Wow Mommy - you make it sound so good!! What encouraging advice you have shared. I love the idea of buying the gift cards in small installments. That way when you want a treat and eat out, it's pretty much paid for. I'm not the best at coupon clipping but with your experience sounds awesome so we'll give that a try as well.
Keep the advice coming folks. Just got an email from my attorney and she said I "jumped the gun" from her last email and that she is going to see of she can S-Q-U-E-E-Z-E us into a 7 but I want to be realistic about it. If we are for a 7 cool! If we are for a 13, I want to be as prepared as possible.
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I'm not "deep" into our 13, just 4 months. We have 4 children and were very dependant on credit cards, never even considered a budget.... (so thus reason we are where we are.) I was scared to death to do this, what? live without credit? I just didn't see it working. But we had no other options...
So here we are, 4 months later, and it's the best thing we have ever done!! I sleep at night! All my bills are paid when they are due and groceries are in the pantry. I'm able to buy birthday presents when the kids get invited to parties and the Easter Bunny was able to fill their baskets. All of it is PLANNED out...aka... BUDGET!!! I'm doing so well with it. I keep a binder with all my bills and upcoming expenses. I clip coupons.... amazing how they work, went into the grocery store, got $80 worth of groceries, after swiping my store card and double/triple coupons it came to $32! Yahoo!! I love saving money now. My advice is to be aware of where all your money is going. Know what bills you have and when they are due.
Our kids are use to eating out....well no more! But when we do eat out they understand it's a special treat. Each payday I buy a $10 gift card to one of our favorite places. That way when we do decide to eat out the entire bill or most of it is already paid for and it didn't really hurt our pocket book.
I also put $20 in the savings account each pay day. With 4 kids we have plenty of medical copays to pay for, so when flu season hits I want to be ready!
This is the best thing to happen to us.... I will never use another credit card!
Good luck to you... this is very do-able if you are willing to do it.Leave a comment:
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Me too....we're filing on May 21st and I could use some good advice too....Leave a comment:
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What is your best advice for a successful 13?
Just received word from our attorney that after running the numbers, it looks like we are definitely in a 13 and that our payment plan will be about $375 per month which seems to work out to a 55% repayment after factoring in attorney and trustee fees. Our cars are being paid outside the plan so now we just need to decide if we should cram down the older vehicle. We have three years left at $433 per month but if we do the cramdown it will take it out to 5 years at about $250 per month. But my understanding is that any "savings" we would see would go to unsecure creditors so that may not be the best strategy regarding the vehicle. Will talk to the attorney further about that.
Now for the advice. Since many chapter 13 plans fail, and my husband and I are not used to living on a budget, what advice can those of you deep into your plans or those that have successfuly completed your plan can you share with those of us who are just setting our feet on this journey? I would love to hear any tips or strategies you have employed. Thanks in advance!
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