I have finally thrown in the towel

[kw1025]

Do the withholding exemption, the most possible under 10, to have the least tax taken out, especially if you anticipate having a big return. The trustee will be entitled to a certain % of that return, so the less the better. If you have an accountant, consult with them too.

[lrprn]

I will not be filing until January due to retention bonus in June putting me over means, what do I do about Christmas gifts??

One of the most important lessons that bankruptcy teaches us is that our personal family and friend relationships mean a lot more in the long run than our things....or the gifts we give at holiday time.

There are so many gifts we can give each other at Christmas that don't involve a lot of money changing hands. Take a look at the ideas here - I've used these myself after we filed -

http://www.betterbudgeting.com/articles/money/63giftsunder10dollars.htm

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/self_reliant_living/87147

http://rubyglen.com/articles/handmadechristmas.htm

And even better, it's possible to give gifts for free! Give your time - offer a free evening of babysitting for relatives who have small children, offer a half-day out running errands, visiting the doctor, etc to elderly relatives, etc.

And for anyone reading this who might be worried about their own children and how they will feel with less "stuff" under the tree this year, many of us who have already filed discovered to our surprise that when our children understand that we are in tough financial times, they are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to help the family.

In my own family, the very first Christmas after we filed when we didn't have enough to go cut down the live Christmas tree that was our tradition for 20 years, we discovered that even without a tree as our little homemade, thoughtful gifts came out on Christmas morning, we discovered to our delight that we enjoyed the holidays more and appreciated each other more than when Christmas was just a "what did I get and is it as good as what you got?" that I regret to say we had fallen into before. Now my whole extended family has adopted this approach too. No more trying to impress, no more trying to pretend we have more money than we actually do. It's actually quite liberating! We rediscovered the true joy of giving and receiving - one of the most precious personal gifts I've received from our bankruptcy.