Should I cancel my direct deposit paycheck

[4ever]

Actually its my wife's. From what I have been reading, most people are saying to put in the bank what you need to pay your bills and that's it. So with direct deposit the whole check goes in and we take out the extra cash later to spend on little things here and there. I cash my own check (not direct deposited) so I keep out money first and deposit the rest after. If they were to look at my check stubbs they would wonder why the whole check wasn't deposited and where the extra money went. Are you supposed to keep receipts for the whole length of the bankruptcy or just the first couple of months before you file?

[ccsjoe]

Quite frankly I don't see why you would cancel the direct deposit or subject yourself to check cashing. The trustee is going to know what your paycheck is, so.....not sure I follow the logic here? Living expenses-you are expected and allowed to have those. An extra here or there within reason...sure. So unless you're planning on hiding where the money from the paychecks went, or are planning on keeping receipts, or do not have an exemption to cover potential cash in the account, then I don't see why you would.

[4ever]

Thanks. not hiding anything. Just wanted to know the best way of depositing our checks. Like i said, most of the posts I read mentioned people just putting in the bank minimum of what they need to cover bills so I would think that meant they are keeping some cash out. Would that cash be for food, gas etc that they keep out all at once instead of leaving setting in the bank until you need to use it?

[jange]

My paycheck is direct deposit. The trustee is going to want the bank statement that covers the date you filed, so they will see what flows in and out. As long as there are normal expenses, I doubt he will question it, mine didn't. Nor did he ask for any receipts.

filed 1/11/10
confirmed 7/22/10

[4ever]

We haven't bought anything expensive since last year which was a tv. other then that we use a lot of cash and checks on little items but seeing them listed on paper, they really add up. The one good thing about Bankruptcy is having to write everything down and seeing all the money you waste on the small things you don't really need but you have cash so you feel like you need to buy it anyways.

[ccsjoe]

The only reason honestly I can think of is if you don't have the exemption to cover cash in hand, in which case you'd pay for certain items in advance, e.g. pay off your auto insurance instead of monthly payments, etc.

[mtngirl47]

Do you owe money to the bank where the check is deposited? Car payment or credit line or credit card? If so, move your money to another bank or credit union as soon as possible.

[NoTomatoCan]

Thanks. not hiding anything. Just wanted to know the best way of depositing our checks. Like i said, most of the posts I read mentioned people just putting in the bank minimum of what they need to cover bills so I would think that meant they are keeping some cash out. Would that cash be for food, gas etc that they keep out all at once instead of leaving setting in the bank until you need to use it?

I don't think that is typically advice you get for CH13 filers on this forum...

For a CH13 there is no need to do anything like that unless you have something to hide, and since you don't have anything to hide, there is really no reason for you to do that. In fact, if you started doing this all of a sudden it would almost certainly raise some suspicion with your trustee when they see this on your bank statements. As others have pointed out, the trustee would wonder why the money was being handled differently. It would look fishy.

[needanswers]

This would be the only reason I can think of to stop direct deposit and move to another bank.

We never stopped our direct deposit and I can't even imagine doing that as it would be so inconvenient to use money orders for bills!

Do you owe money to the bank where the check is deposited? Car payment or credit line or credit card? If so, move your money to another bank or credit union as soon as possible.

[4ever]

We don't owe anything to our bank. And we are filing ch 13 on our credit cards.

[4ever]

This is what I am trying to get at. And I don't know what the amount will be, this is just an example. say the trustee allows us $300 a month for "luxuries". If we know we spend that much, so we try to cut back on spending and only spend half of it, do we keep the extra $150, in the bank? And each month cut back so that the money we aren't spending on luxuries stays in the bank and starts to add up. Maybe we are saving it in case of an unexpected emergency. Will they see that money and think we don't need to have that much for luxuries since we aren't spending it and try to take it and put it on what we owe towards our bills?

[Megatron]

Do not worry about the extra money in the bank. The trustee is not going care, and once you have filed, you will not be providing bank statements. Save as much as you can because "Murphy" will show up sooner or later.

[4ever]

My wife been asking all these question on this forum,thinking we are going to lose everything. She is just scared that she not going to have money to spend like she does now. Which is true, but we will be ok. We are not trying to hide nothing, So lets get that straight.


Bob

[jange]

4ever, doubtful you will lose anything in a chapter 13 unless you are walking away from a car or house. Ch13 are different than ch 7. You file ch 13 to save your assests. If you budget properly you should have extra money, but remember you need to save for all those things that are going to happen over the course of 3 or 5 years.
Since filing I have already needed to replace a car engine, a water heater and a car window. I was able to pay for everything since we had money saved.

The trustee allows some money for entertainment, mine allowed $150 per month.

filed 1/11/10
confirmed 7/22/10

[systemslt]

if you have a default judgment against you may find your money gone by court order to the bank.

cash checks at the branch it is issued from. pay bills with money orders.

it is a hassle but paying with cash may help with spending discipline