Is a Chapter 13 plan the worst thing ever? ??

[LadyInTheRed]

I think it also depends on your housedhold if you have dependents they allow you more. If your single or married without dependents it difficult because the budget is way less. Thats why i need a chap 7.

If you have dependents, they allow you more because your expenses are higher. I am married without dependents and we live within our budget just fine. I think we have it easier than people with kids because when we stopped using credit cards and had to start budgeting, we only had our own habits and desires to deal with.

We eat nice steaks now and then and buy whole grain bread at around $4 a loaf. It is expensive to eat healthy food. But, I refuse to compromise in that area. I'll cut out other expenses in order to eat well.

[IamOld]

Iamold--teenagers are much more expensive to feed than small children too, especially if those teens are boys, and even more so if those boys invite friends over regularly, lol.

It also sounds like you're in an area where fresh fruits/veggies are expensive. I can't remember the last time I had to spend more than $1/lb for fresh fruit---though I do only buy what's in season and on sale...

Momofthree and guys - it is an expensive area - the funny thing is, until 10/20 years ago much of it was farmland!!! Shoprite owns a supermarket chain here but they're more expensive than Shoprite...we do have a farmers market VERY close to me, but it is EXPENSIVE. Occasionally fruit is cheaper (reminds me this Sunday need to check it out again).

I long for the days of going to Western Beef in NYC - FAR less expensive than anything here!!!!

Re fresh fruit - there's NOTHING around here that's less than $1.89/1.69/ per pound. Walmart has cheaper fruit, but it looks like it spent a month on the boat from China :-)

What sometimes does make sense is a bag of frozen fruit...I Personally really like it.

ALdi - tried it once...I think I may need to do it again, but - only for non-perishable stuff - I bought their hamburgers and they were mostly water, oil, and generally tasted like leftover plastic...

[ChescoChris]

I no longer just run to the store and not really think about price. I shop at Aldi for staples, grocery chains for name brand stuff I like and sale items. Somebody said it perfectly in another post: sometimes I splurge but now I am careful to cut somewhere else to pay for it. I still struggle with "needs vs. wants" but it gets easier. If I really need a shopping fix, I hit flea markets, Goodwill or yard sales just to get it out of my system.

I too get angry at people who managed to get into a 7 but this has definitely been a learning experience.

[jange]

I have a produce store in the area that just sells fruit and vegatables, much cheaper that the regular food stores. Now that the weather is warm, all the local farmers markets are open.

[salsa]

Well unfortunately I have diabetes and really need to eat the healthy stuff whether in season or not. Sucks to be me.

[lillymarlene]

Fresh fruits and vegetables are more expensive than 'junk' food though. Sames goes for bread, you can buy white pretty cheap, but good whole wheat, costs a lot more.

I agree, but a loaf of wheat bread at this Shoprite is only 99 cents, summer squash 99 cents a lb, gallon of skim milk $2.99. Then, I have a lot of different grocery stores clustered in my area. Maybe the competition helps... I know its not top of the line, but I pick up a lot of things like cube steaks a couple for a few $$.

I never used to be this way, but lately it's like I've got a pricelist in my head. Sometimes one shopping trip is to 3 different grocery stores.

[momofthree]

Iamold--teenagers are much more expensive to feed than small children too, especially if those teens are boys, and even more so if those boys invite friends over regularly, lol.

It also sounds like you're in an area where fresh fruits/veggies are expensive. I can't remember the last time I had to spend more than $1/lb for fresh fruit---though I do only buy what's in season and on sale...

[salsa]

Fresh fruits and vegetables are more expensive than 'junk' food though. Sames goes for bread, you can buy white pretty cheap, but good whole wheat, costs a lot more.

[nsupanda]

COngrats nupanda!

But I have to ask again - how on this or any other planet of your choice - do you grocery shop for $60/week for THREE people?????

Where I live a two pounds of apples (four or five) cost like five bucks! Last week I spent $170 for FOUR two adults plus two teens and I was ecstatic! AND I shop the cheapest store (no it ain't Walmart) and I use some coupons and I buy store brand unless there is simply no non-store brand product.

If food like that cheap out in OK???

Beef here is SOOOO expensive it's pretty much off the menu...

I don't know how to explain it... The most I've spent a week in the past 4 weeks is $65. I use coupons, but I'm not the coupon queen... I might save $3 per week in coupons. I shop at Walmart. Here's what I do: on Sunday, I make a meal plan for the week (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner). I plan my grocery list around that meal plan. I also put things such as cereal, bread, milk (necessities) on my list if I'm running low on them for that week. I can't say I've stuck to my meal plan 100% (there have been a few times when I didn't want to cook and we ordered out instead). Anyway, I estimate the dollar amount for each grocery item on my list and I stop at $60. We wanted steak the other day but I couldn't afford to shell out $21 for three steaks so we bought cheap ones instead. Maybe one week I'll splurge on the good steaks and cut back on something else :-) I would be willing to prove it has worked out just great for me, maybe one of these days I'll start a blog with my weekly grocery list/meal plan!!! hahaha

[lillymarlene]

Has anybody tried something like a "Shoprite" store? The selection is sometimes not the greatest in the world, but the prices are fantastic. A loaf of white bread 79 cents, 6 pack of bulkie rolls $1.49 (when they are $3.49 everywhere else.) MA is not supposed to be all that cheap of a place to live either, but I find that coupons and shopping in some of the bargain grocery stores, and stores helps.

[IamOld]

EVERYTHING is expensive!!!

[salsa]

One comment I will make is healthy food is definetly more expensive.

[IamOld]

COngrats nupanda!

But I have to ask again - how on this or any other planet of your choice - do you grocery shop for $60/week for THREE people?????

Where I live a two pounds of apples (four or five) cost like five bucks! Last week I spent $170 for FOUR two adults plus two teens and I was ecstatic! AND I shop the cheapest store (no it ain't Walmart) and I use some coupons and I buy store brand unless there is simply no non-store brand product.

If food like that cheap out in OK???

Beef here is SOOOO expensive it's pretty much off the menu...

[nsupanda]

We just recently filed and our payment just about blew the socks off of our feet. We are 100% payback now. We are slowly learning to live with our payment and it's not as hard as I thought it was going to be. When our attorney told us how much we'd pay every month I went home and bawled like a baby and started preparing our years supply of raman noodles.

We've been filed for almost two months now and so far I have managed very well. We now only spend $60/week in groceries (family of 3) whereas before we were spending about $100/week (usually putting it on the card). It's strange, but I have managed to gain 5 pounds this month due to all the food we've been eating (GOOD FOOD). I've just learned to manage my money better. I also started an envelope system that's been working out REALLY well for pop-up expenses we'll have during the year that we can't really budget for monthly.

This isn't paradise, but in five years we'll be free. I really needed this. Without filing bankruptcy I never would have had the discipline to pay off my debts and I feel that when this is all over I'll have the smarts not to get myself into this situation again.

[karm43]

I think it also depends on your housedhold if you have dependents they allow you more. If your single or married without dependents it difficult because the budget is way less. Thats why i need a chap 7.