What should be an owner operator net income per year?

Middle class as a term is basically meaningless. Speaking as someone who grew up poor I feel RICH now. I have a friend who was born in MA to fairly well off parents (his dad is a software engineer or something) who makes a similar living to me and he barely considers himself middle class.

I've heard people who make 30k a year call themselves middle class and I've heard people who make 400k call themselves middle class.

I also think that most people who earn <50k a year really have no idea how much money the really well off make... Or they can't really comprehend it. These people complain that athletes are making a few million a year for 1-20 years and that it's ridiculous... Totally unaware that the biggest shareholder in the company they work for makes that athlete's annual salary every two weeks.

EDIT: They also have no idea how MANY people are literally making 10x what they do. I'd advise them to drive around the rich neighborhoods to get some perspective, but the cops are much too likely to hassle them lol.

Working hard is like 15% of the battle and working smart is the other 85%. I sincerely think it's possible to make it almost entirely on working smart. The key to moving up in life is to improve your skills, particularly the 'getting paid' skill which is it's own separate thing. Basically if you do something that has value, know it has value, and have the confidence to negotiate up to the market rate you're a good chunk of the way there.

 

It all boils down to living within your means. If you're living check to check, or not quite making it to the next check each month, you are living above your means. You are then left with the choice of reducing your debt and liabilites, or increasing how much you make. I was lucky that my dad made a great living while I grew up. We never wanted for anything, traveled a lot and had a great childhood. I spent 30 years as an insurance executive and made a great living doing it, but I also live in Northern California with about the highest cost of living in the country. So making great money living here was about the same as making an average living in most other states. Figuring out ways to earn money is like a puzzle to me that I work to solve. The most money I ever made in a single year was selling some very specialized items on eBay, and that included years when I cleaned house in the insurance business and doing well in the stock market. Now my newest challenge is seeing how far I can take a small trucking company.

 

Deleting duplicate post

 

When I was young I had dreams of making as much as my dad. We were not wealthy but had everything we needed and had some fun along the way. I think he was about $35ka year back in the mid 80’s

Heck I was making more than that in 91 when I was 18 yo and have for the most part since then.

I worked in the corporate world and made a little more than I make as an OO but I was 10x more stressed!!!

 

My dad still makes twice what I do, but he is never really away from work. I gladly take less stress even owning my own rig compared to dealing with the crap he has to every single day.

 

My aunt sent me a few letters my dad had sent to her back in the late 40's early 50's. He said he was making like 70 cents per hour driving truck for a food service company in Indiana.

I also noted how he was complaining about the ding bat dispatcher.

Some things change, some things remain the same

 

To answer the OP (if anyone remembers). 20% More Money for 20% Less Driving is a good starting point. The first thing you have to learn is that it's not about Max mi but Max profit per mi. The 2nd thing you have to learn is deadhead isn't a bad thing. Better to deadhead 800 mi and run 400 mi on a $1300 load than deadhead 200 mi and run 1400 mi for $1500. However if you know you are going into that situation you bid it as two way rate. We had to do that to a customer that thought he wanted plate side dry vans before he found out we could give him three reefers for the price of two dry vans to that area.

 

Even 2.00 a mile is cheapo even loaded both ways its still not the best.