Should I use money orders now?

[whatamess]

When my hubby gets paid every two weeks we have been keeping most of the pay out, then deposting it in when we need to pay a bill. $99 a month is an automatic deduction that is the only way we can pay a particular bill. Should I use MO's now only for all else? Its a paon because I have to at times write check for my daughters school lunches (they dont take cash) and trips/class parties.
When I file, is the money in my account still available? Ca I still have the $99 auto deduction.
Sorry, my lawyer is to busy...
WAM

[emoney]

Your posting does not say why you are not keeping your money in a checking account. Unless you have a judgment and the possibility of a garnishment I know of no good reason not to use a checking account.
Without more information on your situation any advice is only guess-work on my part.
regards,
emoney

[tofargone]

As long as you do not have a garnishment or judgment, or if possibley if you filed on a debt held by your bank you should be able to use your checking account as you always have. I use checks more now because of the paper trail. I had my van crammed down in the chapter 13 and I still use the same bank as my auto loan was through. Money orders seem like to much of a pain if you don't need to do it.

[whatamess]

I was just following advice from a lawyer that we should not keep more than we will use for bills within a few weeks. Therefore when we pay a bill, we deposit the money the day before we send a check. Several lawyers said to make it look like there isnt ever anything in the bank. Right now its deposited and gone.
We are using an envelope system now, with all bill money going to its designated envelope. We found it was still to easy to make an unplanned purchase while having $$$ in the bank as well. Its to easy to use a debit or write a check when you have gone grocery shopping and bought more than planned.
I also used auto pay with my CC before. I did go to the web sites and discontinued the service but it still made me nervous.
WAM

[tofargone]

Is the reason for paying that way to protect you from the creditors or to protect you from yourself?

If the lawyer suggested it to protect you from creditors than by all means do what he says, if its to help you budget then whatever works for you.


My wife and I took a big calender and wrote when all of our bills were going to be paid and what our checking account balance should be through it all. We budgeted everything, gas , groceries, taking the kids out to dinner once a week , ( a little treat for them since my wife works in the afternoon and they have to endure my cooking on weekdays). We even have budgeted our money for things like new hockey skates for my son, walmart trips etc. Then after everything is budgeted we make sure we have at least 100-200 extra every week and put it in the bank to let it build. That way we have a little fall back if needed.

It works great for us, but that is us.

[ironman1964]

My lawyer told me to make sure I had no more than $400 in my checking and savings combined the day I file, so you will be ok as long as you don't keep too much in the bank. If you have extra, just keep it in your pocket. By the way, my lawyer is the actual bk trustee for my county, so he should know what he is talking about.

[SinkingFast]

My lawyer told me to make sure I had no more than $400 in my checking and savings combined the day I file, so you will be ok as long as you don't keep too much in the bank. If you have extra, just keep it in your pocket. By the way, my lawyer is the actual bk trustee for my county, so he should know what he is talking about.

Well I don't know I'd keep it there. In your pocket.

The day we started our filing with our attny, the paralegal had us empty our pockets, wallets on the conference table to see how much cash we had "on hand".

As far as how much to leave in the bank,.......... That's really gonna depend on your Exemptions. If you have a specific one for "cash on hand" or if you have enough of another Exemption to cover your bank balance.

Personally, I'd just keep it as low as possible going into BK as you can. Better safe than sorry.

[CurtInKS]

I am not filing until September. Should I start manipulating my checking account now, or simply file the day before payday, so my account is drained? We have the option to have portions of our check put on a state debit card, rather than our checking account. Would that work, or should I simply pay my bills every 2 weeks, and withdraw the rest, and keep it in a coffee can, buried in my back yard?

[SinkingFast]

We dropped Direct Deposit and went back to getting Hubby's pay in a physical check. We continued to take it to the bank and deposit Hubby's pay just like normal. So our bank statements would continue to reflect a similar routine. Money in, money out.

We made sure to "spend" all of the money within days after each pay. I purchased MO's at Wal-Mart to pay routine bills. Utilities, phone, and such. Even paid some bills via Debit Card over the phone. Used the Debit Card to buy everything from groceries to gasoline. All so money was gone instantly.

If it looked like there was gonna be extra money, I'd take cash back at the grocery store to keep the bank balance as low as possible.