Confused How I Describe This New Trucking Bliss
When I first started trucking, I didn’t know how to describe my new state of blissful employment. On the one hand, I was still working, and working at a job with some pretty long hours. On the other hand, after leaving a stressful 9 to 5 job, trucking just did not feel like work to me at all. I felt more like I was retired. Suddenly, I found myself resonating with individuals I had once regarded with skepticism—the ones who, when asked about their well-being, would respond with phrases like ‘livin’ the dream’ or ‘when you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.’ But now, immersed in the world of trucking, I wholeheartedly understand the feeling of loving what I do so much that I feel like I am already retired. Since reaching this level of enjoyment with work, I can now see myself doing exactly what I’m doing for the rest of my life so that I don’t need to ‘retire’ in the traditional sense. So can I then tell people I’m retired? But even though I honestly felt this deep in my heart, it still felt a little disingenuous telling people I was retired when I was technically still working.
Discovered Three Ways to Retirement
Then I was so relieved when I discovered a book that beautifully articulated what I was feeling. In his enlightening work, “The Almanack Of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness”, Mr. Ravikant delineates three distinct pathways to retirement. The first way is what we typically think of when we consider people who are independently wealthy. You can reach this type of retirement by (1) having so much money saved that your passive income without lifting a finger covers your living expenses. The second way you can reach retirement is by (2) driving your living expenses down to zero. This is the type of retirement you get by adopting a monk-like lifestyle. These first two ways to retire are all about resources–in the first way having more than you need, and needing less than what you have in the second. However, the third way is not about resources at all, rather, it is focused on intrinsic fulfillment. The third way of reaching retirement is by (3) doing something you love. You enjoy it so much it’s not about the money. It is this third way that is new and special. He says “This new retirement is NOT retirement at 65 years old sitting in a nursing home collecting a check type of retirement, but a different definition of retirement. This new type of retirement is when you stop sacrificing today for an imaginary tomorrow. When today is complete in and of itself, you are retired.”
Trucking Uniquely Empowers Instant Retirement Through Working Joyfully
Now, let’s delve into the unparalleled beauty of trucking and its ability to be a vehicle for you to live your best life. Trucking is so unique and special because it intertwines all three pathways to retirement, making it an unparalleled vehicle for instant retirement by combining a way of working you can love and a way of living that builds wealth fast. This potent blend offered through trucking offers a shortcut, a fast track to retirement, where you can engage in work you love while progressing towards financial independence. Now, let’s explore each leg of this strategy.
Truck Love – Transcending the Confines of Material Wealth
Truck Love is the first and most important of the trucking retirement strategies. This is because Truck Love is a goal in and of itself. When you have truck love you technically don’t need the other two methods at all. You’re so happy, you feel like you could drive like this forever, and the money doesn’t matter anymore. Truck Love happens when you feel like trucking is just play, like taking epic road trips every day. When you have figured out exactly how you like to truck so that it feels good and feels fun. Trucking independently is very helpful for experiencing truck love but not absolutely essential. A company driver, driving with intention and a focus on joyful driving, can definitely reach Truck Love. However, it may require a bit more effort. Ultimately, the goal is to truck independently so that you can truck exactly how you want.
I believe Truck Love is achieved through a physical dimension and a spiritual one. Now let’s explore the physical dimension first.
Truck Love – The Physical Dimension
When trying to achieve Truck Love, one must focus on the many, seemingly small, aspects of trucking that add up to either loving it or feeling like it’s work. These are some of the most universal ones that I think many could relate to and use. These are some of the things that make the job enjoyable for me. Some of them I definitely think you should do or have but some might just be things I like and you can just use them as a guide for discovering your own unique things that create Truck Love for you. I have organized the physical dimension into three parts: material things, trucking technique, and lifestyle things.
How can you love it? By paying attention to the things you like and the things you don’t like. I can give you a really good head start but you’ll need to figure out the specifics for yourself. These are the things that I like that make my experience great. Use some of this as a guide to create your own Truck Love.
Okay, we will start with the easiest, lowest-hanging fruit–the material things. I have four things in my truck that really enhance my trucking experience and I feel so sure these will make your trucking life so much better because every time truckers see me using these they always stop me and ask me about them. You could go out and buy these things right now and drastically improve your trucking experience overnight.
Material things that make trucking enjoyable:
- My folding bike – I have a folding bike that I keep inside my truck that has allowed me to not be tethered to my truck and get out and do many awesome adventures. I have been able to go to sporting events, concerts, check into a hotel down in the city, get groceries, go clubbing, get healthy food, ride to the porta potty, exercise, etc.
