Now that you have filed are you still broke??

[aces67]

What I mean is we filed and yes it lifted a lot of stress off of us but financially we are still soooooo drained. Dh's hours got cut back for one month-the month of December and then when January rolled around our insurance premiums went up $100 a month and the raise and yearly bonus that his employer promised has never come through. Now we are about $800 behind on bills and still can't pay our $600 in property taxes. Our budget didn't leave much extra and with his hours being cut back we took a hit to our income of $800 for that month.

I'm a SAHM and it's just starting to get the best of me. I'm trying to convince my husband that we don't NEED a home phone and a cell phone. Our cell phones work in our house and we ALWAYS have a LOT of unused minutes that rollover. We also don't really NEED satellite tv we could watch whatever an antenna would pick up. Granted we live in the sticks so that would probably only be 1 channel but it's better than nothing right???

Ack! Sometimes between the financial stress and the stress of being the only home all the time to deal with my kids-one is 15 months and acts like she's 2 constantly throwing tantrums and my 7 year old that has ADHD I just feel like I need a vacation. Dh is never home b/c he works all the time and still we are sinking at the moment.

We filed almost a year ago and we've been fine until December rolled around. Then my stupid car broke down Thursday and that was another $100.

Tell me we aren't the only ones in this situation.

[kmb]

I doubt you're in the only one in this situation. We filed in May and though we both work, we still find it very difficult and live paycheck to paycheck. Plus in the last two months, we've had to replace our garage door springs and our water heater, which took the little bit of money we had saved. And just last week, I was a victim of identify fraud and someone got hold of my debit card number and caused our checking account to be overdrawn, and it will take 2-3 weeks to get the money back from the bank after their "investigation". We came home from the bank only to find a frozen water pipe had bursted and flooded half our house from the upstairs bedroom through the den to the basement. We're still waiting for the insurance company to come out, but we have a $1000 deductible that I don't know how we're going to pay.

So no, you're definitely not the only one in this situation.

[RickInMich]

Although we're in a Chapter 7 so we don't have payments, I feel the same way. It seemed like we were doing better when we could charge stuff. But, of course, that's the problem with charging. It gives you the impression you're doing better than you really are.

I make a fairly good salary, but I told my wife. Wow, we are really poor. I mean, we're not. But it amazed me to find out that we need to seriously lower our standard of living and/or cut expenses, more than I even thought.

For the first time in my adult life, I've had to borrow money from my brother, and my wife had to borrow from her mother. But that was just until we got caught up from the attorney's bill, Christmas, etc. Now we have a budget, and I think we'll do okay. But, yeah, it has been a HUGE eye-opener.

[jnjw]

We're in the same boat and just getting started. We just filed 13 last month and we both work as much as humanly possible. We have cut everything extra - and I mean everything there is to cut that isn't a necessity and we're still flat broke, living paycheck to paycheck, and hoping to some higher power that we never have a true emergency because if we do, we're screwed. Our property taxes are due next month and I don't have a clue how we're going to pay them. We usually do it with our tax refund, but I have a sneaky feeling the trustee is going to nab it, so there goes our property taxes, heat for this coming winter, tires for our vehicles, etc. So, no, you're not the only one. I try to keep a positive attitude, but sometimes this whole dismal mess gets the better of me.

[MajorMike]

A $1,000 deductable?? wow, why would you have such a high one?
I don't think we would ever be able to stretch that...

I doubt you're in the only one in this situation. We filed in May and though we both work, we still find it very difficult and live paycheck to paycheck. Plus in the last two months, we've had to replace our garage door springs and our water heater, which took the little bit of money we had saved. And just last week, I was a victim of identify fraud and someone got hold of my debit card number and caused our checking account to be overdrawn, and it will take 2-3 weeks to get the money back from the bank after their "investigation". We came home from the bank only to find a frozen water pipe had bursted and flooded half our house from the upstairs bedroom through the den to the basement. We're still waiting for the insurance company to come out, but we have a $1000 deductible that I don't know how we're going to pay.

So no, you're definitely not the only one in this situation.

