
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Old 11-28-2019, 04:58 AM
 
4,149 posts, read 3,904,601 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hotzcatz View Post
If you've got $25K in savings, find some way to make that work. Does someone need a loan to buy a house? Loan out the money and collect interest. For a house loan, that could garner around 6% and set up the paperwork so there's a lien on the house so if they don't pay, you get the house.

That is a high risk loan.

Better yet, put that down on a house and then rent it out. Be sure to do the numbers first and make sure you can rent it for more than the mortgage amount. Or buy a fixer upper house and fix and up then either rent or sell it.


Hmm, maybe buy a coin operated candy machine and ask your boss if you can put it at work? Or a soda/water machine.


Since you're driving a truck, can you move things along your route in addition to what you're trucking company carries? Maybe put the coin operated candy machines along the route you drive?
I bet his boss would be thrilled to find out he is doing a side business while he is supposed to be working.
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Old 11-28-2019, 07:08 AM
 
26,191 posts, read 21,583,182 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wheelsup View Post
Yeah the wait is quite long, don't you think guys would just go there instead? It takes years to hit the Walmart experience requirements, not sure about Fedex but UPS also had a wait list, I assume it's the same.

They aren't hiring fresh CDL or local guys for 80k...just like anything if it sounds too good to be true...

Being a single parent there is no way this guy can do that job though.

BUT, that being said, a HS grad can get his CDL and after a couple weeks be driving locally. At 21 you can start doing longer haul stuff. A few years later your wages are in the 60's or higher if going to a larger outfit...not a bad gig until autonomous trucks take over! Beats a barista at Starbucks for $20k a year.
Maybe the local market is different here but you can get a team driver job right now with 1 year experience making Houston to Arkansas runs, home Sunday and Monday, newer truck provided starts at 1800 a week per driver for teams with a week paid vacation. That’s over 90k with relatively low experience

There’s also local 60-80k home nightly hook&drop with 1 year experience too
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Old 11-28-2019, 09:06 AM
 
22,165 posts, read 19,217,049 times
Reputation: 18295
the single biggest things for me have been:
move to a low cost of living area.
live well within my means and save aggressively.
get rid of all credit cards except one. pay off in full every month.


i had an acquaintance who had a ton of debt, lousy credit, worked at a low paying job, very little education. She dug herself out of that hole by moving for 2-3 years to a very inexpensive place to live and got out of debt.
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Old 11-28-2019, 10:27 AM
 
Location: San Gabriel Valley
509 posts, read 484,932 times
Reputation: 2088
I was making $19 an hour in 2010 for a company that was poorly managed and unpleasant to work for. I found a "gig economy" job where I could do the same work but set my own prices. I now make $60 to $80 an hour, and am so overworked, I managed only three days off all year (today marks my fourth). I've paid off my debt, upgraded to better living quarters, treated myself to a new truck, and finally have the nest egg I could never seem to start in the old days. If I don't start getting less work soon, I'll just raise my rates again to $100 an hour.

I would assume that a truck driver could find a gig economy job that pays in the similar range mine does (mine is unrelated to driving). The only drawback is having to handle your own taxes and insurance, but with the right job, that is definitely doable. You just need to think outside the box, see what magic the internet has to offer a hard worker, and be willing to put in some long hours at low rates to build up a reputation. My journey to where I am today wasn't easy (I could recite many stories of humiliation from living in abject poverty for first couple of years of my new career), but in the end, it turned out to be one of the smartest moves I ever made.

I know there are driving jobs out there, and I don't mean Uber and Lyft (both of which suck; too much competition). Just start searching.
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Old 11-28-2019, 12:36 PM
 
13,811 posts, read 27,448,042 times
Reputation: 14250
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lowexpectations View Post
Maybe the local market is different here but you can get a team driver job right now with 1 year experience making Houston to Arkansas runs, home Sunday and Monday, newer truck provided starts at 1800 a week per driver for teams with a week paid vacation. That’s over 90k with relatively low experience

There’s also local 60-80k home nightly hook&drop with 1 year experience too
Oil and gas.

But yeah, if I was a truck driver, that is the place to be. Low cost of living with high pay and a shortage. Make hay while you can so to speak.
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Old 11-28-2019, 12:39 PM
 
26,191 posts, read 21,583,182 times
Reputation: 22772
Quote:
Originally Posted by wheelsup View Post
Oil and gas.

But yeah, if I was a truck driver, that is the place to be. Low cost of living with high pay and a shortage. Make hay while you can so to speak.
We also have the port as well so a ton of trucking as to go in and out of there.
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