- My folding chair and folding table — I don’t like to idle and I like to get out of the truck whenever possible. Nowadays, shippers and receivers often don’t have the nice drivers’ lounges like they used to. But often they will have a small check-in area that usually has AC or heat but doesn’t have a place to sit or a table. In these situations, I like to use my own folding chair and folding table to create a nice seating and working environment. I can be in charge of the vibe I want. If I want to be social I can talk to all the drivers checking in. If I want to work then I just put on headphones (perhaps headphones should be on this list lol). Whenever drivers see me waiting at the shipper or receiver outside the truck relaxing in the shade of a tree in my chair with my little table they always say that’s such a good idea! You look like you are enjoying yourself!
- My purple mattress — this one is a bit expensive but I highly recommend it for getting the best night’s rest while trucking.
Next, are the ways or techniques of trucking which I have found to make the experience most enjoyable for me.
Trucking techniques that make trucking enjoyable:
- What’s your optimal driving speed? I like to drive 55 mph. I find that even though it takes longer to get there, I am not tired like I was when I drove faster so I have the energy to accomplish my other goals of working out and blogging.
- What’s your ideal break time? Hint: it may not be 10 hours. I don’t like to take 10-hour breaks too often. They feel too short and I begin to feel like trucking is a job again. Instead, I like 12-hour breaks. At about the 12-hour mark, I am happy, even itching to drive again.
- Does the idea of being late stress you out? I hate being rushed on loads and driving all day worried about being late. So I always leave enough time to be on time. For example, when delivering in the afternoon I will book my next load for the following day. Or I may wait to book my next load only after I am certain of when I will be completely unloaded.
- Do you get frustrated while waiting? I like to always have something to do while waiting. One of my mantras is ‘Never wait on them’. It means that I always need to find something that I can do productively or something that I want to do so I’m not just waiting for them and getting frustrated. Even if that means they have to wait on me for a few minutes if I need to finish up what I’m doing to go pick up the paperwork. Also, I like to make the most of my downtime. The wait times as a trucker can frustrate you if you let it. I make sure I have many tasks that I am looking forward to doing when I am waiting which causes a reverse psychology to where I trick myself into being excited when I have to wait.
- Stay focused on the journey, not the destination. I go all over the place and rarely do the same day twice. But for you folks that have a routine, you have to be careful of starting to feel like you know how the trip will go or how long it will take. Once you expect it to go a certain way then you open yourself up to possible frustration when it veers off plan.
- What are you currently trying to learn or in which aspect of your life are you trying to grow? I absolutely love the fact that I can learn tons of stuff all day while driving. Technology has made truck driving better than ever. Since becoming a truck driver I have learned creative writing, accounting, how to design a website, blogging, video editing, video production, and many more things.
- Do you like to drive at night or during the day? I prefer day driving because I like the adventure of when the world is alive. I like to see beautiful contours in my day whether that’s cityscapes, landscapes, or womenscapes. However, with less traffic, the night is more meditative and I get better fuel mileage.
- Do you like the West Coast or the East Coast? The West Coast has more adventure and more people to do fun things with but the cities are farther away so the loads are longer and the days are longer, especially when driving 55 mph. The East Coast has shorter loads which is more conducive to doing a hobby after shutting down for the day, but the people are more work-focused and there’s less serendipitous fun.
- What’s the ideal amount of miles you enjoy driving each day, leaving you eager to hit the road again tomorrow? For me, I’ve learned that tackling full-day loads consecutively can dampen my enthusiasm. Instead, I prefer a mix—perhaps a long haul today, followed by a shorter one tomorrow. It’s all about finding that sweet spot of enjoyable daily miles tailored to your preferences. As Greg McKeown wisely said, “Never do more today than you can fully recover from by tomorrow.” And John D. Rockefeller’s insight rings true: “It is remarkable how much we all can do if we avoid hustling, keep along at an even pace, and avoid trying to do too much.”
- How much autonomy do you need? It’s remarkable how much of a difference it makes being able to start the drive when you are ready versus needing to start driving when you’re not. I find that the ability to take the morning off when needed and start the drive in the afternoon makes a huge difference in my happiness levels.
Next, are the general lifestyle things I have found to make the trucking experience most enjoyable for me.
Lifestyle things that make trucking enjoyable:
- I love that trucking is a nice balance of adventure, money, and peace.
- I love lifestyle jobs and get bored with the typical 9 to 5. I think I need them to be truly happy.
- Do you have a favorite weather or do you like to see all the seasons? I like having the ability to follow the good weather.
