Not quite on track, but SO much better!

Two months post discharge I have some new information about myself.

Firstly, we both did what we've always done when things go from super tight to having breathing room. We spent. We went out to eat more, bought some of the things we'd been wanting, and generally took that month's non-essential funds and went wild. Splurged. Binged.

That lasted for about a month in the acute stage and then over the last 3-4 weeks tapered off. Now we're able to look at the budget more and start getting on track.

It is SO very nice not to have to worry about whether a flat of blackberries is going to put us over for the week. It is so very nice to be able to get all our Christmas shopping out of the way over a month early and take advantage of sales. It's so very nice to not freak out when the pantry runs low. It's just so very nice.

I wish I had filed bankruptcy sooner.

First Challenge

There were some issues at work lately (major stress) involving an ex-employee who mishandled personal information of several patients. It came to light that they had not required a background check for this position, even though it deals with private medical and financial details.

I recommended that they start making that a requirement for the position.

Then, I printed out a form I found online that gave them permission to do a background check on me, which includes a credit check. I also wrote a formal letter stating my support of the policy.

I have yet to hear anything about it, so I'm not sure if they've run it yet.

I can't think that a bankruptcy could interfere with my new position. I'm getting a lot of kudos from the owners and from the patients and I'm taking on a lot of extra responsibility. I've been told that no one in this position has ever tackled it like I have. But I do have concerns.

If it turns into anything I'll be sure to post it here. At most I would imagine they'll ask me about it. Why did I file? What were the circumstances? How are are finances now?

Post-Discharge

So I'm officially off the hook for all my dis-chargeable debt. Which is all of it, aside from a $12,000 student loan.

How does that feel?

Pretty darn good. I have to say, however, that once the initial filing and 341 meeting was done, I somewhat put it out of my mind. I knew there was a chance that an issue would crop up, but I didn't dwell on it. After the first 30 days post-341 I mostly didn't think of it at all. The last 30 days flew by.

What would I have done differently?

Well... I would have filed a lot earlier. It was a fairly painless process that mostly required the ability to fill out a ton of worksheets for the lawyer and then wait. And wait. And wait. It definitely stretched my patience. Other than that, it was easy. This seems to be the general answer that everyone on the bkforum website give as well. They wish they'd have done it sooner.

What are my next steps?

Well, for one, I've got a reminder note to check my credit in about 75 days, including paying to see my credit score. They said to check it after 60 days, but I'm going to give it an extra couple of weeks, just in case something takes a bit longer. At the end of the week I'm going to call Tampa to get some certified copies of the discharge mailed to me. I had thought I'd receive one via the mail, but the only notification thus far has been an email with an attached pdf from my lawyer's office.

After everything has been straightened out I need to figure out which cards still work. I'm not sure if any survived the fallout. If one did, then I'm going to use it for something like gas or groceries and billpay a check to pay it off as soon as I return home. I figure if I get a monthly "pay as agreed" going on, then that's the best way to start. Next I'll start paying my student loans as soon as my deferment has expired next summer.

Job Update?

We're both working. It's a huge, huge change. The kiddo is in daycare and she loves to go to "school". We're both working full time.

Our expenses have increased. We're spending more on gas, food, and childcare than we were before, simply due to the change in circumstances. However, with adding that additional amount into the budget, we still have about $1000 left over to split between our FSA and savings. (FSA is for all the things we need that are random or scheduled but not monthly, such as the car breaking down, replacing a water heater, or car insurance.) After the FSA is funded we don't have a lot for savings, but it keeps things that are going to happen from becoming emergencies.

WOOT

I got my CH7 discharge notice today!

WOOOOHOOO!

Ch...ch...ch...changes

Well... I got the call!

I start my new job today. Yikes! Found out at 3:00 yesterday. Today is an observation day with my "real" first day starting tomorrow.

New Job

Hubby started his new job this week. It was yet another pay cut, but so very welcome for the steady income and opportunity.

He interviewed early this week and started on Thursday.

It's a load off my shoulders; with our income there is not a penny extra outside the budget, but there is enough. Enough for the house, enough for food, enough for health insurance and gas and utilities. Enough.

I have a potential job that I've been working on getting. Two interviews so far, one test, and one more test this weekend. I hope to find out soon.

