@braylean - I completed a 3-year lease at Prime, and subsequently purchased the truck, which I now own. So first, it can be done. Owners do not have the same mindset as company drivers. For us it's not a zero sum game revolving around just money and benefits.
Having been through this once, I have some observations you may find useful.
You absolutely need to run your truck as a business. Your settlement checks need to be deposited into a business bank account separate from your personal finances. That money is cash flow into your business. Anything you purchase for your truck or to support your business going down the road should be from this account.
Pay yourself a salary from your business account. Needless to say, you and your wife need to work out a personal budget. Savings is important too - something you can dip into for unexpected expenses without raiding your business account.
Hopefully you have control over how your maintenance escrow account is spent. If you are going to end up with the truck, you have a major interest in what is fixed, how and where it's done. Building up a surplus in your business bank account is really important. Trucking is a really expensive business, so having cash available keep you going is important. I know many folks forced out of business because they didn't have the money to float a big repair bill.
Managing your money needs attention too. You're a business owner (don't let anyone tell you differently.) You'll need to set up a bookkeeping system so you know what your money is going to, what your financial position is, and (really important) have your head inside your numbers. CPAs are for taxes. You need to be able to assess your financial health in order to run your business. Fortunately this isn't hard, and we got what's necessary to do it by 8th grade. A monthly profit/loss statement is easy to put together, and will give you the information you need to be a success.
If you're with me so far, great! If not, the book, "Accounting for Dummies" is a great resource. It's concise, has what you need, and much more that you can ignore. You want as simple a system as possible, so your bookkeeping doesn't become drudgery. You want to list all your business income, and all of your expenses. The difference is your net profit (or loss) before taxes.
Having just those three numbers:
Gross income
Total expenses (including salary)
Net profit (or loss)
On a monthly basis puts you ahead of 90% of the folks out here trying to be owner operators. Keep a running average of this information can allow you to develop the following crucial business financials:
The average of your total expenses by the month week and day - this is also the minimum revenue your business needs to generate. Keep figures on your average mileage per month, week and day - and you have the minimum revenue per mile your loads have to come in at to stay in business.
Knowing your average profit can give you your net cpm before taxes to the penny to throw back at the jerks who try to tear you down too.
Do this stuff with a spreadsheet program is useful - it's a timesaver, and can make it very portable through document sharing. So here's something else: it helps to have some basic computer skills. A lot can be done with a smartphone too.
If none of that appeals to you, or bookkeeping is like watching paint dry to you, there are service outfits that can help you with this. I'll mention one - the ProfitGauges service at letstruck.com - you can do the data entry or the letstruck people can help. Either way, they charge $19 per month, produce a professional financial report for you, and provide a one page year end tax summary that is everything a CPA needs.
ProfitGauges
I know that this is all financial, but it's the part that most truckers neglect. It's the part that can be the biggest difference between a better life as a business owner, or going back to being an employee.
Anyways, good luck to you! I'm certainly happy with the effort I put in to get out of the swamp of the company guys.
