Our Time is Now

[TeamPaul]

We began our journey in 2016 when my wife discovered the Expo in July of that year. Following the Expo, we researched really hard the first year. Nevertheless, we had to much going on in our lives, that going out on the road as expediters just did not happen. Over the next 3-years we graduated our last child from high school, and managed to get both of our kids into college. From 2017 until now, we have researched some more on expediting, but as time passed, we figured the universe was telling us that we would never hit the road. Funny how things change...

In the last year, we have tought our children how to pay our bills, and basically prepared them to be on their own. ...and just this past June, I went through the usual ritual of trying to justify whether or not to keep my CDL... I mean, we do not seem to be focused on Expediting as much anymore. In June, I did decide to go ahead and renew my DOT physical, and self-nominate per the Alabama DMV regulations, thus saving my license for another year. Later in June, my wife handed me a copy of Expedite Now, the small perodical on Expediting that we are still subscribed to, and I asked her; "Is there anything I should be reading?" She said, the Expo is next month, and it's in Indiana this year... To look at that little magazine, you think it was just too full of ads, to be worth a read, but that issue changed our lives.

The rock at the top of the hill has been kicked, and it is picking up steam as it rolls downhill... that is what the last 2-months have been like. Suddenly we knew, this was our time, and before the Expo opened the floor at 11AM on the 19th of July, we fully realized, that Our Time is Now!

 

[TeamPaul]

To begin, with all of the research we have done, the last research to be done was finding a fleet owner. Our main purpose of going to the Expo was to interview fleet owners, and the experience did not disappoint. The fleet owner research did not end there; because we had decided as a team that we wanted to drive for FedEx CC, we had to find more fleet owners who have leased onto FedEx. FedEx actually recommended setting up an account on a website called Trac OTR. I did just that, and also developed a basic resume on Trac OTR, so that fleet owners could easily find us. Boy did they ever! My email and texts blew up with fleet owners wanting to talk to us. I finally had to delete my resume, as we had found a fleet owner, actually two fleet owners, that we really feel we would be comfortable driving for.

For anyone new reading this, we are seeking to drive as a husband and wife team in a straight truck Specifically a refrigerated straight truck. Although we both have class A licenses, we know all to well what tractor life is like, and we decided early on we wanted to work smarter, and not harder... life in a straight truck is a bit easier than life in a tractor trailer.

One of the many hurdles we had to overcome going back to our original Expediter realization in 2016, was that we had to get our finances in order. Although we were not doing so bad, we did seem to live from paycheck to paycheck a little too often. So yeah, we had to re-align our finances so that we had a better handle on them. Even today, we continue to streamline them as we are heading into this journey. Are we debt free, absolutely not, but we have set ourselves up to manage that which we have accumulated.

To be continued...

 

[TeamPaul]

Getting our finances in order has allowed us to begin the final steps for entering the industry; What with going to the Expo alone costing us a little over a $400 (tax deductible) for 3-packed days of information research, we are finding that we are glad we had some cash squirreled away for the upcoming expenses. Even before we made our decision to go expediting, we spent a little over $350 this past May for our passports... we knew these little pieces of document would come in handy for more than just traveling abroad, they would come in handy for any loads we may get that will take us to Canada.

At the end of July we incurred a cost of $86.50 ea for Hazmat finger printing, and a week later, after receiving our acceptance letters in the mail, we took our Hazmat endorsement tests. To add the new endorsements to our licenses it was $25 each for testing, plus $31.25 to convert the license. Since we both renewed our drivers licenses last year, we were pro-rated to 1/2 the cost to renew.

For anyone new and interested in coming into expediting, just know that your costs may be slightly different based on your level of expertise and experience. If you are starting at the ground level, you will have much higher costs as you may need to get your CDL etc. Do your research and prepare as such.

We had a dream, and our dream turned into a plan. After much planning and research, we are setting everything in motion. I know we have done our do-diligence in our research, as everything is just falling into place.

To be continued...

 

[TeamPaul]

Seems we are dreaming up ways to spend money... Beth is having the local county commision come out and look at our driveway to see about extending it so that we can pull the truck in for hometime... hopefully the county will give us a good price for the work. The only reason we need to extend the driveway with a culvert addition, is the county road we live on is only 1.5 lanes wide... so we will need all the width on the driveway we can get for backing in.

 

[sanbomi1]

Hi Guys,

No alternate places to park while on hometime? Hate to see you have to shell out more money, especially initially. Good luck.

 

[TeamPaul]

Hi Guys,

No alternate places to park while on hometime? Hate to see you have to shell out more money, especially initially. Good luck.