In all the craziness of the past few weeks of interviewing and such, we checked out several local day cares. The little one is all signed up and ready to go as soon as I get word that I'm hired.

Cross your fingers for me?

*throws up hands*

Bankruptcy Status: No news is good news! About 30 days left in the 60-days club.

Interview Count for Hubby: 5 interviews in 6 weeks
Interview Count for Me: 0

I do have an interview today at 3:00. I would be an excellent choice for them. I'm not just saying that, either; I know I can land this job. The only question is whether or not they're actually going to pay enough.

It's really frustrating to look through craigslist.org and some of the other sites we use. It's obvious that the majority of companies are taking advantage of the sheer number of hungry unemployed workers and paying as little as possible. $8-$12 for bookkeepers (oh, and please have a 4-year degree and be bilingual), minimum wage-$9 for office help, maybe $10 for an executive assistant. It's crazy.

Today I have to really steel myself. I have no idea what the position pays. Very few list that on the job sites. It's a waste of our time and theirs! I'd never bother to apply to certain ones if I knew they were paying peanuts, and to go through the interview process and get all parties excited only to find out the pay is terrible... ugh.

So part of me is expecting to laugh out loud at what they're going to offer this afternoon. Then I have to decide if it's worth taking a job that pays very little compared to what a fair wage actually is. If it's more than retail, then isn't that great? If it's more than nothing...

If I sound a little disgruntled it's because we've sent out over 100 resumes and had very little response. The number of jobs posted each day is still significant, but those that apply to our skill sets are limited, and then ones that pay more than he's making on unemployment are few and far between.

I hope I go in there, find it's a great place, and get a decent offer. *crosses fingers*

The other thing I noticed is that people are not negotiating. If they don't like what you're thinking you should be paid, they don't even counter offer. They simply thank you for your time and hire the person who requested less.

On a job where the range is $x-$y, I don't understand this. If we're within the $y amount, and a great choice for the job, why choose someone who's asking $x but has less experience? If you only want to pay $x, then only offer $x. Does that make sense? Why even dangle that carrot?

And people are taking the jobs for less. "A job to keep a roof over my head? Heck, I'll do it for a waiter's wage and pray like hell I get tips, just HIRE ME!"

Hubby's response to the whole thing is, "I could work at Target for $8.50 an hour and have no responsibility. For $10.00 an hour to do what I was making $44,000 a year for, and have all kinds of responsibility isn't worth it."

Now I feel like a cocky primadonna who's too good to get my hands dirty.

But that's not it.

I helped my dad at his retail shop from the time I was 12.

I got my first job on my own as soon as I turned 14 and was made third key within a month. I held a job all through high school, all through college, then did two internships (one unpaid, one paid min wage, both were about 4 months long). I took an entry level job at the next place so I could work myself into the position I really wanted. Then, after going to school again, I started my own business, working part time while I built it.

I've paid my dues, damnit. I don't want to file and fax and lick someone's shoes for $9/hour. I was making a hell of a lot more than that just eight years ago.

Okay... this turned into a rant. Sorry!

The 400.

My husband had an interview at a placement agency that used to be in our town but is now located about an hour away. (They consolidated and the new office handles a significant territory.) The recruiter was very impressed with him and he aced all of the various tests and showed excellent software proficiency. They had already filled the position he had applied for, but she's keeping him in mind.

In the meantime, she told him that for the average job opening, employers are receiving, on average, about 400 applications.

Holy cow! That's a LOT of competition.

I figure that very few of the 400 average applicants are a threat. They either won't know how to write a resume, won't put time into a cover letter, or won't be qualified for the position. Most of the out-of-work people I know are applying for everything they can and stretching their background to try and cover it.

Still, it leaves many, many potential workers who are skilled, who have experience, and who are hungry.

In the three weeks he's been unemployed we've sent out well over 40 resumes. He's had three interviews.

The first went well, but they found someone with experience with their software.

The second was for the placement agency. I have hope that if anything in our area opens up, they'll consider him.

The third is where he is at this very moment. My fingers are crossed. Prayers have been said.

No word on the bankruptcy front. And no news is good news. I'm assuming they were able to notify Capital One and hope that nothing is going to happen to screw up the discharge.

Alright, what else?