[Flamingo]

Although we're in a Chapter 7 so we don't have payments, I feel the same way. It seemed like we were doing better when we could charge stuff. But, of course, that's the problem with charging. It gives you the impression you're doing better than you really are.
I make a fairly good salary, but I told my wife. Wow, we are really poor. I mean, we're not. But it amazed me to find out that we need to seriously lower our standard of living and/or cut expenses, more than I even thought.
For the first time in my adult life, I've had to borrow money from my brother, and my wife had to borrow from her mother. But that was just until we got caught up from the attorney's bill, Christmas, etc. Now we have a budget, and I think we'll do okay. But, yeah, it has been a HUGE eye-opener.

While the filing itself gives relief, As you state in your second paragraph, what hits next is the lifestyle change. To those not used to shopping at Dollar Tree, that store will become best friend as will discount or bulk outlets. If you (any poster reading this) never set foot in a Walmart before, it will now be your #1 store if one is close by. We survived a good bit of our 13 by doing favors. If we had a car repair or house repair that one of our friends or family could fix, we would go cut their lawn or do babysitting for them in return. Learning to say "no" is another thing you need to learn as you just not will be able to do Christmas or other holidays/birthdays as you did in the past. People understand; do not be afraid to just say you can't and when things are better, you will. A Chapter 13 is hard. If you find you absolutely just cannot survive with doing all the cuts you can, contact your attorney because your Plan can be modified if there is too much of a hardship, especially if there is a drop in income or a big increase in health care insurance or other life necessities.

Someone posted about cell phones; we cancelled our cell phone service after the term was up. We just did without and you know you do survive. Since we spent more time at home we did not give up our cable since watching TV or renting an occasional video became main entertainment for a while. However when my job changed and I had to spend more time on the road, I did obtain a cell for which you paid for any minutes you put in the phone and there was no contract. We had no trouble after discharge obtaining a cell phone contract again for a family plan. We also organized family/friend card games on weekend nights instead of going out to eat with everyone bringing snacks or food.

[$$only4ever]

I know how you feel. Chapter 13 is hard. You have to adjust to a "cash only" existence. You have to really budget your money and stick to your monthly budget, no matter what. The Dollar Store, Walmart and other places like that become your best friends. You really have to learn the difference between the " I want" and "I need" stuff. I have been in Chapter 13 for almost 3 years and my electric bill has increased dramatically, my rent has gone up $150, etc, etc. I was lucky...I had some wiggle room in my budget. Try to re-budget and look for things to cut out of your budget, like eating out, movies, taking your lunch to work, etc. Try to stick to only the basics and you may find that you have a few extra dollars left over every month. Good luck and try to hang in there.

[MOMof3]

Yep, we are broke! But, we aren't getting "broker"!! We have our good months & our bad. We'll get some saved, then we'll have something come up. It's a vicious cycle. Sounds like there are a few things you could cut back on. I agree about the land/line plus cell thing. We hardly use our land line. As for the TV, you can watch most of your programs on-line now, that is what my parents do--they are saving over $100 a month on their phone & cable by NOT HAVING THEM, and my mom still can watch "House" through her computer! We still have them, but I work for the cable company, so I get a great discount on both--not sure if we'd have them otherwise. Also, check out some of the grocery savings websites, they have helped us out a lot. I have probably saved the most on my food spending since the 13 by making menus, clipping coupons & being organized about my shopping. Good Luck! Remember that we are all in the same boat. As for the kids, I've got an 8 year old girl--going on 13--that has ADHD, she drives me NUTS...LOL. My kids always ask me now if it is the "payday" because that's when they know they can ask for treats at the store. Last night at the store my daughter said, "just write them a check (she wanted a Hannah Montana CD), it won't clear until you get your payday" Guess they listen to my conversations w/Hubby more than I thought--LOL.

By the way--I don't advocate "floating checks" just in case someone wants to flame me on that

[bmcmull]

I think everyone in our situation feels the pinch, we filed under the old laws in 2004 but gas was $2.00 a gallon and our electric bill was not $300.00. I at one point we went an additional 4 months behind on our mortgage at 2k per. I have dug out from under that by staying in communication with our mortgage company. I will become current at the end of February. Had children in the Hospitol last year. I have 5 year old twins and a 17 month old, all girls. We have 18 more payments at 850 per but it is almost over and then I will be debt free (except that mortgage) with a ton of extra income and a new perception of what is important to me. Keep your head up and look to your fellow forum people for the lift when it gets hard. BECAUSE there is alway's someone with a worse situation than yours.