- Truck stop spa days (mostly Gym Spa days these days) — I love spending half the day in the gym doing all my self-care needs. Often I am juggling working out and writing between sets. Then I like to foam roll, shave, and shower before hitting the road.
- Random music concerts – I love seeing concerts on the road. I like to plan to be in a certain city to see a particular artist as well as see random artists serendipitously in whatever city I happen to be in.
- Finding nice bike trails — I love to ride each city’s best ride or trail.
- Trips to Las Vegas — Las Vegas is a trucker’s dream city. There are many parking places at Casinos and the food is top notch.
- Spurging on a hotel — Since I started trucking I like booking hotels that feel like a mini apartment instead of a regular hotel room. This makes me feel like it’s a home away from home.
- I like being productive. Trucking fulfills my need to be doing something productive at all times. I used to hate waking up on a Saturday with nothing to do. Now I can just wake up and truck. Similarly, I also hated those mornings when I woke up super early and it was too early to go to work. Now I can just wake up and truck. Also, now I feel I am even being productive while having fun when I take a vacation and do fun things all while under a load.
- I have always loved to scavenge and find things. I am very observant and usually find little treasures that other people overlook. Traveling all the time makes this happen even more. I often stop to inspect things I see along the highway.
Once you have thought through all your preferences and done the work to craft your trucking life into one you love to do every day by learning to truck the way most suited to you, then it’s time to enter the spiritual domain and work to eliminate or minimize our frustrations. Here it’s a little harder because we are no longer dealing with things but with people and we can control our environment but we can’t control other drivers.
Truck Love – The Spiritual Dimension
I love truck driving and each and every day I want to have the most awesome day I can possibly have. In order to do that, I work to eliminate or at least minimize the frustrations I experience while on the road. Therefore, when I say I love truck driving, that love extends to other truck drivers and all other drivers on the road. Essentially, I choose to love every driver by cultivating a profound sense of compassion and understanding for every driver I encounter along the way. Would you be happier if you said I love truck driving but these freaking drivers frustrate the hell out of me? Or can you be happier if you say I love truck driving and I love every single thing about it, including all the other drivers out here? I choose to love all the truck drivers and the four-wheelers out there but I am not saying that people always make this easy.
When you are a truck driver and on the road all day every day, inevitably things will occur or there will be instances that happen with other drivers with the potential to frustrate you. I get the horn blown at me all the time for driving too slowly. I get flicked off for not being able to switch lanes in time to let someone merge onto the highway. Other truck drivers flick you off for getting to a parking spot ahead of them. One of the times it is hardest for me to not get frustrated is when the exact same kind act I just extended to someone is reciprocated by rudeness as another driver denies me the courtesy I just extended towards someone else.
But it’s essential to anchor ourselves in a mindset of love and empathy because we can’t let these things detract from the enjoyment of our job and our day. This is our workplace. We can’t let people come into our workplace and ruin our day. We’re not going to give them that power.
So what can we do? In a normal situation, one could confront or communicate with the person. Each person could convey their point of view and, in the best case scenario, each person is understanding of the other and they both leave feeling better because of having felt heard by the other person. But when driving, there is no opportunity to talk to them and ask them why they did something or give them a perfectly reasonable explanation of why we did what we did. And in the absence of further clarification or explanation, perception becomes reality. And who’s in charge of our perception? We are. So do we want to perceive them as being jerks and assholes or do we want to perceive them in a better light, one that would make us feel better and not worse towards them?
Brene Brown offers a great assumption that helps me in these instances. The technique is to assume that the person is doing the best they can. Even though we can never know for certain if they are or not, assuming that they are makes us feel better, improving our day-to-day moments. So I use her wise words and just accept that people are doing the best they can. Further, I know that not everybody is as happy and fortunate as we truckers are to have such a wonderful job as truck driving. And that people are at different places along their evolutionary path, their happiness path, and their fulfillment path. Or they simply could just be having a bad day. With an understanding of that, I can then be compassionate as opposed to disdainful towards them and be in a better frame of mind to meet them where they are in their journey.
Instead of just labeling them as a jerk, when we choose to perceive them as having a bad day or doing the best they can or some other way that you have found that helps you, it makes us feel compassionate rather than angry or hateful about the situation. And even if they do something that leaves little interpretation like flicking you off, just think of this quote by Richard Nixon: “People will hate you but they don’t win unless you hate them back.”
Lastly, every now and then I actually get to put this mental work to physical practice when I catch up with somebody at the truck stop that laid on the horn or flicked me off. I get such a good feeling going out of my way to be kind to that person when they might not even know that I’m the guy they flicked off.
