Managing Money as a Mechanic, Podcast Episode 26
Hey everyone. I am trying to wrap my head around the fact that Christmas is next week. This year just FLEW by. I guess it is time to start putting together my 2014 wrap up show. 🙂
Today we are talking about ways to manage your money as a technician. Working on flat rate can have big ups and even bigger downs. The way that we manage and budget our money is vital. There are so many things that impact the volume of cars coming in the shop. Heck anything from weather to gas prices can cause bad weeks. That doesn’t even take into account getting your butt kicked by a car.
This type of information is very much lacking in automotive training. We are told that it is important, but no one goes into detail about HOW to manage it. I have seen a lot of guys get stuck financially, and I don’t want that to happen to you. BTW I am NOT NOT NOT a financial adviser. This is just some of the things that I do. This is also not a flat rate show. You can see that at “Getting Paid on Flat Rate”.
Today on the automotive podcast we talk about:
- You have to MAKE the money first
- Buy tools smart
- Don’t get in debt with the tool man
- Buy used
- Live below your income
- Auto draft into your savings
- Avoid other debt too
- Do you need a new car? (No unless its a 2015 Golf Sportwagon 😉 )
- Understand your busy times
- Understand your slow times
- Podcast on What To Do When The Shop Is Slow
- and more
If you are having trouble viewing this video, watch it at Managing Money as a Mechanic, Podcast Episode 26 on YouTube.
Do you have any questions or comments on the show? Please post them in the comments below. Also, if you have an idea for a show topic, post that in the comments, or use the contact me form.
Brilliant video and very good advice. Advice I wish I had lived by. 🙁 same over here in England, just spent thousands of pounds on a new snap on toolbox and now few months later regretting it due to the weekly payments. I have always lived beyond my means but now we have a baby money’s even tighter so I’m going to start living under my means if possible and cancel all the crap we don’t need like cable tv. Thanks been good to watch. 🙂 Gary from uk
Great great advice Charles…this up you peoples he ain’t lying! If you do nothing else just stay out of damn debt!
State Fair? Really? Too funny (and I thought we were backward here in Florida)
Also forgot to say over here in uk I’m not sure what flat rate is but we get paid hourly or a salary pay. They have bonus schemes if u make over your hours but were paid a certain amount per hour (mine £10.50) for 39 hours per week so we know how much we will get paid every single week, and the bonus, well it’s just a bonus as u don’t know your gonna get it lol! To put it into perspective, the wage we get here as a technician isn’t enough to provide for your family. As an example (I’m not sure what it equates to in dollars) but my take home pay after taxes every week is £335. Our rent every month is £695. That’s not including any bills etc! Our petrol (gas) over here Is £1.20 a litre at the moment. Not good 🙁 me and the other mechanic at work have to take on so much private work and buy and sell old cars just to try and make ends meet. A friend of mine who is a master technician at an Audi dealership gets paid less than me. It’s not a good earner in the uk unless u have loads of private work. But I still couldn’t imagine doing anything else!
One of the biggest expenditure you will incur in order to maintain your vehicle in good shape would be for purchasing it’s auto parts. It is important that your car needs scheduled replacement for some of its functions. I don’t think it is affordable to buy a fresh one for replacement, especially if it is engine parts. In that case spare parts will be a honest alternative to maintain your automobile in safe shape without hurting your pocket. Most vehicle repair services insist their clients do this and they will help you to find the best one for your vehicle.