We were playing outside. Frisbee and hula hoops. We were having a lot of fun.

Hubby noticed that the fan on the A/C was spinning more slowly than usual and it started to make an odd noise.

A little later we went back outside to check on it. It made a terrible sounding noise (we both stepped back from the unit) and the fan slowed to a halt.

I was due to be somewhere, so I left him instructions of who to call and what to do. I took my leave and throughout the evening found out:

- Companies can come out immediately, day or night, as advertised, but the service charge is VERY inflated for them to do so.
- It was very likely the capacitor.

The next morning we awaited a call from the company whose number was on our unit. Turns out they did not contact us "first thing the morning" and hubby called them to find out what was going on. Apparently this was not the company that serviced us after we purchased the house; they had the old owner's name in the system. They'd be out "sometime in the afternoon".

We found our company's number. They had a tech there within a few hours. Turns out the compressor shorted out and took the capacitor with it. We'd known that if this happened we'd be SOL. The unit is 10 years old, a 10 SEER system, not supported anymore, and very hard to find parts for. We'd learned this from our home inspector as well as the A/C checkup/maintainer guys last summer.

We had figured we had a few years. The unit was doing okay, though the air handler inside was clogged with mold and dust and rust (which hubby cleaned up as best he could, not having the $800 to pay for them to do it). It ran. It cooled. Our average electric bill was about $160.00. One of the goals we had after filing was to save up money towards the A/C.

Nope. Caput. Done. He showed hubby a few things that made sense to him as far as it being truly broken and not just a sales technique. A new part, should they even be able to find it, would cost about $2000. It made sense to get a new system.

And, best party, they could install a new one that afternoon.

We called the office manager who checked with their financing company. Hubby was turned down. (I, of course, could not apply.) I was shocked. He has really good credit, even great. It was good enough to get a good rate on the house, we've made every payment, he has no other debt except for student loans. They couldn't tell us why. She offered to try their secondary company, and I agreed.

I also ran upstairs to log into his BOA account (with his permission). He has a credit card that we don't use. In fact, when he got the new card in the mail after the old one expired, we snipped it right up. No more CCs for us, no siree. Well, we might need it, and I had no idea even what kind of credit limit he has.

$5500 at 16.9%

For those who haven't bought a new A/C lately, they are rated by SEER. Higher SEER levels indicate higher efficiency, and there are tax credits from FPL as well as the government. 13 SEER is the least expensive unit and the least efficient currently available. (This is all based on very limited research and may not be entirely accurate.)

A 13 SEER system (a huge improvement over our old system) for our house was $3918.00. That includes installation, removal of the old system, a 10 year warranty, and one year of service.

We could have gotten a larger system; we certainly have enough room on the BOA card to do so. However, we decided to get the most basic system.

Was that a mistake? Ask me in a few years. We only knew that we have a senior citizen with a bad heart living downstairs and a 2 year old living upstairs. For us we could do a few days without A/C to price shop. For the other family members, there's no way. We got what we could "afford".

Yeah, yeah, we don't have income right now, so we can't "afford". I should say, instead, that it was the most affordable option.

I called the office manager back after getting the card number off the statement (hubby called and begged for the expiration date). Turns out we qualified for the financing.

At 5 years the payments were just over $100/month at 17.9% financing. This was a percent over the credit card, so we didn't go with that.

4 years had an APR at 14.9%.

3 years had an APR at 13.9%.

If hubby gets a source of income, we can swing the $133.00/month payments over the next three years. It's not an ideal solution, but it works.

If he does not get a job, it's still covered, though it gives us less for food.

By 4:45 we had a brand new A/C system and $4000.00 more in debt.

I have a Feeling that something's going to happen to/break down in the older car in the next few weeks. You know how "when it rains, it pours"? Yeah. I have a Feeling.

Financial Details

This is what I figured out.

"Gift" Income: $500

Disability Income: $644

Total = $1144

This will cover our mortgage with about $50 left over.

Unemployment @ $275 x 4 = $1100 + $50

Insurance:

Health Insurance $475

Life Insurance $55

Car Insurance (Paid for six months)

_______________________________

$620 remaining

Averaged FPL bill ("Budget Billing") $160

Water/Sewer $130

Phone/Internet/Cable $155

Medicine $40 

________________________________

$135 remaining

(Sidenote: I realize that the internet and cable are both luxuries and that we can drop them if need be; I have a feeling my mom will pay this bill if we have to drop it. I called and got another $10 customer retention credit per month over the next 12 months by telling them about our situation.)

