Is Your Money Watching You Neglect It?
Money can be a pointy topic to discuss, especially while waiting at the truck stop for the next shower to become available. However, it must be discussed for what it is, a utility.
The Cold Hard Truth about Cold Hard Cash
Most people and even most small businesses don't fully comprehend the simple utility that money possesses. Just as with any industry, a large amount of truckers get wrapped up in the status of money and neglect the bigger picture. Although the idea of using rate-per-mile in a conversation seems appealing, I would suggest refraining from such discussions. Instead, I would suggest treating the topic of money with care.
Let us take a slight detour and assess the level of money a person desire at different intervals of life.
First Job to Business Owner
The objective of a first time job seeker is to obtain a job to acquire the experience. The thought of pay is so far removed from the equation, because the main objective for the job seeker is just to acquire the job.
At 16 years of age the goal is to obtain a job which is generally federal minimum wage at $7.25/hour.
Once this said person become an adult, the expectation of obtaining a higher wages then is rationalized to meet the obligations of adulthood.
At 21 years of age the goal then becomes $7.25/ every 30 minutes ($14.50/hour)
Many life challenges come up between the age of 18 and 25, so once a person reach 25 years of age the expectation of income is thus increase.
At 25 years of age the goal becomes 7.25/ every 15 minutes ($29.00/hour)
Then around 30 years of age, a realization happens. You simply can not work beyond what your physical limitations. The idea of increasing the number of work hours at this point becomes null. There are only 24 hours in a day, and at least 6 hours must be used for sleep. This is what I would classify as a "Hard Stop," the end of a growth cycle using current methods and/or models.
In order to assess higher levels of income you must change your formula. No longer does time=money at a 9-5 job. The idea must be divorced.
Most are allured to trucking as an opportunity to increase their income, however trucking becomes another rat race of cents per mile vs number of miles driven per week. Many years are normally wasted jumping from trucking job to trucking job all in search for the all mighty CPM/ RPM. Even this too becomes a time=money equation.
The ideal trucker then turn to becoming a company leased owner operator to increase his income to 7.25/ every 7.5 minutes ( $58/hour). What generally happen at this point is your gross matches your expectation, yet your bills outweighs your wage increase.
Frustration generally sets in because what is "earned" is not what is taken home to the family. You're at a Hard Stop.
The frustrated trucker at this point decides to divorce the truck from the company and purchase a truck from an outside sales company and work at an only owner operator tucking company.
The wage is thus increases to $7.25/ every 3 minutes and 45 seconds ($116/Hr). Although you may make substantially more money than where you first started, if not conducted well your increase in lifestyle will outweigh your increase in savings.
Focus on the amount of income that is needed to maintain day to day functioning, the breakeven amount. Then from that point focus on how much you would need beyond your breakeven amount to maintain the life style you desire. Taking this one step further, and consider how much more you would need to secure a large nest-egg of cash needed to maintain that lifestyle for the next 25 years.
In order to enjoy your next 25 years, you realize that the cost of inflation will decrease the buying power of your savings account. You're at another Hard Stop.
You acquire so much knowledge that you take the leap as you've once done before and finally divorce the time=money equation all together.
Congratulations you're one of the few who now have a stream of income independent of the hours you work.
Conclusively, money must be treated and watched with care in order for it to grow. Because let's face it, if your savings account isn't growing, you're just spinning your wheels literally and figuratively.