Top 10 Truckers tips

Live Text uses on-device intelligence to identify text in a photo or camera viewfinder. You can point the iPhone camera to a business card, scan the email or phone number using Live Text, and directly take action on it. It works in photos as well. Open an image from the gallery and identify the text in the photo. It can be helpful when you want to convert handwritten notes to text on the phone. Live Text works in other apps as well. For example, in the Email app, you can use the Email from Camera option and directly import the email address using Live Text. At launch, Live Text support is limited to 7 languages only.

Many times the truck that just pulled out will have a perfect path to back into. Aim your tire for that path. You will be surprised at how close you can get and how much you will improve your accuracy by paying attention to the path your wheels are taking. But don't forget to G.O.A.L. (Get Out And Look)! That is some of the best advice truckers ever got! I heard it from all trainers, but more often from Joe Ward, retired, and my own husband, Joe Nader. Thanks to all!

The morning cup of coffee is something many people cannot give up. I understand. Office coffee can be nasty so stopping at Starbucks along the way has become a routine. At 5 bucks a cup (price depends on geographic location) that adds up over a year. You can have coffee equal in quality or better with the right coffee machine and coffee beans. Many years ago I wrote a series of short articles on getting a really good cup (or pot) of coffee for a fraction of the price at a coffee house. Fill your coffee mug before you head out the door and you keep $1,825 in your pocket each year, assuming you only imbibe with one cup per day. Here is the list of articles I published on coffee: Gourmet Coffee for Less Kona Coffee: The Drink of Heaven The Best Coffee Machines Choosing the Best Brew Coffee Machine

I never saw the movie, but the title is catchy. This tip is a biggie. So big that it can single handedly make you rich! I know, I know. There are bloggers that say you should never drive. Bike and walk everywhere. Awesome idea, but not for everyone. Your car can drain your finances more than any other purchase! It is a depreciating asset. The speed at which it travels to zero is determined by make, model and condition. But make no mistake; it will end up in the scrapyard like every other vehicle ever made. People all too often focus on the depreciation of an automobile. There is another vehicle cost that digs nearly as deep: transaction costs. I have only owned 3 cars in my life and I’m on the wrong side of 50. I tend to buy used vehicles and keep them for 20 years. (Most vehicles come to their natural life expectancy around 20 years.) Depreciation still hurts. Fortunately, I don’t have that accelerated depreciation newer vehicles suffer. The best news is that I have few transaction costs because I don’t do a lot of transacting. Every time you buy a car the state wants a piece of the action. With the exception of 5 states (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon) you will also pay a sales tax. Used car prices are out of line as I write this. I probably would buy a new car if I was in the market at this time. Regardless, I buy a vehicle when my current vehicle is close to the grave and then keep it for a really long time. This one tip can save you enough to fund your retirement account if you funneled all those payments you didn’t have to make. And you would trade title, transfer and sales taxes for a tax deduction! Easy choice, I think.

When you take the exit to the truck stop, look at the exit and the signs and make sure you know how to get back to the highway. There are many kinds of exits and many ways to exit, but only certain ones will lead you in the right direction. And with out-of-route miles being so important, you want to keep them to a minimum. Not to mention you could get lost taking the wrong turn. I know where I-40 is, but I don't necessarily know the community behind and around it. Thanks again to my husband, Joe Nader. Not getting lost is a big advantage!

I’m lucky in that I live in the backwoods of NE Wisconsin. Gardening is easy for me. If you have the ability (space) to grow a garden I would encourage you to do so. It doesn’t have to be big. A few tomato plants, carrots, beans and anything else that pleases your palate can make a difference. Living in an apartment limits your ability to do this. You can still grow a few plants by windows that get sun. There is nothing like enjoying your own fresh tomatoes. It isn’t the food you grow that saves a lot of money. There are savings, but the real advantage is spending a few more meals at home with your family enjoying a home grown and cooked meal. And that is priceless compared to the $500 or so in savings over the course of a year from avoided dining out. Might I also suggest planting a fruit tree if you have the room. There is nothing like picking your own fresh apples/peaches/pears/plums . . .  The flavor from tree ripened fruit is nothing like you find in a grocery store.

I love animals as much as anyone, but it’s not worth risking your life or other motorists’ lives to swerve 80,000 pounds around the road to avoid an animal. It's sad that some folks still let their animals run amok, and I hated running over a beautiful boxer dog at Big Cabin, a deer on the run in Wyoming and an alligator in Alabama. None of them knew I was there, and I tried slowing down, but there was nothing more I could do. Grip the wheel tight, keep the truck straight and slow down — that’s all you can do. I think not swerving to avoid the animals is very important. And I have to thank the Safety department for that policy. It's a good one.

I know I’m a bit more extreme on this than most. Living in a northern climate (in the Northern Hemisphere) allows me the luxury of rarely using air conditioning. The winters are another story. I have found that my entire family can enjoy a cooler house in the winter comfortably (low 60s F). Yes, we wear clothing in the winter, as in a flannel shirt or other such comfy warm garment. The wife and kiddos cover with a blanker when watching TV (me when I read). The cooler house means we sleep better at night, too. During the summer we adjust to the warmer temperatures. When it gets hot in July we draw cool basement air into the house. Rare is the year when we kick on the AC. (I actually have a geothermal heat pump for space heating, water heating and AC.)