I think it is kinda to late to contact Celadon now, he is already at orientation with JB for one and if he was to come home, then it pushes back the time for him to get a paycheck and we cant afford that anymore. My checks just arent enough anymore, especially since i am paying a babysitter now. I know it doesnt matter what you guys think, if i cared about what you thought of me, i probably wouldnt be on here. I guess what i need more is a females opinion on what to do, becuase there is only so long that i can handle giving stuff up so he can do what he wants and being lied to, that is one of my biggest petpeeves, i just cant handle a lier and with big companies, thats all you have. I appreciate the response on here and i know i am mostly btching but this is my only way of getting it out at not do it toward my husband.

 

Celadon

 

Go to their website; it has the addresses of all the Operating Centers.

Schneider National Transportation Jobs | Truck Driving Jobs | Schneider’s Locations

 

Well he made it through orientation and is heading to St.Loius to get his truck after he shuttles some trucks in Chicago for them in the morning. So far i guess we cant complain a lot since he is getting paid more then we were told and home time is better than we were told too. We found out the reason for why the local job hasnt open up here in central IL and that it wont be opening until later this month. So i guess he was right at going OTR and not waiting any longer on the local to open...just nobody tell him i said that I still do think that if he would have went with Celadon that maybe we would have been better with the OTR but our chances of him getting into the local was alot slimmer.

One question I have for anyone is does anybody have any suggestions on how to keep his cost on the road down? Last year when he worked for them his average check was about $600 bring home but about half of it he was keeping for himself while out on the road. With having three kids and most of my paycheck going to daycare, we cant afford that this time. Thanks everybody for the response.

 

Mrs. T.................sorry I've been away a few days.

I run local in Indy and would be more than happy to help with any info/contacts that I have in the area to help you folks. Do I understand correctly that Tom is ultimately wanting local work in the Central Indiana area?

PM me. I'm not sure of hubbies qualifications/endorsements/requirements etc,etc. Does Tom have Tanker and Hazmat? PM me.

Gary

 

Yes tom is looking to run local in Indy and looking for it asap because we will not be moving until he gets that local and we are hoping for it to be before the next school year starts. I appreciate any information that you may have to help us out. Lets hope someone has something here real soon because i am about to go nuts here at home with these kids.

 

Hey Mrs. T - I am (within 20 days) going to be a single mother of 4, working full-time and paying $960 a month for daycare on the youngest one. It is tough. The best suggestion I can offer to cut back on food expenses is: no drinking - alcohol is expensive, if he has a fridge/access to a microwave - when you cook, cook "ahead" and freeze single serving size portions that he can take and heat up - that will help you with expenses at home and save you time too, buy his drinks (cokes or whatever) and snacks in bulk at a wholesale club and divide them up in baggies so he can have snacks and there will still be some left at the house, do free activities (museums, parks, etc...) instead renting movies or going out to get a coke...trust me, every penny saved really is a penny earned. I know that kids need things (mine always think they need one more really expensive this or that) - garage sale all your old/unused things and then trips to GoodWill (I know that sound gross but I do this because there really are some nice things to be found there) will supplement wardrobes okay, nothing spectacular but it's not all about "things". It has been a long road for me with the 4 kids and I will be looking for even more ways to cut expenses. If you learn anything great, please do let me know!!

I'm sorry things have worked out a little differently than you've liked for them to. Life sucks sometimes, but everything is as it should be. Remember that. It also helps to be grateful for the things you do have. It's not always easy because it''s much easier to focus on what you don't have and what you want...but if you take some time every day to think of what you have, it will slowly but surely bring you closer to being satisfied with life. You can always find someone that has it a lot worse. I wish your husband the best of luck with JB Hunt.

 

I appreciate everything you had to say and yes i know life does suck...I am very grateful for what I have, especially my husband. I became a mother when i was 16 and he has been there from day one. I love all my kids and am very grateful that we have a place to live and everything else. When it comes to the money at home, belive me I save as much as I can and I dont go and do a lot with the kids mostly because two of them are still to young to understand what they are doing anyway. We just enjoy life at home, we find things to do all the time around here and there is a park right down the road that we go to and there are times we just go for walks and that makes them happy. When it comes to cutting cost for my husband that is another story, I buy his stacks, drinks and different things for him while he is home. We dont have a fridge or even at that a invertor for the fridge and with it being summer, ice doesnt last that long now so that get pretty expense too. I dont know if there is anything else I can do to cut down his cost without having anything in the truck but I sure would like to try. I wish you luck with raising four kids, I dont know what i would do if i had another one.

 

I know exactly what you are going through, and thats the reason I came off the road ofter a year with Schneider. My being away was much harder on my wife and kids than it wa on me, and I did not realize it at first. As far as saving money on the road there are a few things you can do tht will cut cost dramatically, unfortunately, there are some up front costs. I got a lunch box oven and an electric cooler, all my lunch meats went in the cooler alond with the few perisibles I took with me. I would do my shopping at the Dollar store or a grocery outlet and stock on canned foods, ready to heat and eat meals, lots of top ramen, and any that looked good and was cheap. You can put some water in the lunchbox oven along with meat, chicken or anything you would bake at home, and basically let it slowly cook all daylong. Then at the end of shift I had a hot meal, and be ready to hit the sack. I drove teams so it was a little easier because one could prepare the food while the other was driving, but it can be done solo as well. There is a website out there somewhere, that is dedicated to eating on the road and it is specifically for truckers. I think if you do a search here, for "Eating on the road" you may be able to find it. I'm sure it was here that i heard about it, lots of good tips. Buy and drink lots of water, or buy your soft drinks at home in bulk, those add up on the road fast. Pack enough clothes for your entire time out so you do not have to do laundry, it can be expensive. Have your hubby get all the reward cards he can from the Truckstops, that is how we were able to shower for free. At one time Schneider let the drivers keep all their points earned for fuel, we go lots of good stuff for free that way, those points add up quick when fueling a big truck. If he does decide to eat out on the road, he can save by using the reward cards as well. The moral is buy what you need as much as you can at home and take it with you, you can save a bundle while on the road if you do.
If you do decide to buy the lunchbox and cooler, try t get them at places other than truckstops, they are usually cheaper, unless the T/S is having a sale and sometimes it is about the same or less than at Walmart or wherever. Use the free wifi that some T/S provide, AirCards are expensive, and he can send pics and emails using the WiFi. I called my family at least everyday, it helped with being away, I did splurge once an got a WebCam, and I could use aVideoPhone that way they could see me and I could see them, if the wifi connection is good it is great, if it is slow its a pain, but it was the best way to se my family while I was away, my kids loved it, they got to see Dad at least 2-3 times a week, it made it a little painful to be away.

Good Luck I really hope things work out for you and your family, God Bless.

 

I wish it was that easy to get him off the road but he has been doing this for several years now and he just doesnt want to give it up and I understand that. I went out on the road with him a few times, course we only had one child at the time, but I loved it then and if we didnt have kids I would be with him right now. I am going to have to look into the plug in coolers and that right there would save us a lot in the long run but then again I dont want to go and buy a lot since he is looking into getting into a local position bc then by the time we can finally afford the money for one then he wouldnt be in the truck. I guess the best thing to do is just hope that he eats cheap most of the time and limits how much he is eating in the restuarants. When i was on the road with him we had a fridge and microwave and it saved us a lot but then he sold them after our daughter was born bc he figured he was done on the road. but lets just hope he can get into local here soon and that I dont go crazy with these kids before that.