Month: April 2018

As a truck driver, being away from home doesn’t exactly make it easy to manage your money very well, or at all. Luckily, advances in technology in recent years have made organizing and managing your money fairly easily. Oftentimes, it can even be done right from your phone, provided you have a working smartphone or some sort of mobile device. There are dozens of resources available that can assist you with keeping your money safe and secure. There’s no better time than now to get serious about your personal finances. Here are 5 Apps to help you accomplish your money management.

Mobile Banking

The easiest thing you can do to get started is to find a bank that offers mobile banking, which shouldn’t be complicated. With most banks offering this convenient service, you can pay bills, deposit checks, and more, all from the convenience of your smartphone or mobile device. Simply download the bank’s app from the App Store or Google Play Store, and create a mobile account.

Mint

Keeping track of your finances doesn’t have to be a headache. With apps like Mint, you can link several accounts, such as bank accounts and investment accounts. Mint provides financial summaries and updates about your financial snapshot on a regular basis. You can keep track of what bills to pay, how much you’ve saved, how much you’ve spent, and more.

LearnVest

By offering online tools to help you set up a monthly budget, LearnVest helps to keep your spending low when expenses are high. When you’re on the road most days of the week, expenses can add up pretty quickly. Setting up a monthly budget can help you track expenses and see where your money is going.

Acorns

Saving money just got a whole lot easier. Trying to remember to take out that extra $50 or so from each paycheck to put aside for a rainy day can be quite a hassle. With apps like Acorns, you can set up automatic withdrawals to a linked investment account. Instead of having to remember every paycheck, you can set it up once and forget it. All from the comfort of your truck.

The Penny Hoarder

Setting financial goals is essential to buying that boat you always wanted or fixing the furnace back home. It doesn’t have to be difficult with the help of blogs like The Penny Hoarder. The financial blog recommends setting goals and gives a step-by-step guide on how to do such. This blog also helps with other areas of personal finance, such as building an emergency fund, paying down debt, and planning for retirement.

 

At United Truck Driving School, we’re more than just a truck driving school. We want to make sure our students go on to have a successful career as a truck driver. If you’re looking to earn your CDL, we would love to talk with you and discuss your options.

Updated Sept. 2022

Whether you are just considering your options or already have a CDL and wish to further your career, you need to know how to obtain extra CDL endorsements. Even if you never use them, having an endorsement can give you options for better jobs and pay.

The ELDT mandate has changed how you can get your CDL endorsements. Any driver wishing to get their endorsements has to complete entry-level driver training to take the Passenger, School bus, and hazardous materials tests.

Let’s start by looking at some of the most common endorsements and how they are obtained.

Common Trucking Endorsements:

• (T) Double & Triple Trailer – allows for pulling multiple trailers – additional written knowledge test only
• (P) Passenger – allows for multiple passengers (specific # varies by state) – written knowledge and road skills test
• (N) Tanker Vehicle – allows for transporting liquids – additional training and written knowledge test only
• (H) Hazardous Materials – allows for transporting hazardous materials – fingerprinting, background check, additional training, and knowledge test only
• (X) Combination Tanker and Hazardous Materials – fingerprinting, background check, and knowledge test only
• (S) School Bus – written knowledge and road skills test, a separate application, fees, and background checks

 

Professional drivers with the right skills are always in high demand. Projections show an increase of 6% in the number of trucking jobs by 2030, with a mean average of $77,000/year compensation for basic drivers. Adding extra CDL endorsements will make you more valuable in the marketplace. Face it, when you are seeking employment, you are in marketing mode and your job is to sell your skills.

Your future ability to increase your pay and qualify for better jobs is dependent on your training. Nobody can take away what you have stored in your brain. Educational investments are your greatest investments, with most drivers seeing their return on investment within 2-6 months.

At United, we offer our Class A + Passenger CDL Training. This course will prepare students to earn the following endorsements: Airbrakes, Doubles, Triples, Tanker, Hazmat, and Passenger. After graduation, students can operate any legal combination of vehicles or buses, including Class B and Class C vehicles. If you are interested in obtaining CDL endorsements, contact us today!