Budgeting and spending while...

[empressj]

• I'm Hi. I recently filed chapter 7 earlier this month and concerned about my spending while in the midst. I have nothing to hide but so concerned about everything we spend and everywhere we shop, such as Walmart. We do most of our grocery and household necessity shopping at Walmart. Our bill usually run 300 pp depending on what we need that week. 

So my my question is is this is scruntized? Most of the funds left in our account is for car payment and rent. Will this be assessed as extra funds bc it's not. Will I have the opportunity to explain this to the trustee? 

Sorry for the rambling I'm just so nervous, meeting is coming up fast...

[Pway]

No it would not be considered as extra funds in your account.  You should have already given your attorney your bank statements and I am sure he/she has advised that everything was okay.  Nothing to worry about at this point.  Your 341 hearing should go smoothly.

[empressj]

Thank you. We did provide copies of bank statements however I read somewhere that the trustee may ask for more current copies. We hired attorney in early September and filed early October. I believe our statements were from August/September.

341 scheduled for early November and its coming quickly Thank you so much for your response.

[Anonymous]

You should invest in a printer and print out grocery coupons online. Walmart is SUPER easy to use coupons, and you don't have to be some extream couponer either. I average about $20-30 a shopping trip at Walmart using coupons. When I had to submit out bank statements no one said anything to me. I think they are generally just asking for them to see if you have any large deposits or odd withdraws to see if you are possibly hiding anything. I know in my job we request them, but it's to look at spending and if we see someone (often we do) who spends $400 a month on fast food we reject their request.

[empressj]

I have used coupons in the past just not consistently and do plan to make that happen going forward.

[StartingOver10]

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@empressj wrote:

• I'm Hi. I recently filed chapter 7 earlier this month and concerned about my spending while in the midst. I have nothing to hide but so concerned about everything we spend and everywhere we shop, such as Walmart. We do most of our grocery and household necessity shopping at Walmart. Our bill usually run 300 pp depending on what we need that week. 

So my my question is is this is scruntized? Most of the funds left in our account is for car payment and rent. Will this be assessed as extra funds bc it's not. Will I have the opportunity to explain this to the trustee? 

Sorry for the rambling I'm just so nervous, meeting is coming up fast...

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^^Is that an error? $300 per person per week is huge for groceries and household necessities

[empressj]

$300 per pay, approximately, that includes groceries and household necessities 

[StartingOver10]

I don't know your pay periods, are they bi-weekly?  If so, that is still a huge amount to spend per month for groceries and necessities. I think you can rework that budget. Naturally, it depends on if you are buying for 4 or for 14 (!).  

$300/pay period, assuming bi-weekly, is $7800 per year which is $650/month.  

Start your budget with zero.  Then analyze every dollar.  Set aside savings first.  Take a look at your bank statements and see where the hole are - they will show up as frequent debits. My youngest daughter used to spend tons on Starbucks until I showed her she was going broke $5 at a time. [$5/day x 5 = $1300/year over take out coffee!] You can see it a little bit easier if you print out (or pdf) 3 months of your latest bank statements. Highlight the debits that you make without thinking. You will be amazed at how much money you find this way.

Try https://www.daveramsey.com/budgeting/how-to-budget/

[empressj]

Thank you for tour suggestion. I have been using coupons which helps however everyone in my family takes lunch to daily and rarely junk as 2 have have serious health conditions. When speaking with my attorney and the paralegal they both said that's about average for the reigon we live in.

Our spending can vary. The most we have spent is $300 per pay, most times it's between 200-250 which falls a little over moderate cost plan per the USDA/Monthly spending chart