[MajorMike]

I think everyone in our situation feels the pinch, we filed under the old laws in 2004 but gas was $2.00 a gallon and our electric bill was not $300.00. I at one point we went an additional 4 months behind on our mortgage at 2k per. I have dug out from under that by staying in communication with our mortgage company. I will become current at the end of February. Had children in the Hospitol last year. I have 5 year old twins and a 17 month old, all girls. We have 18 more payments at 850 per but it is almost over and then I will be debt free (except that mortgage) with a ton of extra income and a new perception of what is important to me. Keep your head up and look to your fellow forum people for the lift when it gets hard. BECAUSE there is alway's someone with a worse situation than yours.

Excellent advice! I think the gas prices and the heating costs have killed everyone lately....

[helpless]

My roof is on its second leak in a year. No way I can afford to put a new roof on the house $5K, so we just keep patching and I just don't look at the ceiling when it rains!! Not much else we can do at this point. Gosh, I wish August would hurry up and get here.

[TiredandWeary]

Momof3, I SOOOOOOO can relate to your statement about the kids mimicing my own words of "we can't buy that today...not until Daddy gets paid", etc. And the floating check thing? My word, we would never have made it this far into our BK13 plan if I hadn't floated some checks at times for groceries. As you all know by now, you just can't be late on ANYTHING when you're living cash-only from paycheck to paycheck!! Utilities, water bills, car insurance, cable modem/phone bills, etc...they will all cut off your services in a heartbeat if you are more than a week late! Although, I have had some success in calling some of them on the phone and asking for due date extensions on many an occasion. But, for Pete's sake, when the trustee takes your tax refunds (as ours always does) and when you are forbidden from taking out any kind of payday advance loans, short term loans, or obtaining any new credit of any kind, what is one to do when the bills come due before the paydays roll around on the calendar? It's enough to make anyone go insane trying to keep the boat floating!! I feel your pain, everyone!! It has gotten so bad at times for us in the past 18 months that I have actually had to resort to becoming someone I NEVER wanted to be or EVER thought I would be...I've actually had to bounce checks at my grocery store, knowing full well I wouldn't have money in our account to pay for them until a day or two after the check would attempt to clear. I actually figured out the cycle of how they will resubmit your check once more three days later and by then, I knew we'd have the money. How sad that we have had to resort to living like this! And the worst part of it all is knowing that we have literally done NOTHING in terms of overspending or going out to eat, taking trips/vacations, indulging ourselves in any way, getting professional haircuts, enrolling the kids in any extra-curricular activities, etc. I am sad at the thought of possibly losing the supposed tax rebate checks we are all supposed to receive later this year, too! It's such a vicious cycle and they keep you pulled down, drowning even though you aren't even taking on any new debts!!!

As for the OP on this thread, I just wanted to add that as far as your $1000 homeowner's insurance deductible towards your repairs, you don't actually have to pay that out of your own pocket. The insurance company just subtracts that amount from the total amount of the check they write out to you for your repairs. You can work around some of this by getting fair estimates from contractors, repairmen, etc. and then when you actually have the work done, go with companies that will charge less for the same work. Thereby, you may actually still have some money left over from your insurance payout on the total claim. Hope that helps your stress level somewhat.

[Flamingo]

