cycleobsidian

Couldn't you get a loan for the training? It sounds like if you get a better job with that training, you would be able to pay back the loan in short order.

Just a thought.

I-Like-To-Bike

What great tax deduction for owning a car or for going in to debt to purchase a car?

wahoonc

And the mortgage deduction...

Aaron

I-Like-To-Bike

Mortgage deduction for car ownership? Huh?

Roody

There have been a number of tax credits for electric vehicles, and there was of course the Cash for Clunkers program of tax credits for new car buyers.

I'm not aware of any credits or deductions currently in effect on federal taxes. I'm also not aware that there was ever a deduction for auto loan interest payments similar to the deduction for interest n home mortgages.

Artkansas 

Well, if you have to live in your car and you're making payments on it, why shouldn't you get a tax deduction? It only makes sense.

I-Like-To-Bike

Interest payments for car loans USED to be an allowable deduction on the 1040 Schedule A. As was the sales tax. Emphasis is on the past tense, hasn't been the case for a decade or so. But why should inconvenient facts get in the way of the previous LCF ranter (post #25) on an anti motorist roll?

Antaresia

I live in Canada, we didn't get hit as hard; my spending habits went unaffected.

I read once the seceret to being rich isn't making more money, it's maximizing the difference between what you make and what you spend.

This is an interesting article I came across the other day. I recently moved into a place that had a slightly higher rent, and I've been thinking about how I used to live 10 years ago, when I was broke.

https://www.raptitude.com/2010/07/you...been-designed/

cycleobsidian

Loved the article. I can so relate. Along with rising income has come carefree spending that I could do without. Food for thought, for sure.

gerv 

Yeah... I also looked at some of his other posts. Pretty impressive bunch of work.

Dahon.Steve

I have no doubt we will see the 4, 5 or 6 percent growth again. Once we change political parties and leadership in 2012, we'll see massive deregulation again for Wall Street, bankers and corporate America. Then you'll see the money flowing back into market creating worthless stocks and paper. It was dot.com stock in the 90's and real estate in the 2010. Just make sure you stay out of the market when this happens or you'll lose 20-30% of your portfolio after the crash.

TealLA

I think you are talking about the $5 per month if you use your debit card, correct? They only charge you IF you use your debit for purchases and it looks like all major banks will start this or something like it in the near future. Just use your ATM to withdraw your cash so you don't get dinged. It's better than keeping lot's of cash in the house.

TealLA

+1

Artkansas 

Yep, this is a long-term trend, 40 years on the latest tack and many more since the 14th Amendment and Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad. The corporations see their current problems as only a course correction, not the major change that we percieve. That trader who came out recently, saying that their job was to make money whether the economy was going up or down pegged it. Corporate citizens don't care about the economy or the government, just how they can make money off the current situation, whatever it is.

wahoonc

That is fine and dandy if there happens to be an ATM in your area...and the banks don't start to look at that as a revenue source. They have been trying to force us to a cashless society. It isn't going to work for this curmudgeon. I have no problem keeping cash around. The problem is too many businesses are now set up that if the power goes out they can't sell a damn thing, and they are attempting to discourage cash purchases.

The banks are getting as bad as the airlines for tagging on fees. I have already ditched one large national bank. I currently use a small regional bank and a credit union. So far both have been reasonable on their fees. But as the banks continue to consolidate they will lobby and do what they want and it won't be in the best interest of the consumer.

Aaron

Roody

Where is the outrage? The banks engineered this whole crisis, and they will come out making even more money than they did before. BoA stupidly bought Countrywide because they thought they could milk money out of bad debt. They were wrong, and now they want a price gouging scheme to force their customers to bail out their shareholders.

Consumers and the middle class are royally getting screwed in this country. The middle class is the nouveau poor. We are being required to spend our dwindling cash to ensure that the wealthy investors continue to make money hand over fist.

If I wasn't working so hard to support myself and my family, I for sure would be camped out in a tent somewhere in Lower Manhattan.

Artkansas 

You are in luck.

Occupy Michigan - LANSING

Time: Saturday, October 15 @ 10:00am

Location: Capital Steps

Facebook Event:

Roody

Thanks! I got a couple e-mails about this since my post. I will be there! It will be the fifth protest this year that I have attended on the Capitol steps. Fortunately they're only a 10 minute ride from my house.

