Here's goes again please critique my expenses - thanks!

[karm43]

I pay around 100 a week in gas 342 gallon here and my ins is high 230 month i have full cov actually that went down 35 dollars. I think that is average, also depends on age, accidents etc. This is for 2 cars. They do allow clothing monthly. Think your gonna be in chap 13. You only could have a little left like 120 dollars. Just the 370 on maint on home that is high. They will see that as money for creditors.

[karm43]

Should I have been saving my gas receipts? Oh Uh

[karm43]

Your student loan refunds? Think they will want you to cover those software programs with that. Thats why they give you a loan to cover the expenses that are needed. Do not want to seem harsh.

[karm43]

Not sure I think only certain states let you take national standards hopefully your in 1 lucky Pa. is 1

[oicu812]

$50 for hair !! I wish my wife would spend 50 on hair.one thing my wife works with the public in a cosmetic medical practice so she has to keep her
"appearance up"so money related to that was added.(if you dont need to "keep appearances up" maybe its about time you get purrtied up lol)
dont forget termite inspections,alarms,bug and lawn service,tolls.I know for sure that eating out was not and could not be budgeted for so I increased the amount of food in the grocery store.and food is going up steadily esp if you have to eat healthy.rice and beans,beans and rice is for Dave Ramsey...not for me
I use quicken so I was able to go back a year or two and give every transaction a catagory and added each catagory up for a year and divided by 12 to get my avg spent on every catagory.My pen and paper off the top of my head calulations was much lower then what I actually spent. that made a BIG differance.

[Freddy03]

$50 for hair !! I wish my wife would spend 50 on hair.one thing my wife works with the public in a cosmetic medical practice so she has to keep her
"appearance up"so money related to that was added.(if you dont need to "keep appearances up" maybe its about time you get purrtied up lol)
dont forget termite inspections,alarms,bug and lawn service,tolls.I know for sure that eating out was not and could not be budgeted for so I increased the amount of food in the grocery store.and food is going up steadily esp if you have to eat healthy.rice and beans,beans and rice is for Dave Ramsey...not for me
I use quicken so I was able to go back a year or two and give every transaction a catagory and added each catagory up for a year and divided by 12 to get my avg spent on every catagory.My pen and paper off the top of my head calulations was much lower then what I actually spent. that made a BIG differance.

$50 a month for hair cuts is not going to fly when the OP is so close to being in a 13.

[ValleYum]

Most experts say to use a figure between 1% and 3% of the cost of your home as an annual budget for maintenance. The older your home the more likely it is to need expensive repairs. There are tons of articles on the internet that can back these expense percentages up as can your own records.

Routine maintenance and repairs can include items such as: Light bulbs, lawn equipment maintenance, snow removal and supplies, water softener, fertilizer, mulch, driveway/sidewalk repairs, termite inspection/treatment, pest control, roof repair/replacement, painting, fixing water pipes, repairing/replacing major equipment (a/c, water heater, furnaces), repairing/replacing appliances, furnace filters, chimney cleaning/inspection, fire extinguisher recharge/replacement, smoke detectors, CO2 detectors, batteries, repairing fences, and other expenses necessary for the preventive care of property and equipment.

Most people in a Chapter 13 should consider budgeting for an increase in property taxes as well. Our local governments could be asking for millage increases to make up for a poor economy. Our taxes went UP for 2012 despite our home's value going DOWN.

Insurance costs may increase in some states too. That prospect should be budgeted for if your state does not offer protection against insurers raising rates based solely on credit scores.

[keepsmiling]

Around here it would be hard to get a decent haircut for much less than $25 each with a tip.
You'd wind up with a bowl on your head
Although, it may be time to think about a lower-maintenance style. I keep mine long just for this reason. It's much cheaper and you can always put it up on a bad hair day.

[ValleYum]

$50 a month for hair cuts is not going to fly when the OP is so close to being in a 13.

She can use the national standards amount for "Personal care products & services" of $55 but that will take the place of her line items of haircuts and toiletries ($50 + $81 = $131).

But she still has $30 in "Apparel & services" that she did not use that she can use to make up for some of that. National standards allow $162 and she is only claiming $132.

Even borrowing from one column to add to the other, it is still a decrease of $46 overall to her expenses.

Her uniforms/work shoes are a separate expense from clothing.

Around here it would be hard to get a decent haircut for much less than $25 each with a tip.
You'd wind up with a bowl on your head
Although, it may be time to think about a lower-maintenance style. I keep mine long just for this reason. It's much cheaper and you can always put it up on a bad hair day.

$25 here may get your bangs and split ends trimmed. LOL

[basketsbears]

Hi!

Thanks agsin for all the input. The student loans are mine. The software was my husband's so would not come off my refund.

I am still going through everything. Hoping for 7, but will be thankful for a doable 13. I just want to get goiing with it.

Thank you all. Keep it coming!

Happy Thanksgiving!

[keepsmiling]

still time to think about buying a car

[keepsmiling]

She can use the national standards amount for "Personal care products & services" of $55 but that will take the place of her line items of haircuts and toiletries ($50 + $81 = $131).

But she still has $30 in "Apparel & services" that she did not use that she can use to make up for some of that. National standards allow $162 and she is only claiming $132.

Even borrowing from one column to add to the other, it is still a decrease of $46 overall to her expenses.

Her uniforms/work shoes are a separate expense from clothing.



$25 here may get your bangs and split ends trimmed. LOL

what drives me NUTS is that is all I ever want, it takes about 10 min and costs much more than dh's layering all over and beard trim that takes min half hour.

[salsa]

$212 for one car, for gas, insurance, maint., that's crazy. I spend about that much a month on gas. Was that amount figured when gas was $1.00 a gallon or what?

[mountanddo]

what drives me NUTS is that is all I ever want, it takes about 10 min and costs much more than dh's layering all over and beard trim that takes min half hour.

I can get a haircut for about $20 with the tip here and I only cut it about every 3 months. If I actually had $50 a month to cut my hair I'd be in heaven.

On a side note: This has been driving me CRAZY. What the heck are the intials dh. I've seen it in many posts. I keep thinking it's divorced husband but I don't think that's it! LOL

[keepsmiling]

Dear (or Darling) Husband
ds- dear son
dd- dear daughter
dbil- dear brother in law etc

So WHO is your avatar? Should I know her? My turn to feel out of it lol

I suspect that the $50 is for haircuts for both. Depending on how high- maintenance the styles/color are, I can easily see this.
They charge me more for "long hair" even tho it's MUCH less work than dh's short hair. As in, just trim the bangs and split ends.