EDITED: A/C Payment $133

That gives us a whopping $2.00 a month left over for gas and food.

I know that doesn't seem like a whole lot, but figure that since he got 2 weeks of severance we won't "need" to touch the unemployment and can roll what would be "extra" in our normal budget to go towards food and gas. 

It helps to know that we won't be losing the house or having the lights shut off. 

One Week Later (Than "Oh Crap")

It's been a long week, but it's also gone by quickly.

My daughter has absolutely loved having daddy home. As have I. I almost feel guilty because there have been so many times I've wanted a long vacation or wanted a break from being the 100% stay at home parent.

There are many opportunities right now.

I've gone into super-focus mode and have revised both of our resumes (two versions for me), looked through every single job available on three websites (jobfocus.com, monster.com, and craigslist.org), copied anything even close to what we qualify for into a document, set up new emails for both of us that are more professional, and sent out resumes and coverletters to each of those opportunities. I've also looked for new entries the past few days as well.

Thus far? Not a single interview had been scheduled. It's been less than 72 hours, though. We waited until Monday to start sending them out. Sent out a bunch Monday afternoon and evening, more on Tuesday, and a handful today.

Really, this couldn't have come at a better time. Because we don't have to worry about my debt anymore (assuming that the discharge happens, and I have no reason to believe there will be issues) we've got more wiggle room.

Options:
- We both find full time jobs and put the kid in daycare.
- One of us gets a job and the other stays home.
- We both get part time jobs and share "stay at home" duties. (I really like this option.)
- We both try to freelance and make ends meet while we look for jobs.
- We both apply for as many jobs as possible, but I get a retail job ASAP just to get some money coming in.
- We win the lottery. (Lol.)

I'm not giving up on our financial goals just yet, but right now survival might be the only goal we can focus on.

Capital One

I received an email from my paralegal's assistant. Apparently the address I pulled off the bill from Capital One for bankruptcy notices was incorrect. (I may have copied it wrong onto the piles of paperwork I filled out or they may have inputted it incorrectly.)

If a company cannot be notified then it's likely that debt won't be discharged.

So you better bet I was on the phone within a minute of getting that call. I got a different address (different state, even) from C1 and emailed that back to them. I also included their regular address for correspondence, figuring it can't hurt to have them send a notice both places.

Oh Crap.

One week and one day after my 341 meeting I got a call from my husband. It was 8:03 in the morning. "I'm on my way home. I've just been laid off."

Budgeting Experiment

I know that most people who visit my blog are looking for bankruptcy-specific things, so if you're not interested in my own experiments in budgeting, please feel free to skip this one. I'm trying to keep us out of debt again in the future so it's relevant to me.

I recently switched my way of budgeting as an experiment. Instead of spending $140 a week for the three of us (including all household items, food, and eating out) I spent $20 a day. Yes - $20 x 7 = $140, so it's not a difference in amount, rather in timing.

The first thing that changed was that I was shopping almost every day. Now, I'm out and about town and the grocery store and fruit stand are pretty much on my way home from everywhere, so this wasn't a big deal in regards to time or gas. (Though I did notice the kid expected a cookie at Publix every time we went. There were some tears involved.)

One of the rules that I made was that I could buy two days worth of food if I was some place like Whole Foods and did not want to make two trips as it's out of the way. So I might spend $40 on Monday, but it would cover Monday and Tuesday. Three days at a time was my max, and I tried really hard to buy for each day.

The second rule was that I could not borrow ahead. If I wanted a super special meal or to eat out or something like that I had to wait until the money was available. I couldn't use Tuesday's money to pay for Monday's food.

One of the things that I noticed was that I got a lot less food. I've changed my eating habits some recently, so this didn't affect me a huge amount, but it did make me feel a little pantry-paranoid.  I've been a big fan of thegrocerygame.com and using coupons and stockpiling. Suddenly I wasn't coming home with $60 worth of free food after spending $100. I was spending $20 and getting $20 worth of food.

