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How to determine current expenses....

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    How to determine current expenses....

    Ok-

    So I have a spreadsheet I created categorizing our expenses for the last six months including everything based on all our bank statements/credit card statements/etc.

    Now I categorize things differently than the schedule I'm trying to fill out does.

    I'd say 80% of our living expenses outside of utilities/rent/insurance/car come from expenditures at places like Target & Meijer (for those of you not from MI/IN/KY/IL area similar to Wal-Mart Supercenters). I don't really keep an accurate breakdown of what I buy there: it can be anything from clothes to prescriptions to groceries to cleaning supplies to gifts to diapers. I generally categorize what I buy at Meijer as groceries since I get most of my groceries there and Target as household (my catch-all category). There is no household on the schedule so how do you categorize that stuff based on the options given on the schedule?

    And is there any good way to know if an amount might seem excessive to a Trustee? I've looked at the allowable expenses for the means test and some we are less, some we are more.

    Our attorney just said to sort it out as best we could and he would let us know if there was anything which might be of concern (not enough or too much).
    Filed CH 7...12/27/2007
    341.............2/5/2008
    60 days.......4/5/2008
    Discharged...5/12/2008 Closed.........6/4/2008

    #2
    You're making it more difficult than it needs to be. You don't need to account for every dime and where you spend it. The new schedule for 1.1.08 states that you can use the max allowed without question. The only time I would be worried about nickels and dimes is if I was trying to squeek by with an amount over the max allowed. In that case I would keep recipts. The other option is to take a little off here and add there. It's basically a numbers game. Get it close enough to keep you out of 13. I was low in some areas that my lawyer raised. Just get it close.

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      #3
      And your attorney wants to be sure you are including stuff like medicines for your child(ren) and day care costs and stuff that you spend your money on but maybe isn't listed on the IRS guidelines. Make sure you get it all in your budget.

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        #4
        Oh, I meant the budget (Schedule J) not the means test stuff.

        That's what I'm trying to figure out.

        I probably am making it more complicated than it really is
        Filed CH 7...12/27/2007
        341.............2/5/2008
        60 days.......4/5/2008
        Discharged...5/12/2008 Closed.........6/4/2008

        Comment

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