Life on the Road – Trucking News Blog

I have noticed it is hard to make sure that when you run a house as well as run on the roads that all things work in order. This can get crazy, making sure payments are made for the truck as well as the house. If confusion happens bills can be forgotten, late payments stack up, family members end up having to give up to make sure things work out. This adds to the stress of being on the road and away from the home front.

Here is a small glimpse at my filing system and the way things are cared for with all the paper work involved in trucking. First of all make sure you keep all receipts this is where the driver needs to work with the family members at home. There are too many horror stories of the driver just tossing all papers into a sack and hoping for the best. And where an O/O can make serious mistakes that will bite them around tax time. Have a good filing system on the truck, label the tabs on it according to the months.  Place all receipts and paperwork into that before anything else is done. And when you get home,  the spouse should make sure to take those receipts and papers off the truck on a monthly basis.

I have a file system in which the receipts and the like for the trucking side of things has it’s own place. As well as I have everything listed in order, from the housing papers, to the electric bill. So if you glance into my desk it will be easy for anyone to find the needed paperwork. This will take time, and is something you need to revisit monthly.  As if you don’t it can go from neat and orderly into a paper monster. I have found you do not need to keep the monthly bills like the utility bills after they have been paid. But the paper work needed for taxes should have its own file and the past tax forms need to be kept for at least three years since the return was filed depending on your situation (see the IRS website for details about keeping records). As well as important car papers, housing agreements, medical papers and other important papers.

With all the filing systems I have spoken of there is one important thing that is always needed. And that is my main point in this, communication, none of this will work without it. Money in general is the single most stressful subject in a marriage over all. And with trucking it is even higher I would say. As you are not running one household, but in fact are more like running two. If you have the driver just go out without thinking and get the coolest chrome thing for the truck without talking to spouse. That driver could affect a bill that is still waiting to be cleared from the checking account. Also on the other side of the coin, the spouse shouldn’t let the driver eat nothing but hot dogs to make ends meet. I have seen both happen in other marriages.

Have a plan and talk things over as a couple. Know all the bills, when they are due and what are the payments. We have a spreadsheet we keep on both computers we have. This shows both of us when things are due, what money is coming in and how to pay things without pinching us. And weekly when my husband has time we go over the bills. This is where the communication is most important, as it can get stressful but is so needed. Don’t neglect this issue, as it can bite you in the end. But work together in this as then you will have one less stress which you will have to deal with on the road.