Did a budget now need Chapter13

[RoxyRoad]

Hello BK Forum,

I'm single, haven't filed BK yet, about to pull trigger soon though. Don't own a house, I rent, car is paid for, all debt is unsecured CC/Personal Loan, and Student Loans.

I did my first budget in a while, and discovered I have only $150 left after paying all bills for Food/gas/expenses. I don't know how I let CC's go out of control, but I looked into filing Chapter 7 and the attorney said I make too much (lol). So I have to file Chapter 13.

I had a few questions about this (I am also going to ask attorney):

I have a 401k plan at my employer I am currently contributing 2%, should I increase this to the maximum employer match before filing Bankrupcy since the 401k is exempt?

I have my withholdings currently set at 0 for Taxes, to try not to get a refund, should I keep this at 0 or 1 since the Trustee will probably want to snag any refund?

I live in an apartment for last 3 years, but don't think I want to live here another 5 years. Do I try to get another apartment before filing BK?

I have small amounts of stocks ($3k), Crypto ($5k), can I keep these and just not sell them? Should I cash them out before Chapter 13?

I am paying back a 401k Loan from a year ago, and didn't know should I pay it back before Chapter 13 or just keep the payroll deductions.

I travel sometimes for work and have a Corporate Credit Card with $0 balance, Idk if I will lose this or not. I think I need at least one credit card to get hotels and rental cars for traveling for work? Anyone have any experience with this situation in BK?

Also what if you end up owing the IRS income Tax? Last year I sold some crypto, so I have to pay taxes on that, a Chapter 13 doesn't seem to let you save any extra money for tax payments or emergency funds? I have yet to actually know what my payments will be.


Thank you!

[shipo]

See my responses below in GREEN.

Hello BK Forum,

I'm single, haven't filed BK yet, about to pull trigger soon though. Don't own a house, I rent, car is paid for, all debt is unsecured CC/Personal Loan, and Student Loans.

I did my first budget in a while, and discovered I have only $150 left after paying all bills for Food/gas/expenses. I don't know how I let CC's go out of control, but I looked into filing Chapter 7 and the attorney said I make too much (lol). So I have to file Chapter 13.

You might want to consider consulting with a different attorney; some folks here have been told one thing by one attorney only to be told the other by a second.

I had a few questions about this (I am also going to ask attorney):

I have a 401k plan at my employer I am currently contributing 2%, should I increase this to the maximum employer match before filing Bankrupcy since the 401k is exempt?

Before my Chapter 13 my attorney strongly advised me to bump my contributions up to my employer match (fortunately I was already there so it was a non-issue).

I have my withholdings currently set at 0 for Taxes, to try not to get a refund, should I keep this at 0 or 1 since the Trustee will probably want to snag any refund?

I'd recommend bumping it to 1 (immediately after you file); when the tax code changed a few years ago I did one year with a 0 and had to pay my Trustee over $1,200 of my refund.

I live in an apartment for last 3 years, but don't think I want to live here another 5 years. Do I try to get another apartment before filing BK?

I would definitely recommend finding a place where you'll be comfortable for 5 years.

I have small amounts of stocks ($3k), Crypto ($5k), can I keep these and just not sell them? Should I cash them out before Chapter 13?

Probably best a question for your attorney.

I am paying back a 401k Loan from a year ago, and didn't know should I pay it back before Chapter 13 or just keep the payroll deductions.

Also a question for your attorney.

I travel sometimes for work and have a Corporate Credit Card with $0 balance, Idk if I will lose this or not. I think I need at least one credit card to get hotels and rental cars for traveling for work? Anyone have any experience with this situation in BK?

Your Corporate Credit Card will be unaffected by your filing.

Also what if you end up owing the IRS income Tax? Last year I sold some crypto, so I have to pay taxes on that, a Chapter 13 doesn't seem to let you save any extra money for tax payments or emergency funds? I have yet to actually know what my payments will be.

A savvy attorney will work with you to file in such a way as to allow a small amount per month to be squirreled away for a rainy day fund; once you've filed, you can also cut a few corners, say "cut your cable" and save, eat out less, cancel subscriptions...

Personally I believe it is absolutely in your best interest to be able to build a small war chest; in my case I needed to pay cash for a new(er) car in my 4th year; I couldn't have done that without my savings.

Thank you!

[RoxyRoad]

Thank you for your responses!

I travel sometimes for work and have a Corporate Credit Card with $0 balance, Idk if I will lose this or not. I think I need at least one credit card to get hotels and rental cars for traveling for work? Anyone have any experience with this situation in BK?

Your Corporate Credit Card will be unaffected by your filing.

I'm worried about this, since the Corporate CC is through American Express, and I get a statement from them and have to pay them with reimbursement money from my employer. I'm afraid to ask our HR, but maybe I should, also I have a personal Amex card with a balance, do you think I should try to pay that off so AMEX doesn't even get listed on the Bankrupcy?

[shipo]

That question I cannot answer, sort of. The thing about your bankruptcy is, even if any given personal card has a zero balance, it will still get reported as part of your filing and AMEX will almost certainly close it. Your Corporate Card is a different animal as your company is the guarantor even though you pay it, and as such, it will most likely survive your filing.

[justbroke]

My corporate AMEX survived my bankruptcy. I did not list it in my petition. The card continued to work as normal including its $100K "NPSL" limit.

[RoxyRoad]

Thanks!

Just to be clear I have to log in and pay the Corporate Card and I get the statement directly. Does this still mean the company is the Guarantor? I know I'm not an authorized user, but I don't see the card on my credit report actually. Is that why it survives bankrupcy?

[justbroke]

My corporate AMEX was technically "personal" responsibility. AMEX set a $100K credit limit because the card was used for expenses only and reimbursed by my employer. My employer would pay most of the bill by a direct payment, but anything else I had to pay myself. Not all large corporate employers have the same system that my employer has, which links the expense reporting system to another system that can issue payments to AMEX.

Prior to that system, my other very large corporate employer (think $100B a year) just reimbursed us in our paycheck and we had to make payment directly to AMEX.

It just differs by employer.

[RoxyRoad]

Thanks yeah I get reimbursed in my paycheck then I pay American Express myself. My Employer name and my name are on the card itself