Trucking is a job where you get to visit new places everyday and meet new people. Most of the truck stops nowadays offer some kind of services which are hard to resist. From shiny casinos to restaurants, everything looks so attractive after a long working day. You feel an urge to spend those hard-earned bucks. There is always a disadvantage for truckers as their job does not involve sitting in a cubicle but to visit new places everyday with a lot of temptations.
Moreover, there are these money making machines which can easily convince you to shell out your money. But it’s totally your call. It is you who would decide if you want to spend your hard earned money wisely or not. Healthy money habits are not tough to adopt. You just need to make some good choices and that’s it.
Here we are listing some quick tips on how you can use your money judiciously instead of wasting it on unnecessary things.
Set a budget
As soon as the months starts, just make a budget on how much you want to spend this month. List out all the expenses first which are necessary and can’t be ignored. After that also make an account of some spare money you may need sometime. This way you would be able to spend money judiciously. Once you are closer to end of the budget, you will start making choices to avoid running out of money. This activity would help you to save a lot of money. If you don’t keep a track of your expenses, you tend to waste money on unnecessary things which you will regret later. Visualizing your expenses in advance would give you a reality check as to how much you can spend in a month.
Use all the rewards and deals
Most of the companies nowadays offer coupons which can be redeemed at the truck stops. One should always make use of them to save money. Many a times you will get free coupons on purchase of fuel. This is the thing which you are going to do anyway, so getting a coupon is a bonus. You may get a free shower or free laundry services. Just collect these coupons and redeem them the next time whenever you use a service. Although it may look like a small amount for one time, but if you start using them frequently then you can save a huge monthly amount. Moreover, there are many truck stops which offer great deals. So try to stop only at those ones in order to take advantage of them.
Economic eating
People nowadays have a misconception with the term economic eating. They think that eating fast food at McDonalds or Subway is a cheaper option instead of eating at other restaurants. But the fact is if you add up the expenses of your fast food, you will discover that a huge part of your earnings is going into these readily available food. It is always cheaper to cook your own food. It would be better if you purchase your own groceries and cook yourself. Not only it would be a healthier option but would also save you money. What you can do is invest in some cooking equipments. This may look like a big expense in the beginning, but when you would start preparing your own meal this cost would get covered up in no time. So next time whenever you see a fast food joint, try to give up that temptation and cook yourself a delicious meal. Moreover, if you are out of time then you can always get those ready to eat packets which take less than 5 minutes to get cooked.
Look for free WiFi signals
There are many places nowadays which offer free WiFi. One should always take advantage of that. You should make a list of these kinds of places and always take a break there by grabbing some food or coffee. This way not only you would be able to reduce your internet bills, but can also download movies for further entertainment. Moreover, you can also save your data for further emergencies. Solely relying on your 3G connection would only increase your internet bills.
Spend less on accommodation
When you are travelling through a highway, you get a lot of truck stops on your way. So instead of choosing any one randomly, make a search for the cheap ones online. Nowadays, most of the truck stops have got genuine reviews online. Just have a look at them to get an idea about the prices. The rent for one night accommodation may vary from one stop to another and you can save a huge amount by going for the cheap one. Also look out for their service reviews, because the cheap ones may sometimes offer bad services.
Plan your route
It is always a good option to plan your route in advance. This can be done easily on your mobile through GPS. Online maps would show you the shortest route to your destination. This way you would not have to drive extra miles and can eventually save some fuel. Planning your route would also save you some time.
Avoid cash advances
Although the cash advances are very tempting, they may hurt your pocket in the long run. Cash advances are very easy to get on nominal fees. This means you can take some money out in advance from your future paycheck. This may reduce the current financial burden, but would also reduce your next month paycheck. Gradually, you will not realize that you yourself are making a hole in your pocket by paying that additional fee. This fee may look nominal in the beginning, but would eventually turn into a huge amount.
Saving some bucks while driving is in your hands only. The above mentioned tips are not that tough to follow and can help you in the long run. It’s just about making some judicious choices and you will never run out of money at the end of the month.