Would someone be willing to look at my Expenses?

[jlynn275]

Dexter is a TV show. I think it is on showtime? But you can watch it on ch131.com. They have tons of shows on there, even premium cable ones. I watched about 6or 7 seasons of Weeds online for free, alol in about a week! haha

I caught Dexter on Showtime and then got hooked and got showtime to have the new season. You can only watch reruns on Hulu and other channels. Once this seasons is over I will cancel showtime, but it's really only going to save me $12...which isn't much when I don't have hardly anything down for entertainment?

And Dexter is a show about a lovable serial killer...it's awesome!!

[tobee43]

How do you calculate things you can't predict? And they allow expenses for gifts, vacations??? I don't know where to put that I will have to start paying student loans in February? Also, I didn't put what comes out for retirement contributions ($40 a month) because it comes out of my check...which is listed on the income sheet.

we just lumped it all together in house maintence...at $400 monthly...personal expenses...$120...etc.i.e. general personal health care stuffs etc.


i'm not certain where i put xmas...etc. i don't think i did...

some districts allow more for your animals than others...unfortunately...i think that's terrible but that's just the way it goes...

[BKlooker]

some districts allow more for your animals than others...unfortunately...i think that's terrible but that's just the way it goes...

Right??! She is only putting down $40 a month for 2 cats....my puppy rolls through $45/month in food n treats alone, not to mention "mind occupiers" , and of course vet bills and preventative medications....and this is just a 20 pound dog.

[jlynn275]

I actually took the pet care expense and lumped it together with the food (food, pet care, beauty and cleaning) for $550. Which is ridiculously low now that I think about it.

[debee]

How do you calculate things you can't predict? And they allow expenses for gifts, vacations??? I don't know where to put that I will have to start paying student loans in February? Also, I didn't put what comes out for retirement contributions ($40 a month) because it comes out of my check...which is listed on the income sheet.

I can't remember if you are working with a lawyer, but this is one area where it really helps to have one. The lawyer can help you determine what is considered "reasonable" in your area. Most of us have stopped spending "reasonable" amounts as we tried to keep our heads above water. I know we did. So it's hard to know what normal looks like after eating rice and beans for three years (or whatever). That is where the IRS standards can be useful. If you look at the IRS standard, look at what you've been spending historically & then think about what you would be spending if you didn't have all the bills you hope to discharge in the bk filing, and then lastly and most importantly, talk to your lawyer about what gets past your local trustees.

There have been people on this forum whose lawyers told them where to up the amounts on their schedules. Not to lie, but to remind them that they can live more decently post-bk.

I copied the list I posted here from a larger list at a CA attorney's website for other lawyers. She's a bk veteran and offers courses for other lawyers new to bk. One of the things she said that I liked is that the trustee, panel trustee, UST will advocate for their position but they don't get to decide. The decision is the judge's. So she fights for her clients on whatever points she thinks she can win in order to keep them out of 13s. I like the idea of submitting a schedule that doesn't need to be fought over because it's not as stressful as a fight, but I thought her comments were a good reminder that the trustee isn't the end of it. If you were careful in selecting your attorney then you ought to be able to trust her/his advice (and seek it) in terms of what would be okay on schedule J.

[jlynn275]

I can't remember if you are working with a lawyer, but this is one area where it really helps to have one. The lawyer can help you determine what is considered "reasonable" in your area. Most of us have stopped spending "reasonable" amounts as we tried to keep our heads above water.

This is exactly it (and yes we have a lawyer). I say to my husband all the time - "what are we doing wrong?" And the answer always seems to be "oh yeah, we pay our bills". I watch on facebook and hear from friends as they trample off on one vacation after another, buy nice gifts and fancy toys and house decorations. My husband and I are smart people, with good jobs and we have been fighting to pay every single bill for several years (because of the cc debt). There are a few things we didn't skimp on, but we have had to put off a lot of things "til later" and my husband spent 2 weeks in agonizing pain because of it. He is still in the process of getting a lot of dental work, costing us around $800. If we were paying our mortgage there is no way we could get this done. I haven't been out of town or in a hotel in 3 years and this is the time of my life I should be livin it up because I have no children and 4 weeks paid vacation a year. I wear old, faded clothing that barely fits my fat ass. I can't afford shoes that don't hurt my feet or back or knee. I have been wanting to buy a back supporter for my work desk and a memory foam mattress for my bed to try to ease my pain, but I cannot. Don't get me wrong, we have a cute house, 2 running vehicles and food on the table, but for as hard as we work we should be able to live without deciding between new shoes, our mortgage payment or getting our teeth fixed.

[ozarkmiss]

Some other tweaks:

provision to repair appliances and replace soft goods like linens;
money for new roof, a plumber, paint;
health needs and dental care that have been postponed to repay creditors;
budget for birthdays, Christmas, and some vacation;
vehicle repairs, maintenance, & tires;
provision for debts surviving the bankruptcy;
saving for retirement;
sufficient money provided to pay the current year taxes come April;
pet grooming and veterinary care

THis is a good list.

Never even thought about upcoming taxes. Am going to have my biggest tax bill ever after cashing out 401k and short term capital gains taxes earlier this year. If I get pushed into a 13, that tax bill will break. Curious how to list this in the J - or just save it if a T wants to push me to a 13.

[jlynn275]

oh man, we will also owe taxes next year. In fact, if it wasn't for my college for the past two years we would have owed then as well. But this year husband got a settlement for OT wages and we have to pay taxes on that on top of what we will normally owe. How do you put all this on current expenses? Between taxes, student loans and future home maintenance we KNOW we will have next year...

[debee]

Something else that was on the original list that I didn't post today was moving expenses & damage deposit. I thought that one was good too - not applicable for jlynn so I didn't put it in - but good for people who are surrendering their homes.

[jlynn275]

is surrendering the same as not reaffirming?

[debee]

Reaffirm, redeem & surrender are the only choices I know about. A person might elect to "reaffirm" knowing that it's not going to be signed off by their lawyer or the judge. So there is no legal reaffirmation (in the sense of future responsibility for deficiency, etc) there but it's not a surrender either.

Are you giving up the house, jlynn?

I guess it's possible in some venues to decline to choose as well. I guess you can also state something on the bk forms - reaffirm for instance - and then not do it. If the lender is fine with that, you end up riding through, but if they insist on a reaffirmation and you don't go through with it, they can take the car. Although I read four cases today (one in VA, but the rest out west) where the judge wouldn't allow the reaffirmation (undue hardship because of negative schedule i/j) but stipulated that as long as the debtor kept up payments, they could not repo. I'm not sure what if any other options exist.

[jlynn275]

we are not going to reaffirm, but if we can we will stay and pay for as long as possible. If a modification is possible before or after BK we will definitely stay. (we've been in loan mod review for a year)

[debee]

I think most people would say that you are making a wise choice by not reaffirming. Good luck with your filing and loan mod attempts. I hope it works in your favor.

[tobee43]

Dexter is a TV show. I think it is on showtime? But you can watch it on ch131.com. They have tons of shows on there, even premium cable ones. I watched about 6or 7 seasons of Weeds online for free, alol in about a week! haha

ahhhhhhhh!!! well....i guess you can kinda tell...we don't do much tv here...cnn is on 24/7 when we are home and then we are more "movie" people.

i hope it's a good show! LOL!! maybe it's time for me to catch up with the times???

[tobee43]

Right??! She is only putting down $40 a month for 2 cats....my puppy rolls through $45/month in food n treats alone, not to mention "mind occupiers" , and of course vet bills and preventative medications....and this is just a 20 pound dog.

yes, i would think that amount would be just fine.