[QUOTE=TiredandWeary;138263]Momof3, I SOOOOOOO can relate to your statement about the kids mimicing my own words of "we can't buy that today...not until Daddy gets paid", etc. And the floating check thing? My word, we would never have made it this far into our BK13 plan if I hadn't floated some checks at times for groceries. As you all know by now, you just can't be late on ANYTHING when you're living cash-only from paycheck to paycheck!! Utilities, water bills, car insurance, cable modem/phone bills, etc...they will all cut off your services in a heartbeat if you are more than a week late! Although, I have had some success in calling some of them on the phone and asking for due date extensions on many an occasion. But, for Pete's sake, when the trustee takes your tax refunds (as ours always does) and when you are forbidden from taking out any kind of payday advance loans, short term loans, or obtaining any new credit of any kind, what is one to do when the bills come due before the paydays roll around on the calendar? It's enough to make anyone go insane trying to keep the boat floating!! I feel your pain, everyone!! It has gotten so bad at times for us in the past 18 months that I have actually had to resort to becoming someone I NEVER wanted to be or EVER thought I would be...I've actually had to bounce checks at my grocery store, knowing full well I wouldn't have money in our account to pay for them until a day or two after the check would attempt to clear. I actually figured out the cycle of how they will resubmit your check once more three days later and by then, I knew we'd have the money. How sad that we have had to resort to living like this! And the worst part of it all is knowing that we have literally done NOTHING in terms of overspending or going out to eat, taking trips/vacations, indulging ourselves in any way, getting professional haircuts, enrolling the kids in any extra-curricular activities, etc. I am sad at the thought of possibly losing the supposed tax rebate checks we are all supposed to receive later this year, too! It's such a vicious cycle and they keep you pulled down, drowning even though you aren't even taking on any new debts!!!

You are describing the Chapter 13 that everyone dreads and why people want to file a Chapter 7 - the lifestyle change from adjusting to having/doing to not having/doing, and for a long period of time. It affects everyone differently and is the reason why a high percentage of Chapter 13 Plans fail. If you feel you are struggling too badly, and it appears you are short of money for what your family needs, contact your attorney and see about getting your Plan modified. It is hard but you shouldn't have to worry about getting payday loans or bouncing checks all the time. Expenses can rise during a Plan (health insurance, car insurance, food, gas, etc.) making that budget stretch beyond limits that may have been approved two years ago, more or less, when you filed. Think about trying to do that for maybe 3 to 5 years. A five year plan takes a huge effort and you feel like you've run the Boston Marathon when you are finished!

Do you have familiy/friends close by? We did a LOT of activities with our friends and family by scheduling movie nights for the kids or all of us thereby staying home and having everyone bring a dish, popcorn, etc. We bartered with friends for repairs on our vehicles or house since a few of them were handy with that and saved us money; in return my hubby would cut their lawn, I would babysit the kids on weekends for them or something else they needed done. We avoided costly house and vehicle bills that way. It is extremely hard to raise a family in today's world with the high cost of things - I wonder what it will be like in 20 years for our children or grandchildren to get by and live decently. The majority of the population struggles now.

Once one starts struggling badly during a Plan as the OP states her family is doing, it could get worse and you may find yourself unable to make payments and you do not want to be late at all with any Plan or mortgage payments at the very least. If you are late with phone, utilities, etc., it could show up on your credit reports damaging your credit beyond when the BK will come off your records and interfere with refinancing, obtaining a vehicle, future credit, etc. Don't avoid the warning shot - check with your attorney to see if your Plan can be modified

[imbroke2]

My husband became unemployed just after we filed and I thought it would be murder, but it hasn't been too bad. And he did find a job a few months ago. The worst of it is the mortgage payments. We called after we filed and they told us that the escrow had to be brought up so they tacked on another $250 to the payment. It would have been nice to know that before we filed! But in any case, we've been getting by. My kids still have activities (we try to get them to choose the ones through the park district so that they're much cheaper), we have nights out sometimes and other things. The only things that kill me are the gas and car repairs. I work 50 miles away so a car in good condition is important. I shop at one of the cheaper grocery stores where you bag your own groceries-I probably save about $100-$150 by going there. We do a lot of shopping at Wal-mart and sometimes the dollar stores. We also don't have to give our trustee our tax return. It's all ours.
The important thing is that my kids are still happy, well fed and have clothes on their backs and have parents who love them.
And I agree with one of the op's who said there is always someone in a worse situation than yours. So I try to look at the bright side of things.

[krielly]

Yep, we are broke! But, we aren't getting "broker"!!

This is EXACTLY what I tell myself when I get discouraged!

Although it's a tight struggle sometimes during our 60 mos 13, there IS a light at the end of the tunnel, and an END date to all of this at discharge. Even though things are tight, we are not in the situation we were before filing, where we are strapped every month PLUS charging up new debt while we're at it.

Almost 1/2 way through our 60 mos plan.........(will be in March anyhow).....Think I can begin to see a very dim light at the end of this tunnel