Dollars & Sense

Trim Those Expenses

Avoid cash advances

The driver who relies on those is mismanaging his money so he’s always behind. He takes an advance this week and pays it back the next week, and then he gets into a trap he can’t get out of.

Getting advances from your company requires bookkeeping, since you need to keep track of how much is taken out of your settlement in order to verify your pay. Using fleet card advances and/or ATMs can become expensive. Usage fees add up over the year. Leaving the house with enough money to cover expenses for your typical road time will save you fees and helps keep bookkeeping to a minimum.

Expedited owner-operator Linda Caffee says, "We get fuel incentive cards from all our favorite fuel stops and use Quicken to keep track of every cent spent so we can deduct everything at the end of the year."

"We also keep a fuel milage book and every fill up is entered and calculated for MPG so we know when it is time to get the over head done on the truck."

Watch your speed

You'll use 5% to 8% more fuel for every 5-mph increase in road speed. In other words, if you slow your cruising speed from 75 to 65 mph, you could save 10% to 16% in fuel.

You should always take the speed limit as your target speed. Now, most drivers don't like running at 55 mph, but let's look at this tractor-trailer scenario. If your big truck averages 6 mpg at 65 and 7 mpg at 55, driving that 10 mph faster over a 120,000-mile distance will cost you more than $5,000 at today's fuel prices.

Taxation

The tax laws are incredibly complex and your tax professional can be your best friend in negotiating the web of deductible expenses to which you're entitled. There may be a number of deductions that will keep your money in your pocket, not the IRS's.

Areas of taxation to discuss with your tax preparer/accountant
Use of per diem Tax advantages of a retirement account Depreciation The necessity of keeping good expense records Tracking personal vehicle miles Creating a home office Hiring your children Charitable contributions

Reduce Engine Idling

With the ever-escalating price of fuel along with the anti-idling legislation across the nation, it's become difficult to justify idling the truck's engine unless it's absolutely necessary for heat or air conditioning.

In a perfect world, every truck would be APU- or diesel-fired heater equipped, but you can still save fuel simply by changing a few habits. If you could cut your idling time from 50% of all engine hours to 10%, you'll save about 7% in mpg.

Van expediter Terry O'Connell says, "An Auxiliary Power Unit is a major cost cutter and a heater like the Espar unit installed in a van saves fuel and maintenance costs."

O"Connell also has a cost-cutting idea most of us haven't considered: "A GPS unit saves time and fuel you'd otherwise spend hunting for an address."

Linda Caffee's husband Bob says, "Monitor the air pressure in your tires, that has a real impact on your MPG. We switched to single wide-based tires a while back and we're getting better mileage now."

He also suggests using Air Tabs for enhanced aerodynamics, use of an oil bypass filter for extended drains and using Centramatic Balancers for extended tire life.

At the Truck Stop

Stay away from the video games in the truck stop, those quarters add up fast. Says fleet owner Dave Corfman, "Stay out of the casinos (unless you're winning) and stay off the video/pinball and gaming machines in the truck stop."

Prepare your own meals. The easiest area in which to make big cuts in daily spending is food. Many drivers stock up on supplies at the grocery or big-box store and eat in their trucks rather than in the truck stop restaurants. And, there are other reasons to avoid the restaurants with their generic menu choices - cleanliness and healthy food - both of which are more easily controlled in the truck.
Pack leftovers, snacks, fruit, cereals and sandwich fixings. These are great for in-truck refrigerators or coolers.
Don't shop in the truck stop C-store for anything other than "emergency" items. Pick up supplies like cleaners, paper towels, pens, batteries, etc. at the big-box stores.

Pack enough clean clothes to last at least 1-2 weeks. Driver/fleet owner Leo Bricker tells us, "I never leave the house without three dozen pair of underwear and socks to avoid having to pay those laundromat fees away from home."
As Bricker says, those laundromats are expensive. But, if you must use those facilities, Linda Caffee tells us, "If you go to the Flying J, they have the cheapest washers.
Keep track of what you spend on laundry enter it as a cash expense in your Quicken and it's a deductible expense!"

A good TV and a DVD player, along with a collection of movies can save on entertainment expenses and make a long layover a little more bearable. If you like to read, try used books or books on tape.

Miscellaneous cost-cutters

Linda Caffee: "We have three phones - Sprint, Verizon and AT&T. We lowered our phone bill considerably. Most calls are to friends and so they are free. We have the lowest minutes on each phone and very seldom go over that limit."

She adds, "There are two ways of looking at all of our belly boxes. We can haul more stuff and that IS extra weight. But, when something goes wrong on the truck, Bob can usually fix it or patch it till we can get to a better area.

Dave Corfman: Get an Air/WIFI card. It is amazing how many folks have no internet access while on the road.
Cut or eliminate massive chrome purchases.
Stop using comdata and atm cards

Using these ideas as a guide will probably give you cost-cutting ideas of your own and help you improve your bottom line. Good luck!