If you have $75k in debt, but only $40k file a claim, it will be $75k + fees + interest if the ch13 is dismissed. Dismissal means every creditor is back in the game regardless of whether they filed a claim.

If you have a house with equity, it is almost certain to be a race to the courthouse...

I agree. I think the non-exempt property is the crux of the problem and why your ch13 is rougher compared to the rest of us. Like you, my DMI doesn't have any room for extras like buying back my own property from the creditors. So I made sure on the eve of bankruptcy there wasn't any property for me...

It depends on your confirmation order. In my district, you are allowed up to $1000 without court/trustee permission. I interpreted that as using $1000 credit such as an installment loan or showing a $1k balance on a revolver. But a $2k revolver with zero balance should be fine IMHO.

Some...

I'm not worried at all about the SSL loans. They are all fine except for the work involved trying to find a loan that will accept a 91% payback without making you pay the next month's payment and the bad customer service at some CUs. Some of the CUs have really,really bad customer service and makes...

With the exception of Navy Fed SSL (Share Secure Loan), none of the CU products will let you pay ahead more than a month or so. You could try it anyway but the due date displayed in the CU software will change overnight back to the next month. If you do $3k at somewhere other than Navy Fed for 5 years,...

After the chapter 13 is filed, get a report from Chex and dispute everything pre-petition with reason of bankruptcy. They will take everything out.

Fidelity has no overdraft fees at all, fast ATM fee reimbursement, and early direct deposit. The Fidelity debit card has a very rare benefit...

There are rebuilder installment loan fintech like KikOff which takes only 10 minutes to apply and only requires $1 from a digital wallet per month that is funded from the $12 installment loan. An auto loan is a very expensive way to increase credit scores more than KikOff once you factor in depreciation...

The act of adding another mortgage to your home on the eve of bankruptcy could be seen as an action to hinder, delay, or defraud your creditors which would make you ineligible for the discharge. It depends if you are solvent at the time you take out the mortgage and stay current on all of your payments...

Besides the pre-petition upfront fee payment to the ch13 lawyer, the unsecured creditors pay the bulk of your remaining fees with some exceptions like lien avoidance work. Because of that, there is no almost need to go cheap on the ch13 lawyer or go pro se. It is very normal for ch13 lawyers to bill...

Speaking of FHA, how about a FHA 203k refi rehab loan to fix most of this stuff in one shot ($25k-$30k for the rehab)? If your payment goes down, you won't benefit until the 13 is done but at least it won't go up... Actually your payment has to go down or the trustee won't approve. You will need a lender...

Good job hitting the 40% mark.

Funny you mention eating out. I was already taking my lunch to work except for the occasional meal when COVID hit. My group went from eating at restaurants to eating in the office lunch room. Now I eat at home all the time and don't spend money commuting....

Don't feel alone and think you are a failure. You've made the successful decision to move on and will be done in 60 months.

I actually have a cover story for 99% of my friends and family. I'm on a Dave Ramsey plan. If you've listened to DR, you'll know I'll be doing the "debt free...

There is no way you can get out of the bankruptcy early paying back just 64% as a lump sum. Early means 100% payback plus fees. The discount 64% deal requires you to stay in the ch13 for the entire 60 months plus on top pay windfalls like tax refunds, lawsuit money, and lottery that's earned during...

I know you're responding to a 2011 post, but the experience in my district is mostly different so I'm going to revive it too. First of all, the chapter 13 trustee will seek the money from the lawsuit (eg. either automatic stay or FDCPA) if there is no available exemption or if it is not a 100% plan....