Attorney Retained......Chapter 13 it is!!!

[FullOfIt]

Well, like I said in other posts, I underestimated our income. I used tax deductions to come up with my number and we all know how skewed that is. Our income before business expenses is 12500.00 after business expenses, 10-11k. After the very "estimated" means test it is looking like a solid 100% payback. Which for some reason has the knots in my stomach settling down. We can do this. Worst case we are looking at a 1500 a month payment for 60 months. This includes our attorney (who I thought was fantastic, I can't believe how thorough he was and how much time he spent with us), trustee (who our attorney told us he has a personal relationship with), credit cards, and IRS. We will be saving roughly 1700 a month. I don't see this being a problem at all. We are current on everything but taxes. We would just never be able to get ahead without doing this! Thank you for all the help so far, everyone. Looks like you will be seeing a lot me for the next 5 years!

[AngelinaCat]

Congratulations on finding a GREAT attorney! And that nice, calm feeling you have when the knots in your stomach start untying themselves is wonderful!

[angel7821]

Sounds like you are happy with your plan payments. I am happy for you and wish you the best of luck in the next 5 years.

[TheBajan]

It sounds like you are off to a great start... congratulations!

[tobee43]

congrats to the beginning of the end of your debt! you sound like the perfect candidate for a 13 and it will work out well for you, before you know it, you will be debt free. especially in a case like yours where you have enough steady income to make it work. at least this way you don't have your creditors on your back and you can breath easy.

[FullOfIt]

Thanks for the well wishes everyone! Right now I am making our budget (for us not the bk) and I am basing it on our worst month of the past 12. This way there will be a ton of wiggle room. The amount is approx 8900.00. I admit I have NEVER budgeted. I need help. Does anyone know where I can find a detailed household budget template or something of the like? I know I will leave something out and right now I can't afford to do that!! I really hope my OCD will settle down after we confirm!! My husband misses me. LOL.

[tobee43]

actually your means test and your sch j should pretty much be a guide line on how and what to budget. also, each household is different with different types of expenses etc.

an example ours is so simply now ( not necessarily in order of priority) which needs to be done
since we have no car payment or mortgage payment
1. for us is savings ( i think that should be no 1 for everyone my rule has been always to (at least try) pay yourself first
2. utilities
a. gas
b. oil
c. electric
d. other
3. food
4. medical
a. doctor co pays
b. scrip co pays
c. dentist
d. misc drug store items and needs
5. MORE necessary SAVINGS - car fund , home owners fees, such as HOA, home projects and taxes ( i would like to get some new blinds for the living room)

6.if you had kids i would add all expenses relating to, i.e. camp, school supplies etc.

7. car and home insurance (monthly break down

8. clothing kids are always growing out of their shoes

9. student loans if you have them

i think you get the idea, just list everything single expense you can think of in your household and then make a chart on exel or whatever you use and then you can manage your expenses and even create a report to see where most of your household expenses go and maybe where you can cut, etc. don't for get to make certain you have an emergency fund! those unexpected expenses usually called "LIFE" actually for us now it's called the nana and poppy fund makes us broke fund (LOL): pays for all the grandkids camps, day care assistance, clothes, kendles and other spoils we enjoy to do.

i'm certain on line if you google household budget examples you can find a few that may best suit your style of bookkeeping.

it's kinda fun when you set up a budget and find you really can do this. it give one a great feeling of satisfaction. we use to make a game out of it. we can save X if we get this instead, or surprise ourselves with a dinner out as a reward for a job well done.

[AngelinaCat]

Thanks for the well wishes everyone! Right now I am making our budget (for us not the bk) and I am basing it on our worst month of the past 12. This way there will be a ton of wiggle room. The amount is approx 8900.00. I admit I have NEVER budgeted. I need help. Does anyone know where I can find a detailed household budget template or something of the like? I know I will leave something out and right now I can't afford to do that!! I really hope my OCD will settle down after we confirm!! My husband misses me. LOL.

I don't know that I can help with a full-scale budget, but I can email a grocery list that we use that has helped us reign in the impulse spending in the grocery stores if you like.

[keepsmiling]

Before you make a budget, you need to actually see where your money goes.
Write down every penny you spend and on what, as you do it. Just jot it down in a little notebook, on your phone, whatever. You can categorize before or after.
This will help you get a true picture of where you may be able to tweak. Any budget made without that knowledge may be unrealistic.

[tobee43]

Before you make a budget, you need to actually see where your money goes.
Write down every penny you spend and on what, as you do it. Just jot it down in a little notebook, on your phone, whatever. You can categorize before or after.
This will help you get a true picture of where you may be able to tweak. Any budget made without that knowledge may be unrealistic.

good point, you need money to budget before you can actually budget. i remember when we were young and my parents would say you need to have a budget and i would reply well i first need enough money i can budget!

[jange]

I have been using mint.com It's free and a good way to see where your money is going and you can do your budget right on line. I wish I had started using it sooner. I was a little hesitant to put my account info into it, since it will pull the data right from your checking account, but it is really accurate. Plus you are not paying anything using mint.com.

[Pjmax]

I have been using mint.com It's free and a good way to see where your money is going and you can do your budget right on line. I wish I had started using it sooner. I was a little hesitant to put my account info into it, since it will pull the data right from your checking account, but it is really accurate. Plus you are not paying anything using mint.com.

I know a lot of people seem to like this, but I found it to be a PIA. It is only accurate about pulling info from accounts. It is so off about categorizing everything. Yes, you can manually go and edit what goes into what categories, but with the time it takes to do that every month, might as well just write it down.

[jange]

I had to adjust some when I first set it up, but it has been carrying the data over. Anyway for me it has been easier to keep track than writing everything down..

[angel7821]

Don't forget about pet expenses if you have any. Vet visits, food, grooming etc.

[DeepBreaths]

"Savings" should be considered an expense and listed as a necessity? When we did our expenses we never listed savings therefore we aren't/can't save while in BK13. Am I wrong? Should we have put savings down? We are not confirmed yet.