Can I spend $ before BK?

[Liaah]

Since I am no longer paying my bills and waiting it out to file, can I spend the extra money on things like:

Dishwasher broke. Won't drain properly. We never fixed it because we didn't have the money.
Drain in bathroom broke. Same thing no $.
Need new tires on the car.
Oil changes.
Hubby needs new work shoes and clothes.

I just don't want to go spending too much money and then make the trustee think we have a bunch of expendable cash. These purchases would be necessity, right?

[FilingOnMyOwn]

Yup. In fact its recommended to take care of all that stuff before you file to eliminate excess cash.

[SinkingFast]

Definitely!! Take care of your needs with the cash you've been sending to your Creditors.

Just as a CYA, document how you spend the money. Save receipts.

Spending the money for necessities will help you later when you're having to figure your Expenses for Schedule J. Many of us did without so many things or charged everything from Gas and Clothes to Food, we didn't know what our actual expenses really were. Saving the receipts will help you categorize where your money goes.

[demismom]

That's what we were told to do, not that we could, our refund went to the attorney and to pay our property taxes. Any other "extra" money we get we've been buying clothes here and there.

[twuoo]

What happens when you do file for bk and the automatic stay goes into affect? Obviously, there would be money that wouldn't need to be paid to the cc companies while in bk. What can you do with that money?

In my situation, I have $1400 in minimums.

Can I take that money and put it on repairs to the house etc as well?

[BassBoy]

What happens when you do file for bk and the automatic stay goes into affect? Obviously, there would be money that wouldn't need to be paid to the cc companies while in bk. What can you do with that money?

In my situation, I have $1400 in minimums.

Can I take that money and put it on repairs to the house etc as well?

The day you file, your finances are "etched in stone". What you do afterwards with the money you're no longer paying creditors doesn't matter. You can spend the money on home repairs, car repairs, day to day living expenses and ect.