There probably are optional parking sites, but non within our control. Since we have the acreage, we felt it best to upgrade what we have for peace of mind... This will definitely help with truck washing, as well as up & downloading items we need on the road etc.

 

[TeamCaffee]

Having the ability to park the truck at your house is a huge stress relief. We always know our truck is safe and sound. It also helps when loading and unloading as well as the other hundred times you run back out to the truck to get something you forgot. Often when I am cooking at home a spice I need is in the truck. It sounds to me like you are getting your ducks in a row and will be starting this journey with everything pointing in your favor to succeed! Great job and research.

Our Truck parked at Bob's shop and when he is done working on it he moves it up the driveway so that it is next to the house so I can load it and be ready to leave.

 

[TeamPaul]

So, we are still waiting for our licenses to show in the mail... two weeks today since we tested out for our endorsements. Beth did get a physical done, since she was due in November anyway. Still much to do before we go to orientation.

 

[Treadmill]

So, we are still waiting for our licenses to show in the mail... two weeks today since we tested out for our endorsements. Beth did get a physical done, since she was due in November anyway. Still much to do before we go to orientation.

I know your are anxious to get your license endorsements but hang in there they will be there before you know it.

 

[TeamPaul]

I know right... wife just called and she said I look "dorky" on the new license Tonight we shoulder up and fill out the application for FedEx CC

Edit: Too early to fill out application, based on our timeline to enter the industry.

 

[TeamPaul]

At 5 and-a-half weeks to orientation, here is where we are at in the process:

As I edited in the above posting, we will not be filling out our application until the 2nd week in September. The reason is, the FedEx app is only good for 30-days, and we are more than 30-days from our expected orientation date. We talk a while with our fleet owners recruiter last night, and the three of us worked out a schedule to help all of us meet our goals.

Until then, we are turning our focus to the marketplace for our health insurance needs... now that can be intimidating. Beth will be calling to get our options, and we will be making decisions this coming holiday weekend (also our 29th wedding anniversary) as to what insurance option will be best for us.

The county has not come out to talk to us about widening our driveway yet; Beth called about it, and they said they are quite busy with pressing road projects, but said we are on the horizon, and an engineer would be out to see us as soon as possible.

To be continued...

 

[TeamPaul]

My notice went in today, and Beth's goes in next week... Did I mention we bought a portable toilet? Yep, it's about to get real!

 

[Treadmill]

My notice went in today, and Beth's goes in next week... Did I mention we bought a portable toilet? Yep, it's about to get real!

Yes it is. Lol.

 

[TeamPaul]

A significant chain of events has unfolded... 1-day after turning in my notice, my company counter offered with a number that boggles the mind. It looks as though our journey will end here. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, I accepted their offer and I will be staying put.

...any need an electric toilet?

 

[Ragman]

A significant chain of events has unfolded... 1-day after turning in my notice, my company counter offered with a number that boggles the mind. It looks as though our journey will end here. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, I accepted their offer and I will be staying put.

...any need an electric toilet?

In other words, you've been under paid all this time.

 

[TeamPaul]

My wife said the same thing; and my mother said that I am now going to get paid almost what I am worth. Either way, it was a %35 bump in pay, to the tune of $19G a year, my largest raise in over 18-years of faithful service.

 

[FlyingVan]

Good for you. I would have done the same thing.

Well, if I would find a decent job locally, even if I was taking a pay cut compared to what I am making now I would hang up the keys.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

 

[RoadTime]

A significant chain of events has unfolded... 1-day after turning in my notice, my company counter offered with a number that boggles the mind. It looks as though our journey will end here. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, I accepted their offer and I will be staying put.

...any need an electric toilet?

Congratulations, you just learned the best way to make money in expediting

 

[Treadmill]

A significant chain of events has unfolded... 1-day after turning in my notice, my company counter offered with a number that boggles the mind. It looks as though our journey will end here. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, I accepted their offer and I will be staying put.

...any need an electric toilet?

My wife said the same thing; and my mother said that I am now going to get paid almost what I am worth. Either way, it was a %35 bump in pay, to the tune of $19G a year, my largest raise in over 18-years of faithful service.

Maybe a blessing in disguise.

 

[TeamPaul]

My wife and I sat down yesterday and talked it out. Yes, we wanted to hit the road and reconnect (empty nesters), and travel. We also wanted to make money while traveling, so we had to talk ourselves down, as we had devoted nearly every waking moment since the Expo to officially get into Expediting. When we were talked out, we gathered everything we had purchased over the last few months, and returned them to the stores... except the toilet of course, as we bought that little gem online ($130 shipped!!). What we talked about, was using this "new money" to get ourselves completely out of debt, and then revisit this topic in a couple years... as the timing was just not right this year.