A few more questions, please?

[ValleYum]

I love that AFLAC commercial!!!

Anything over $117 and some change could push you into a 13.

Do you have any childcare expenses?

Yup, out of pocket expenses for medical and dental. Anyone wear glasses or contacts? Those count, too! One office visit is $100 or more here - it sure adds up quick. Also Neosporin, bandaids, theraflu, tylenol, pedialyte... You should definitely factor in something - everyone needs to go for a dental cleaning, too!!! Even using $60 or $100 dollars of the $180 would really help your DMI drop.

Put something down in recreation, too! This is your Fresh Start! Take your baby somewhere fun (Mommy and me class??) and/or take a family outing once a month and have it in your budget!!

I budgeted a small amount each month for charity ($10-$20). I always guiltily throw a dollar bill in every single one of the Salvation Army pots at Christmas and that adds up - so does when I donate for the Friends of the Library or our local animal rescue. Any pets? If so, don't forget food & vet bills for vaccines, etc.!

My hairdresser's son had his apartment badly damaged by smoke from a building fire this spring. Hardly anything could be salvaged due to both soot and smoke - particularly electronics and upholstered furniture/mattresses. He only had basic renter's coverage but he was lucky - only 2 out of 12 families had *any* insurance at all. Anyhoo, they gave him $19 to replace his 2 year old microwave. WTH kinda microwave can you buy for $19? He didn't have replacement value coverage. Ack.

Also, your prospective income: Ask your lawyer what amounts you should put. No new jobs, positions or promotions are 100% certain in this economy. Maybe have 2 Schedules I/J? One with current and one with the possible new job and use the one that applies at the time you file. Maybe some other folks will chime in on this issue.

Okay, your brain is gonna explode if you don't stop for the night!! Get some rest!!

PS: I miss Atlanta. I grew up there and in Birmingham. Sweet home!

[lotsahats]

I love that AFLAC commercial!!!

Anything over $117 and some change could push you into a 13.

Do you have any childcare expenses?
Nope. I stay home with the rugrat.

Yup, out of pocket expenses for medical and dental. Anyone wear glasses or contacts? Those count, too! One office visit is $100 or more here - it sure adds up quick. Also Neosporin, bandaids, theraflu, tylenol, pedialyte... You should definitely factor in something - everyone needs to go for a dental cleaning, too!!! Even using $60 or $100 dollars of the $180 would really help your DMI drop.
No glasses or contacts, but we do buy Advil quite often. Are you saying I can put that under medical? What about Epsom salts (we buy that all the time, too)?

Put something down in recreation, too! This is your Fresh Start! Take your baby somewhere fun (Mommy and me class??) and/or take a family outing once a month and have it in your budget!!
Weight Watchers? I wouldn't call it recreation, but it's something I attend regularly. It's about $40/month. And, yes I'll definitely throw in some family time. What's an acceptable recreation budget?

I budgeted a small amount each month for charity ($10-$20). I always guiltily throw a dollar bill in every single one of the Salvation Army pots at Christmas and that adds up - so does when I donate for the Friends of the Library or our local animal rescue. Any pets? If so, don't forget food & vet bills for vaccines, etc.!
No pets.

My hairdresser's son had his apartment badly damaged by smoke from a building fire this spring. Hardly anything could be salvaged due to both soot and smoke - particularly electronics and upholstered furniture/mattresses. He only had basic renter's coverage but he was lucky - only 2 out of 12 families had *any* insurance at all. Anyhoo, they gave him $19 to replace his 2 year old microwave. WTH kinda microwave can you buy for $19? He didn't have replacement value coverage. Ack.
Wow! $19? How generous!

Also, your prospective income: Ask your lawyer what amounts you should put. No new jobs, positions or promotions are 100% certain in this economy. Very true, but I was estimating high, so he probably won't be making quite that much. We'll see. Maybe have 2 Schedules I/J? One with current and one with the possible new job and use the one that applies at the time you file. Maybe some other folks will chime in on this issue.
I won't be able to file until after this takes effect.

Okay, your brain is gonna explode if you don't stop for the night!! Get some rest!!

PS: I miss Atlanta. I grew up there and in Birmingham. Sweet home!
I've been to Seattle quite a few times. Love it! Then again, it was June-September whenever I went, so I got to experience the nicer weather. I couldn't believe people were complaining about how "hot" it was!

I don't want it to look like I'm padding it, to avoid C13. I'm afraid of getting slapped with presumption of abuse. I'm proud of hubby's promo, but the timing couldn't have been worse. Three months ago, we were robbing Peter to pay Paul, and now we're looking at the possibility of a lot of DMI. And, it's just too late to play catch up. The creditors want the entire balance, at this point.

BTW, does my clothing look unreasonable? I've never really budgeted that, on a regular basis.

[ValleYum]

Yes to the Aleve and epsom salts and even diaper rash cream!! Maybe even throw WW on your medical - that way you will feel better about it. I can tell this is KILLING you. LOL

Personally, I can't think of how you'd get a POA - your numbers seem decent and I bet if you are really honest you are padding the income and skimping on expenses to "play fair" so to speak. Even with hubby's potential raise you are still under median income aren't you? If you are then it is important to make sure your Schedules I and J are acceptable and you should be good to go!