Okay, so now that you are loving trucking and are ready to do it for love instead of money, let’s talk about money anyway. We can love it and feel retired but what if we truly want to retire? Well we can still work towards the conventional wealth retirement in addition to the love your job, Truck Love type of retirement. In other words, I want you to also be saving money so later on you don’t have to truck if you don’t want to.
Now there are two ways of getting there. You can use just strategy 1–Truck Love–alone to save, which will get you there just fine eventually, or you can combine strategies 1 and 2–Truck Love and Truck Minimal–to get you there faster.
Trucking Uniquely Empowers Retirement Saving Through Drastically Reducing Expenses
Truck Minimal – Personal Life Dimension
To Truck Minimal in the domain of your personal life is when you go all in on the trucking lifestyle to cut back on all the expensive trappings of a typical stationary life. It is achieved when you use trucking to reduce your living expenses to a very low amount. The nature of trucking allows you to do this when you make the truck your home, especially if you can crash with relatives or friends when you are off duty and not in the truck. By eliminating rent, which is often the largest expense for many individuals, and shedding additional costs like car payments, Trucking Minimal offers a path to financial freedom. When I bought my truck, I traded in my car to Carmax to help buy it. I have not had a car payment since then. Plus, having a car while trucking can be a pain because it sits for so long anyway between drives. You can come back to it and the battery is dead each time, the car cover has blown off, the gas is getting old, and you can’t move it to the other side of the street for street cleaning days.
Essentially, think through all of the expenses you don’t need now that you are in the truck most of the time and get rid of them. I only have four recurring monthly expenses:
- Food – $800 – $2000
- phone bill – $56
- Planet Fitness – $25 (you need the black card to visit all the gyms)
- Esporta/LA Fitness – $450 for 3 years ($12.50/mo.)
Truck Minimal – Business Dimension
To Truck Minimal in the domain of your business is when you operate your business with the intent to keep costs as low as possible by avoiding as many unnecessary expenses as possible. Here are some of the decisions I’ve made and how I operate minimally.
Choice of truck – I drive an International because it’s the most cost-effective option. My strategy involves purchasing a new truck every four years to minimize maintenance and stress. I find that the International gets the job done for $25,000 less than the next cheapest (Freightliner). This saves me $6250/yr. or $520/mo. over the 4-year period.
Choice of trailer – I chose a dry van because it has the least amount of babysitting. You don’t have to worry about maintaining a temperature like with the refrigerator unit or never being able to let it out of sight like with hazardous materials or worried about someone having access to your load like with a flatbed. A dry van requires minimal maintenance, except for unusual circumstances like one driver who told me a story of parking his truck to go skiing despite carrying a load of coins from the U.S. Mint inside. Unbeknownst to him, the Secret Service, trailing him, intervened and instructed him to return to his truck.
Choice of load source – I select my loads from the spot market instead of establishing direct contracts with shippers. This may go against the conventional wisdom of the trucking industry because to make the most money in trucking you would establish contracts and not run off the spot market. But contracts require obligation and for me, obligation is the enemy of Trucking Minimal. As much as I love trucking and enjoy what I do every day, there is bound to come a time when I just wake up and I’m like ‘I just want to take a break today’. I love the idea of being able to park my truck at any time and take as much time off as I want or need. For me, not being obligated to deliver those contracted loads keeps the job feeling fun and not like a chore.
Expense Management: I minimize expenses by avoiding these unnecessary services:
- I don’t pay for an ELD subscription
- I don’t pay for dispatching
- I don’t pay someone to do my taxes
- I don’t pay for invoice factoring
- I don’t pay interest
As a final point, it’s very hard to be minimal at everything. I can do my own taxes but I don’t work on my truck. So I have to pay to get work done on the truck. But I am always working to Truck Minimal more. Trucking is great in that it allows me to learn all day long while driving so I can learn how to do the things I don’t know how to do pretty quickly and easily. Plus it makes driving more fun and fulfilling when you have little projects that you’re learning about and working towards.
In summary, yes, I sacrifice some revenue by my way of Trucking Minimal by using the load boards but I promise that you can still save an awful lot by trucking this way. So in this next section, let’s see just how much you can save.
Truck Wealthy to Save for a Traditional Retirement
Truck Wealthy is similar to the conventional way of thinking about retirement. With this strategy, you save enough money so as not to have to truck if you don’t want to. This one is simple, just calculate how much money you would need to not have to work anymore and use my numbers to estimate how long it would take you to get there.
I’ve done the groundwork and documented everything, so you won’t have to learn the hard way like I did. Now, let’s talk numbers. How much can you save by trucking this way?
