What our attorney did with our schedule J

[jdcat]

Our attorney emailed us a copy of our petition tonight. I'm hoping this means we'll be filed any second, lol!

I do have a question for anyone here that may know. Our attorney stated "none" in answer to prior bankruptcies in the past eight years. We are one month and eight days past the eight year mark for our last bk. I'm assuming his answer is correct?

Anyway...our schedule J looks nothing like I thought it would. Though I think it looks good. Everything seems ok number wise except for our Line 4 for food. He put $600 for a family of 5. I can see that he took the amount we stated that we spend on food ($900 plus another $120 for school lunches) and borrowed some of that to fill out the medical/home maintenance/clothing/laundry lines. We do borrow from our grocery money to cover these expenses when they arise.

He then took some of our stated pet expenses and added that to our transportation costs to end up with $300 for transportation for two cars leaving our pet expenses at $70 instead of the actual $120. He also wiggled enough out of every category to give us a $150 entertainment expense which raised my eyebrow a bit but I know I have to trust him. I had put zero for entertainment.

The $600 for food though just doesn't seem believable to me. The trustee is going to think we eat like birds or I am an unbelievable bargain shopper which I'm not, lol!

Anyway, we wound up with a -$9.20 DMI.

I played with our schedule J every night for weeks on end and never came up with what he came up with.

He's good. Or at least I think so.

[momofthree]

We put $450/mo groceries for a family of 5 and no one questioned it.

[jdcat]

Is that what you actually spend momofthree?

[SMinGA]

Your atty might think it would look more questionable to say you spend $1,020 in food, $120 on pets - yet nothing on clothing, laundry, home maintenance, medical, etc.

If the bottom line is right - then I don't see it as an issue. Meaning among all your expense categories you spend just about what you bring in each month.

[momofthree]

Is that what you actually spend momofthree?

Yes, but I'm a hard-core couponer. We joke that saving money on groceries is my 2nd part-time job, lol. That includes diapers, cleaning supplies, bathroom products, and a healthy diet (we are dairy-free, gluten-free and eat a ton of fresh fruits/veggies). That said, I do home cook the majority of our meals & sticking to $450 a month definitely isn't easy, but due to our budget, it's a necessity....

[jdcat]

Your atty might think it would look more questionable to say you spend $1,020 in food, $120 on pets - yet nothing on clothing, laundry, home maintenance, medical, etc.

If the bottom line is right - then I don't see it as an issue. Meaning among all your expense categories you spend just about what you bring in each month.

That's what I'm thinking too. I just thought the maybe he went to low on the food. But I think it'll be ok. We have a car that'll be paid off in June and if the car gets mentioned I'm going to say we'll use part of that money to add to our food budget monthly and the rest toward a new car.

[jdcat]

Yes, but I'm a hard-core couponer. We joke that saving money on groceries is my 2nd part-time job, lol. That includes diapers, cleaning supplies, bathroom products, and a healthy diet (we are dairy-free, gluten-free and eat a ton of fresh fruits/veggies). That said, I do home cook the majority of our meals & sticking to $450 a month definitely isn't easy, but due to our budget, it's a necessity....

Wow, kudos to you for being so good at that! It's got to be time consuming with all of the planning required. I hope things get better for you and your family soon. Living that way because it's necessary is a strain I know.

[DebtHater]

I don't see that the numbers the lawyer entered would be an issue. It also doesn't mean that you have to use those numbers for a monthly budget. The most important thing right now is spending less then you make.

Also but the lawyer entering none as far as past BK's in last eight years is correct. If the question was did you have any BK's in the last eight years, one month and ten days, then you would have to answer yes.

[SMinGA]

To help on grocery expense - we make a menu for dinners each week and shop from a list. The kids help with making the menus. I also try not to buy more than we need for a meal, as leftovers usually would go to waste. Some meals are more costly than others so I try to balance it out each week.

For a family of 5, we spend about $500 per month on groceries. Including lunch (sandwich supplies, etc.) for me at work. I do end up eating dinner for free about 1/2 the time on my part time job though, and my kids are ages 8-10-11. Will get more costly as they get older!