Originally Posted by drzebra

I'm leasing from Prime and I hear the occasional sob story from a fellow driver who's going broke. There are some common themes.

The biggest thing that I've noticed time and time and time again is that drivers who are failing (be it lease operators or true owner/operators) is that they have no clue what their costs are. If you don't have a clue as to what your business is costing you, you are in no position to control those costs.

Another theme is that these drivers don't manage their time well and force themselves into situations where they have to hammer down to make pickups and deliveries at the last minute. This is just pissing money down the drain.

Yet another is that they talk a good game about how they USED to make money hand over fist, but suddenly the gravy train dried up and they're starving. Mysteriously enough, this invariably is right around January. They pull down a lot of money when times are good but don't save a penny to make it through the tough times.

You've got to plan for these things. If you have a good savings plan and stick with it, your mind won't be worrying about how you're going to pay the bills and the income will take care of itself. Truck driving is a lot easier when you can focus on the driving and not your financial woes.