As a company driver, making 42-46 cents per mile, I took home about $750 per week or $3000 per month, driving between 10,000 and 10,750 miles monthly. Transitioning to an owner-operator, my earnings varied. In my toughest six months, primarily due to repairs on an older truck, I took home about $13,500 or $2250/mo. However, in my best six months, I saved around $89,000, averaging about $14,833 per month. It’s astounding to realize that in trucking, I could earn in one month what previously took me six months. But fear not, I’ve learned the lessons so you can operate with optimal performance consistently. This gives you an insight into potential savings if you embrace the Truck Minimal approach.
| Company Driver Oct 2018 – Mar-2020 | Owner Operator (Worst Performance Jan-Jun 2023) | Owner Operator (Best Performance Jul-Dec 2021) | Owner Operator (Most Recent Performance Nov 2023 – Apr 2024) | |
| Avg. Miles/month | 10,500 | 9,100 | 9,500 | 10,192 |
| Net Rate/mile | 42-46 cents | $0.21 | $1.56 | .94 |
| Monthly Take Home | $3000 | $2250 | $14,820 | $9602 |
| Total in 6 months | $18,000 | $13,500 | $89,000 | $57611 |
Additionally, there are unexpected savings while trucking. I’ve cut down on alcohol consumption significantly because, with Truck Love, there’s less desire or need to drink. I’ve also found myself spending less on experiences. My job now provides a fulfilling experience, reducing the need to spend on external entertainment. Instead of saving for big experiences, I now live a constant fulfilling life, spending less on recreation and possessions. Essentially, I’m getting paid for what used to be my most expensive hobby, allowing me to save substantially on travel and other expenses.
Note: Keep in mind when you look at these totals that they do not include the cost to repurchase new equipment–a new truck every 4 years and new trailer every 10 years–which I estimate to be about $4000/mo.
Choose Truck Love to Joyfully Work Towards Truck Wealth, or Choose Truck Love and Truck Minimal to Reach Truck Wealth Faster
So, the decision is in your hands. Choose Truck Love, and you’ll have a job that fulfills you, trucking around the country in a way that brings you joy, something you could see yourself doing indefinitely without the need to retire.
Alternatively, opt for Truck Love and Truck Minimal to accelerate your wealth accumulation. This route allows you to save a significant amount of money quickly, giving you the freedom to step away from trucking if you so desire. However, you can still maintain a fulfilling job trucking around the country in a way that aligns with your preferences, something you could do forever without feeling the need to retire.
TIRE Is the New FIRE
So, what do we call this approach to trucking that seamlessly integrates all three retirement methods: the freedom to truck in a way you love, reduced expenses to accelerate wealth accumulation, and immediate retirement through enjoyable work? Taking inspiration from a movement commonly found among white-collar professionals, we have a fitting name.
That movement, known as the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement has long championed a work approach aimed at hastening freedom. FIRE is a lifestyle and financial planning movement that encourages people to work hard while saving early and aggressively so they can retire early and live the life they want. For those in the FIRE movement, desiring freedom and working towards it is commendable however, these individuals are still sacrificing today for an imaginary tomorrow.
Trucking offers a better way. Enter the TIRE (Truck Independently Retire Early) movement. TIRE is a lifestyle movement facilitated by truck driving that allows for an immediate retirement through work that is enjoyable while also aggressively cutting expenses and saving. TIRE shifts the emphasis from saving for future freedom to being fulfilled in the present.
When you truck the TIRE way, you have the independence to truck precisely the way that works for you. Technically, you don’t have to be an independent owner-operator and can truck the TIRE way as a company driver. But there are a lot of bad trucking companies out there so you are not always in control of whether your experience is good or not. So becoming independent is a way to ensure you are in control of your trucking experience.
The White Glove Trucking TIRE Movement 5% Lease/Coaching Program
The White Glove Trucking TIRE Movement Program is designed to empower truckers to embrace the TIRE (Truck Independently Retire Early) way of trucking. Through this blog and accompanying YouTube channel, my goal is to educate and inspire as many drivers as possible to experience the joy and fulfillment of trucking on their own terms.
In addition to providing valuable insights and guidance through my blog and YouTube channel, I am also offering a lease program tailored to assist drivers in obtaining their authority. This program, which offers drivers an ultra-low cost lease option (5% to 7.5%) and coaching, aims to provide you with the independence you need to embrace the TIRE lifestyle and enjoy the benefits of trucking on your own terms. With the White Glove Trucking TIRE Movement Program, drivers can take control of their trucking journey and pave the way for a fulfilling and prosperous career on the road.