What do you do with your extra money

[isabella]

Silly questions I know. I filed last week, have my 341 October 8th. I have been lurking here and other places and have learned a tremendous amount, but I do have a question.

What do you do with an extra money at the end of the month? Do you put it in a savings account, keep cash under the mattress, put it in a prepaid Visa? i have read to keep everything cash, and I have read that a savings account is ok.

[HakunaMatata]

I've received mixed information on this. I was shocked when my attorney told me he could exempt $11,200 (I'm in Michigan -I intend to surrender my house and I have negative equity in my car). I only wish I had the ability to save this amount!! Even if I could, I would proceed with caution. Sure, my mattress could use a little lift; although, lying to the Trustee won't work in my world. I intend to save a little for upcoming rental obligations and take care of neglected needs (primarily medical...and hey, I may purchase a new mattress!).

[AngelinaCat]

Save for your emergency fund. 'Hub and I each carry a $100.00 bill in our wallets. this is to be put there and FORGOTTEN until a real emergency occurs where you are stranded and the only way out is a tow truck/roll back driver who doesn't take plastic.

Next, save money for a rainy day. Also buy storeable canned goods for an emergency, sufficient for several weeks if need be. Water, batteries, paper towels, toothpaste, soaps, shampoos, toilet paper, etc.

There are many threads on this question/idea; you can search them out. All of these are legitimate uses for the 'extra' money--which never stretches as much as you would like.

good luck.

[BigJohn]

We stock up on things that are on sale. Right now we devoured part of a pork roast I cooked. Cost - 99 cents a pound. Just could pass this one up.

I have been self publishing some of my books. So when we get a few extra dollars, we buy supplies like color toners for the laser, etc.

And we don't forget the house. Just about every week I buy something. If it isn't a bag of stucco, it might be mortar, or some metal, etc. It is almost always something I can make something with it.

[newbie2]

Save the extra money. You'll need it for emergency expenses later on.

Some months we have an extra $200-$300. It's tucked away, and when we have car repairs or have to replace something in the house (last month it was a water heater) we're not sick to our stomachs trying to figure out how to pay for it.

If the trustee ever wants our bank statements he'll see some months with larger balances, but then will see when the money comes out for the unexpected things.

I learned at the beginning of this long process to document everything. I have receipts for every purchase saved, going back to the beginning of our filing. Every bank statement. Every pay check. You get the idea :-)

[oldhack]

I sense in the OP's question a fear that the trustee will somehow know you have some money set aside and confiscate it. It really doesn't work that way.
In the first place, the trustee's own financial counseling will advise you to build up an emergency fund. Second, it's a misconception that trustees are omniscient, omnipotent people, however competent most of them are. They don't, for example, have access to your checking/savings account except through you. They might require you to provide documentation for them, but they can't simply snoop around your bank accounts. Additionally, unless you give them reason to suspect you have wwaaaayy more money than you should -- you know, like book a world cruise for two, and absent yourself from work for six months to take it -- the trustee won't give you a second look.

[Ckacrum]

I wish we could just transport into the future so see whats approved for us. I'm really stressin' about what are budget looks like. If approved, after we pay the house and ch13 payment we'll have around 1500 left for everything, net pay from job's, left to pay utilities, insurance, clothing, gas, car repairs and so on. All the allowance's pretty much. I don't know if that's high or low for a family of 4 in Indiana. Hopefully we have some left over to save for an emergency fund!