We have a rule where you have to get permission to incur more than $1000 in debt. I took a liberal position on that and decided it was OK to apply for lines of credit early in the bankruptcy as long as I didn't incur more than $1000. I would put $5 charge on the credit card and pay it off the next day....

If you have to take out a loan for the car, you can't afford it. Most people cannot afford to pay for a NEW car because they need to finance or lease it. The car is a rapidly depreciating consumption item. The only thing you should finance is a house. A house can hold its value or even appreciate in...

The used car market is twice as large as the new car market. Lots of people have done just fine with used cars. So I might give you advice to learn to get comfortable with $5k used cars. Stay with boring reliable sedans like the Corolla and pay to have a mechanic inspect the car prior to purchase. ...

I withdrew from an IRA, which was rolled over from a 401k back when covid allowed for in-service rollovers and penalty free distributions with the ability to give the money back anytime within 3 years. 401k in your current job is dead money in a ch13 so rolling the whole thing out to the IRA was a huge...

I wouldn't spend $1300 on a 30 year old furnace. I know money is tight for you though. Get multiple quotes and negotiate a discount. Make the first salesman think you already brought someone else in for an estimate. 30 years is the max life expectancy of furnaces and you're in the extra bonus rounds....

I think you should strictly focus on raising the funds to pay off the 13 or covid extend the 13. Forget about getting compensation from your attorney even though you deserve it. If your bar complaint threatens his license, that doesn't mean you will get paid a dime later on. When pursuing the CARES...

Just Uber until you pay off the 13 if you need a replacement vehicle. You don't want to incur legal fees for something that will go away in a few weeks. And slow down... check engine light almost always doesn't result in a replacement vehicle.

As JB mentioned, car payments are very bad...

IMHO on Credit Info Center. It's very good for delaying the inevitable. But the outcome is inevitable. You are going to lose the debt lawsuit. Lots of tricks from the early 2010s don't work anymore. But if delay is the goal, it's a great resource.

If you get treatment, an argument can be made that you were addicted at the time and deluded into believing you were a professional gambler who could make a profit and truly intended to pay your business debt. This could help overcome the objection that everyone knows the house always wins and there...

Nothing jumps out at me for bankruptcy purposes except the rent. Depending on the county, you may not be allowed the full expense on the rent. Whatever is disallowed in the rent could be put in other areas where I think you substantially understated the expense (food).

Furthermore, you...

PurplePanda Are you paying the credit union credit card? Unless he is paying that too, it's costing you money to keep the boat. If the credit union gets wind that you will file BK or behind on the credit card, they may not release the lien unless you payoff both the boat loan and the credit card. Your...

I'm not a lawyer, but maybe the new 1328(i) section from the December COVID relief bill may be in play for an expedited discharge or even save the home. The verbiage in this section is vague but I would 100% have your lawyer take advantage of it and timely oppose the motion for relief from stay. Your...

I don't understand how the backstory justifies keeping the boat if you're able to wait until November to file anyway and get past the lookback period. You really should get rid of it and pocket the money you're paying to the boat and the cross collateralized credit card. There is no equity to keep since...

Barbisi You guys have non-exempt equity / best interest of the creditors? I think that may be why you are having a bad experience with this trustee and maybe not representative with other debtors' experience. Non-exempt equity is very bad for your case because the trustee has to make sure you pay it...

401k money is money that she earned long ago with the tax consequences deferred. It's not current disposable income. Only the tax consequences are today. But it depends on local rules. IMHO, it's not disposable income but you have to struggle with paying the taxes. If you fail to pay the taxes, you...

Before you get too far into "planning" your expenses, don't forget you cannot make up expenses out of thin air. You need to have actually incurred those expenses and have receipts to show if requested unless they are at or below the IRS amounts. To some extent, you may have incurred gambling...