Need A Job?

Many of us could really use some extra income. We have enough to pay our bills and put food on the table, but nothing extra. You could always go to work for McDonalds or Walmart, but with all of your responsibilities, is minimum wage worth it?

There is one occupation that can be found in every city and town in the US large enough to have a bank. You may not notice them, but they are there. I'm talking about Couriers.

Many businesses have shipments such as paperwork, checks, etc. that need to get from one place to another quickly. A good example of this is cancelled checks. Most banks need their bank work picked up after business hours and other work returned before they open the next day. UPS and FEDEX can't handle this.

This is where courier companies come in. They provide routes that pickup and deliver 24 hours a day. Some have employees for their routes but most use contract drivers. Contract drivers provide the vehicle and driver to run a scheduled route and cost the company less than employee drivers. A contract driver is also responsible for all gas, maintenance and repairs of their vehicle.

You usually don't receive company benefits like life and health insurance, paid vacation and paid holidays, however, there are several benefits to being a courier. You can normally expect to receive between 35 and 40 cents per mile. This doesn't sound like much but it adds up pretty fast. Even if you only run 100 miles per day, which only takes about 2 to 3 hours, you will have a check between $175 and $200 per week. Of course your expenses will have to be deducted from this. For a vehicle that gets 20 mpg, at $1.50 per gallon, your gas will only run about $37.50 per week.

The biggest advantage to being a courier is the huge tax deduction. For the tax year 2002, you can deduct 36 1/2 cents per mile for all business miles. If you are making 35 cents per miles, you will pay taxes on almost nothing. You don't even have to itemize your deductions to claim this deduction. The 36 1/2 cents per mile is the standard deduction allowed by the IRS which covers all of your vehicle expenses. You will receive a 1099-misc form giving your total income for the year. You will need to report that income on Schedule C - Profit or Loss From Business. In addition, if you are away from home over 6 hours at a time, you can claim 50% of any meals while on the road. The IRS requires that you keep track of your mileage and meals each day. You can buy a small log book for this or use Budget Stretcher's Vehicle Expense Log http://www.homemoneyhelp. com/vel.html and Vehicle Expense Summary http://www.homemoneyhelp. com/ves.html.

Usually the only requirements to be a courier is a drivers license, a vehicle and a fairly clean driving record (NO DUI/DWI). Since most couriers deliver/pickup a regular route, most of the time you don't even have to have a good knowledge of the area you will be driving. After two or three days you will know your way around.

To find courier jobs in your area, check the classified ads in your local newspaper under drivers or business opportunities. You can also check with your bank or insurance agent to see if they have a courier company providing service to them. Once you have identified the courier companies that service your area, a simple phone call will let you know if they have a route that suits you.