Bigger Tax Refund Coming Than I Thought

[SecondChanceGal]

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[FreshLikeADaisy]

SecondChanceGal, you can only lose it if it ain't already spent.

Anything but luxury items and insider/preferential payments is pretty much okay, so if you need dental work or car repairs, this is your chance. With that low an income, I feel certain there are all kinds of things you could spend it on. When was the last time you bought clothes, for instance, or really stocked the pantry? I feel certain you'll figure something out. Good luck!!!

[keepmine]

Does your states exemptions cover the cash?

[SecondChanceGal]

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[dp1969]

We are getting a good amount back. I'm choosing not to file until after our 341. That way if they ask...I need to pay my attorney and my son needs some long over due dental work, as do I. I'll find a way to spend it. All my needs now ARE necessities we couldn't afford! No luxury items being purchased here!!!!

[FreshLikeADaisy]

I'm feeling somewhat nervous hoping this extra bit of money won't set me back any on this bankruptcy. I just had a NEW collection agency call my mother and say I needed to call them urgently for I had a complaint against me - FMA Alliance is their name. What is it with these bill collectors? They call my parents who are elderly and tell them they have a complaint against their daughter....very urgent complaint..and I need to be calling them to get it taken care of. My mom is almost hysterical on the bill collectors that have called her over the past year.

SecondChance, I went through the same thing with them calling my elderly mother. Since you are already intent on filing Ch7 I would not worry about sending them money, but please do consider sending all of them cease and desist letters, certified & return receipt requested, that specifically mention not calling family members or other third parties. It should stop. If you haven't already, see the Collection Problems on this forum, and there's all kinds of good info. You can easily pull a boilerplate cease and desist letter off the internet and modify it to cover third parties; I can't see this being more than a 15 minute project and it would save you a lot of hassle. If you do this, be sure to affirm in the letter that they have YOUR correct address and phone number so they can't claim they were calling your folks to obtain "location information". If you've already begin paying this attorney, you can give them his name and number and instruct them to call him: according to the FDCPA, once you give them your attorney's name and number in regard to a specific debt, they MUST stop calling you, period.

The important thing is that whatever you do in their general direction, do it in writing. You'll be very glad you did, I think, and consider it time well spent when your phone's not ringing off the hook anymore. Good luck!!!

[Lindsay]

We will have about a $3000 surplus from our tax return after we pay our lawyer the remaining $800 we owe him. Our lawyer said he could exempt it in lieu of homestead, but I don't want to take any chances. We're planning on :

Making one house payment
Making one car payment
Purchasing a bunch of groceries (maybe $500-600) to stock up the pantry/freezer (this will be great as I've been cooking up macaroni & cheese, ramen and spaghetti several times a week for the last 6 or 7 months)
Paying our car insurance bill (they bill us in 6 month increments, the bill just came!)
Paying our home owners insurance bill for the year
Paying down our cable, phone, heat, electric bills to a zero balance (many are one-two months past due)
Taking both dogs to the vet for their yearly checkup/shots (one is a few months overdue on shots because we haven't had the money to take her)
Stock up on laundry soap, over the counter meds, dish detergent, Dog food, toothpaste, shampoo and other personal items
Maintenence on vehicle (oil change, a few other things)
New clothes and shoes for the kids (modest amount, I haven't bought even a tshirt for my youngest son in over a year - he doesn't have any boots and we live in a cold region)
Filling the truck's gas tank to the top for once! (We usually only put in 10 gallons at a time - I paid $3.49 a gallon yesterday)
Try to save a little in cash to start building an emergency fund
A few small home repairs that we've been putting off (a new sump pump and toilet- ours are in horrendous shape!)
A new microwave oven to replace our barely functioning one ($125)
Husband needs new work boots
Haircuts for the kids/husband (I used to have a styled long layer cut, but I grew my long hair all one length to save money on trims! I guess I'll keep it this way for a while, I haven't went for a haircut in 2 years now)
A few new pairs of pants for me, I have alot of tops and sweaters, but my pants are all getting holes in them (some in very unflattering spots too!)
Buying a one year phone card for our prepaid emergency only cell phone (we only use about 20 minutes a month, but its cheaper if you buy the one year plan!)
Pay our yearly membership to AAA for car emergencies ($50)

So nothing will be spent on any luxurious items, just things that have been needed for a while to help get a little bit ahead. It will be so nice to catch up on our utility bills and have the insurance paid and some extra food in the house.

If you've been saving up for the lawyer and living without credit for a while, you can probably think of dozens of things that need to be purchased that you've been doing without. You can catch up on the household bills and make a good budget to stay on track now that you won't be behind anymore and filing soon.

[SecondChanceGal]

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[tay666]

Yeah, spend it.
Because Ohio only has a $400 exemption for cash.

[Lindsay]

SecondChanceGal,
We usually have ours sent via check and deposit it into the bank when it arrives. Direct deposit is way quicker and I should do it that way next year; I don't know why I don't. We plan on using our Mastercard debit from the checking account to buy everything we need and write checks for the items that don't take debit cards like insurance. Then I'll be able to show exactly where it went if questioned. For the groceries and other items, I'm going to keep the paper receipts in an envelope.

It's a great opportunity to catch up on things. I decided to write down on paper what I wanted to do with the refund so I could plan ahead. The funny thing was the list kept getting longer and longer! I'm sure you will find tons of things you and your child need too!

Mainly, I'm excited about the insurance and utilities getting caught up. Its been really tight here the past months and I live under constant threat of utility shutoffs and worries about insurance. The other day we had a real bad storm and the power was flickering/house shaking and the first thing I could think of was, "Oh no, did I pay this months installment on the homeowners insurance?"

The stress is really horrible and I'm a full time college student so its really hard to concentrate. My new math professor is a real drill sargeant and randomly calls on you for an answer several times during class and my mind is usually drifting around between wondering if I paid the water bill or what can I make thats cheap for dinner this week. I can't wait for the fresh start with BK. I know that you've been on this board a while too, so I imagine you are ready too! I hate it when the phone rings; my creditors call my father at his job to tell them about us! Fortunately he's the general manager there so he doesn't get in trouble, but its still a real pain.

Its so hard to catch up on anything when you are already behind. Plus the heating bill has been horrendous, we live in a snowy area. I'm doing alot better with being frugal and budgeting now, so this should really boost things.

[dp1969]

We will have about a $3000 surplus from our tax return after we pay our lawyer the remaining $800 we owe him. Our lawyer said he could exempt it in lieu of homestead, but I don't want to take any chances. We're planning on :

Making one house payment
Making one car payment
Purchasing a bunch of groceries (maybe $500-600) to stock up the pantry/freezer (this will be great as I've been cooking up macaroni & cheese, ramen and spaghetti several times a week for the last 6 or 7 months)
Paying our car insurance bill (they bill us in 6 month increments, the bill just came!)

Buying a one year phone card for our prepaid emergency only cell phone (we only use about 20 minutes a month, but its cheaper if you buy the one year plan!)
Pay our yearly membership to AAA for car emergencies ($50)

Lindsay-

Your list is almost the same as mine. Been living on every paycheck with no room for luxuries in the last 2-3 years. We need to pay the lawyer (rather my mom, she fronted the money), need to get the dog in for his shots, get my AAA started again, medical insurance deductibles ($500 for every member of the house), food (ah, it will be nice to have a steak), kids need dental work (as do I),for a rental home and much more that I've written on a "necessities list".