Singlespeed92

There's no state in this union that requires one to go to a "trucking school",all he';d actually have to do is go get the manuals (free),and then go take the written test to get a learner's permit (spoeaking specifically in VA here,there may be slight variances in other states),once he has a valid learner's permit,companies like CR England will hire him and give him on-the-job training (heck,CR E. will hire him with a class D license and train him,put him to work,and hold out a modest amount of his pay each week to reimburse the training he received....I use them for eg because a close relative went with them last year,the rest comes from having been a long haul driver from '95 until '07,then local gigs until put out of work perminently in '08).....food for thought,Brother: If you really want to drive long haul in a class A truck,there's ways to do it,especially already having your foot in the door (class B in hand,meaning recent experience,if you have a decent driving record).

Smallwheels

England won't allow pets in their trucks nor will Swift. I've heard Werner won't pay what they claim. Watkins Shepard is local but they require a $900 pet deposit. Overall I'd need plenty of money to pay my rent and pay someone to watch my dog for three to four months during my initial training for any company. Sure I could get a learners permit but I don't know anybody with a truck and trailer to teach me the driving part. I'm considering taking the tanker test and maybe even the hazardous materials test (though that portion costs $50 and requires finger prints). Having those out of the way would smooth the road a bit.

If I had the money to move to San Diego I could apply for a city bus driver job that pays $23 per hour with full benefits. Motor Coach jobs (tour buses) aren't as plentiful as I had hoped. I searched Monster.com and there were very few. All wanted a minimum of two years experience. I always find that interesting how almost all companies want people with years of experience. Driving a tour bus in Los Angeles looked interesting but there aren't any openings. When I lived in Los Angeles I worked at Universal City and there were numerous motor coaches pulling up every day.

Shuttle bus drivers at LAX airport earn a little over $10 per hour. I don't feel it would be worth the effort to move twenty-four-hundred miles to earn less per hour just to get more hours. I'd rather become a bar tender again.

Singlespeed92

I didn't know you'd be needing to bring your pet (friend ) when I posted,sorry...yeah,that complicates things a bit. I don't blame you one bit on not moving (any distance,really) to get more hours,LOL,the goal should be more per hour at the same,or less hours ideally. Hmmm....yeah,doesn't seem like any easy way to deal with your furry friend while training,if you don't have a relative/friend you could trust,and if you're like me,you don't want to leave them with just anyone. I feel your squeeze,my friend...

hammandegger

I always thought about trucking. Drivers are always needed. I was considering going to school for that and I sought out truckers to talk to them about their experiences of being a driver.

Some of the truckers loved their jobs and would do nothing else. Others were tolerating thier jobs and clearly were only driving to support families etc. One guy said the driving has burned him out and he would rather have a job washing dishes.

Others told about hidden costs of trucking that they don't tell you about in training. Such as speed traps and other law enforcement issues dealing with weight and such. Also there was aggravations dealing with waiting around at your drop point to unload the truck.

All in all, I think I could be a decent trucker because I am a good driver. But I hate driving all of the time. A perfect schedule for me would be to drive for a month, and then take a month off. But the trucking companies wouldn't go for that. They want you to drive until you drop so they can drain all of the profit out of you that they can get.

I always thought it would be neat to be a truckdriver and travel with a decent bike [stashed somewhere in the cab or behind it]. But from traveling and living in a van for a few years [used to be a deadhead] and living at truck stops and rest areas, in my experience, none of the roads around these types of venues were conducive to riding a bicycle. Especially a rest area right off of a major interstate.

In short, trucking is a job. Not always easy. I haven't been in that big of a hurry to do the training.

Ridefreemc

One time deduction on sales tax. Also, the fact that every mile you drive has been subsidized, yes, just like the old arguement about transit.

cooker

I don't think it's that cleverly planned. If you use the economic definition of a recession as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, you can't detemine there has been a recession until the economic indicators for the second quarter have been number-crunched, so inevitably it's going to be old news.

Artkansas 

Translated: You know immediately, but it's going to take the government a while to figure out what is obvious to you.