It is more satisfying on several levels to own the truck and call the shots, but it does take more effort. But done right, that extra effort has a financial pay off. It is a business, not a hobby or some game of strutting around and proclaiming you are an O/O. Ego trips just cause financial ruin. But a serious bean counter that manages his stuff well, generally is living a much better lifestyle. I do very well, home on weekends and holidays and by the house a couple of times a week (both because I limit who I haul for and the range of where I operate), took 4 weeks off last year, and my net, after even meal allowance deductions and all the other stuff including a 179 one time write off of a $18,000 new John Deere 825i gator I use to maintain the parking area and snow removal for the truck, was roughly $80K. So much so, that in conjunction with my accountant, I changed to an LLC with a S corp tax structure. Saves me around $8000 a year in taxes at least. And this year, my 2015 Silverado 2500 goes into the business as a depreciation because it is used primarily for business parts runs, transportation to and from truck occasionally (especially in bad weather when I can't get the truck out to my rural home), and hauling drums of oil and other stuff for business. That is another $35,000 depreciation broke down over the next 3 years. Thought of doing a 179 one time write off on it as well, and may end up doing that yet. And when I go on a vacation, I find a way to include business in the venture, I can use the 2500 for the trip including pulling an RV, and the entire vacation expense for travel is a write off. Last year, I wrote off most of a trip to Memphis because the wife wanted to see Graceland. I included a meeting with my oil supplier in St. Louis with a personal tour of the facilities by the CEO and owner. Was all in fun, but a business write off nonetheless.
yeah, I'll keep at it. No interest in driving another man's truck.
