What are some creative expenses to get me into a seven?

[Justpoor]

My atty says I am about $1200 away from a 7. O'm not sure what this means. $1200 a month? a year? Anyway, I know some of you have very creative attorneys. Can you please give me ideas of allowable expenses that maybe aren't the usual?

[lrprn]

We can't help you with just this information. Call your lawyer back and find out if he/she meant your monthly disposable income is over by $1200/month (most likely).

To look for monthly, yearly, etc. expenses you may have overlooked when you gave your income and expense figures to your lawyer, start here - http://www.goainc.com/fraley/calcula...alculator.html

Then pull out your check register or check your online bank account going back the last year looking for odd or irregular expenses - yearly HOA fees, property taxes, etc.

Good luck! Hope you can uncover the extra $1200. If not, then Ch 13 - especially one with a small monthly payment - is not a death sentence. It beats wage garnishments and constant creditor and collector calls 99.9% of the time.

[HHM]

If it's 1,200 per month, no amount of creativity is going to eat up that amount, sorry to say. Unless you forgot some very major expenses, that is too high an amount to nickel and dime with commonly "forgotten" expenses.

If the lawyer is refering to the Median income and is saying your 6 month look back for annual income is $1,200 short, well, that may not be a big deal so long as you don't show disposible income.

[Flowers]

I was over the means test, but when she tried to do a budget and payment plan for the 13 there was no money to live on and make the ch13 payments, so I converted to a 7.