Oh and I would do the hula in my front yard if my power bill was $55. LOL

Folks put varying amounts for recreation - most count on their attorneys to tell them what flies locally. There were 2 of us and we put $50 down. That covered us getting a Sunday paper subscription, my People magazine and doing something together once a month that gets us out of the house! Again, all Trustees are different so make sure you talk to your attorney.

Clothing budget seems fine. National standards is $209 for a family of 3. I think we claimed about what you did and there is just 2 of us.

Oh, girl, I *know* how it is. Except our financial mess was more like a sledgehammer when the VA lost a couple of months of housing allowance and I couldn't keep all the financial balls I was juggling up in the air. It sucks. Hopefully you will be able to file really soon.

We lived across Puget Sound from Seattle in Bremerton. My hubby was in the Navy and was stationed at the sub base there. When he retired a few years back, he went to work for the railroad and we moved near Vancouver, WA as he is based out of Portland, OR. OMG anything over 70 degrees up here is a heat wave. Most folks don't even have central a/c!!! They would die in AL, GA or TN after one of August's afternoon thunderstorms when the humidity is 100 and so is the temp, huh?

Hope your day is awesome - TGIF!!

[mountanddo]

An attorney in your area would be happy to let you know what flies with your local Trustees.

I guess this would negate the purpose of this forum?

[nceguyfromne]

Medical expenses are always justifiable. You may not go to the doctor regularly right now because your budget is tight (unfortunately that's all too common around here) or maybe you just plain don't like going to the doctor, but in the long-term it's a near certainty you'll eventually need medical care. When that happens, one visit may very well cost you an entire year's medical budget or more. At the very least, you're going to occasionally need health-related supplies... Band-aids, Tylenol, ice packs, what have you. If you are not currently making regular expenditures for medical needs, take your standard $60/pp allowance and use it to lower your DMI. If you can justify a higher amount then by all means do it. Ideally you want to break exactly even on your DMI and demonstrate that there's no money whatsoever left over to pay your non-priority debts. My lawyer had me at $0 exactly.

[oregonpilot]

hi lotsa...i gotta pipe in here about the medical insurance.
For me a 5k deductible policy would be 3-400 bucks..and i don't have any pre-existing conditions. (but i am an OLD lady) LOL

My atty had me put on my schedule J what my premium would be...also what my contractor insurance and bond was going to go up to. I haven't been able to get med insurance yet. more than what i make a month in some months. So these are projected expenses without having to be living in your car.

[lotsahats]

Oh and I would do the hula in my front yard if my power bill was $55. LOL

Electric is actually $88. It's on a fixed rate, based on my average consumption. I did that after I ended up with a $200 bill last winter.

Folks put varying amounts for recreation - most count on their attorneys to tell them what flies locally. There were 2 of us and we put $50 down. That covered us getting a Sunday paper subscription, my People magazine and doing something together once a month that gets us out of the house! Again, all Trustees are different so make sure you talk to your attorney.

Well, I have been wanting to get a zoo membership. That's $95 annually, for a family. Would it be permissible to divide that by 12?

We lived across Puget Sound from Seattle in Bremerton. My hubby was in the Navy and was stationed at the sub base there. When he retired a few years back, he went to work for the railroad and we moved near Vancouver, WA as he is based out of Portland, OR. OMG anything over 70 degrees up here is a heat wave. Most folks don't even have central a/c!!! They would die in AL, GA or TN after one of August's afternoon thunderstorms when the humidity is 100 and so is the temp, huh?

The first time I went up there, my aunt warned me to pack sweaters, because it gets cold at night, but I didn't listen. The need of a sweater in June was unimaginable to me.

At the very least, you're going to occasionally need health-related supplies... Band-aids, Tylenol, ice packs, what have you.

Well, by the time this mess is over, I'll probably be able to add Ambien to the pile.

[LadyInTheRed]

An attorney in your area would be happy to let you know what flies with your local Trustees.

I guess this would negate the purpose of this forum?

This forum cannot tell people how a particular trustee may view certain expenses. For example, pet expenses have been suggested, but some trustees view those as unnecessary expenses. We can all make recommendations based on our experiences and the experiences of others who have posted here. But, there is no substitute for an experienced attorney who is familiar with the local trustees.

[lotsahats]

hi lotsa...i gotta pipe in here about the medical insurance.
For me a 5k deductible policy would be 3-400 bucks..and i don't have any pre-existing conditions. (but i am an OLD lady) LOL

My atty had me put on my schedule J what my premium would be...also what my contractor insurance and bond was going to go up to. I haven't been able to get med insurance yet. more than what i make a month in some months. So these are projected expenses without having to be living in your car.

So, it was okay for you to add health insurance, even though you didn't have any? Granted, that may not be so, in Tennessee, but if I can, it'll help tremendously.

[oregonpilot]

yeah...there is a place on the bottom of the form for explanations. atty stated that was what insurance would begoing forward AND i had medical bills over the previous 6 months b4 filing that averaged 600. a month ...i included copies of ALL my medical receipts (on cc's).
I came out with a -500 something dmi. Asked atty if trustee was going to question how I was going to get that to work
Nothing about my expenses going forward ever came up.