At my wit's end....

[TheBajan]

For us it has been life changing. Filing for BK meant so many things to me personally. I was not only financially bankrupt but spiritually also. My identity was so tied together with my financial responsibility that when things began to fall apart, so did I. It nearly cost us our marriage. It certainly impacted our children watching us struggle for so long. Like most of us here, BK was a place I NEVER expected to be.

BK should be life changing but the whole point of it is to learn from our past and gain RELIEF so we can rebuild our lives. [Alorth] I'm so sorry it's still been this difficult for you. I do hope it gets a little easier as you go along. I am very glad to hear from you as you are in my thoughts often. I can't adequately express how much I am looking forward to your successful discharge. I agree completely with Cat. My goal in this BK is to NOT raise any flags, stay under the radar and if/when a little extra comes our way... it gets tucked. I've become very good at that. It's almost become an obsession with me. I find myself wanting to continuously simplify my life and while there are many "things" I might admire, there are few things I actually desire.

My best to you both,
The Bajan

[pamkev]

Bajan has said exactly what I was thinking.

[cereber0s]

If you have an increase in income, if I were you, I would shut my mouth up, and put some mechanism in place to put those 'extra funds' each month, and create an EMERGENCY SAVINGS FUND. This fund needs to be NOT accessible to you, except in the
DIREST of emergencies.

By EMERGENCY, I mean something like the transmission has fallen off the car, or you have had a hot water tank blow out. This not to be used for "I ran a few dollars short at the food store...". Budget for those things.

And yes, LITR is correct. Plan for the Long Term, not the short term. Short term planning will get you nowhere, except for picking up aluminum cans on the side of the road, and taking them to the scrappers. I am there and am doing this RIGHT NOW! We can't make our ends meet each month without this. 'Hub gets a meager SS, and I have a small PT job, and that is it, Folks.

Have not posted in a long time...but wanted to login to say my lawyer advised me to do this. Haven't had any problems so far (3 years in).

[alorth]

Thank you, Bajan.

[Pandora]

Having to report an increase in income varies from one person / district / trustee to the next. If you have any type of increase, its always best to consult with your lawyer as to what can happen. Some trustees state anything over 10% must be reported while others want all or nothing.

It is NEVER a good idea not to report income increases - at least consult with lawyer about them. You could get all the way through your Ch. 13 and when the trustee does their audit, it could come back and bite you in the end, especially if they require tax returns submitted every year.

Rule number 1: read confirmation order Rule number 2: always consult lawyer