The reason for this is two-fold. One, it's harder to use some of the coupons I've gotten used to. The Albertson's ad comes in the mail and often has a $5/$50 coupon. Publix takes competitors coupons. Two, the things I'm buying are much more whole-food and don't usually have as many coupons.

I should add another reason. I'm not getting the best price per ounce. If I only have $3 left to buy salsa, for example, I'm not going to get the big jug that will last us for weeks and weeks. I'm going to get the small jar that only lasts a few uses. (We love salsa and went through the stuff I made really fast, so we're back to buying it until next tomato season at the local farm.) Another example is when buying training diapers, I'm not buying the giant pack and saving $0.05/each. I'm buying the smaller pack which costs $10.99 or $8.99 if on sale.

I was, however, eating much healthier and I was excited about all the different things that I could get. Instead of making a menu for several days, I would figure out what I wanted for supper and plan on leftovers for lunch the next day. I'd get a few different snacks. We made the switch to grass-fed organic meats. They taste better and are healthier for us. We switched over to only organic dairy and local grass-fed organic milk. Both these things are more expensive. (Though the milk is only $0.70/gallon more at the fruit stand than regular Publix milk is at Publix.)

I'm not eating grain right now (that's a whole other topic, not one that's really relevant, I don't think) so I didn't stock up on things like spaghetti and crackers and bread and rice  and popcorn like I normally do. My pantry is a little bare right now. That makes me a little nervous.

The experiment was exciting for a few days. More like a week, actually. But then things like cat litter and diapers needed to be purchased. Suddenly I had to figure out how to eat on only a few dollars a day and do it on my new diet guidelines.

I decided to keep my budget at the $140/week but to go twice a week, roughly $70 every three days. This is somewhat where I'm at now, though I'm not as strict about it. I was getting pretty anal about the $20/day. We compromised on the grass-fed beef and decided that whenever possible, we'll go that route. However, if we're not able to get enough other nutrient-rich foods with our budget, we'll get regular meat. (We've looked at buying 1/4 to 1/2 a grass-fed local cow, but we don't have the money saved up right now.)

Sinking In...

Wednesday was my 341 meeting. Thursday I was feeling it a little bit. I was experiencing an almost PMS-y time. I'd be suddenly light, as though the weight was newly lifted off my shoulders, and then flip to teary and blubbery.

Friday I was distracted by a bit of a tummy bug. Saturday we rested as a family. Sunday we spent time with a friend.

I talked to my husband and asked him to give me until Monday (today) to kind of get my head in order. He agreed. He's a supportive guy.

I would recommend anyone take a few days post-341 (and likely post-discharge) to be gentle with themselves. Don't stress out about little household chores that can easily be done in a few days without much damage. Try not to make any big decisions, financial or otherwise. Avoid arguments with family and friends.

It's incredibly unlikely that any of my creditors will complain, so I'm expecting no news until I get my discharge. I'm trying to be relaxed. Wish me luck!

What would I do differently?

I was thinking of a few things I would have done differently if I could go back in time.

- I would have filed way, way sooner. I can't believe how long it took me to come around to the idea of bankruptcy and accept it as a very valid and reasonable path.

- I would have been less hung up on how quickly I could file. The stalls in my attorney's office were stressful for me because I had expectations that weren't very reasonable.

- I would have brought more quarters to Tampa!

Other than that, there's very little I would have changed.

- I'm happy with my attorney.

- I'm happy I brought my daughter.

- I'm VERY happy that I gave myself an extra hour to get there, get parked, and get to the building. I needed it!

60-Day Club!

I'm sitting here, on my couch, slightly stunned. I was so busy taking care of my kiddo today that it hasn't really had time to sink in... it's over. The big, huge, scary event that I've been terrified of for months is now a part of my past.

The drive up to the court in Tampa was a pain. I hate Tampa. Always have. I was armed with directions and a good idea of what it should look like. I'd been there with my mom in 2005 and I'd looked at the street view on Google maps. I was set.

Except... there was a ton of construction. Nothing looked familiar. The only thing I recognized from Google was the building with the above-road walkway thing. (Luckily, this was where I needed to go.)

I called my lawyers office. Voice mail. Damnit. I called again and hit 0 instead of the extension option. The lady that answered was super nice and very helpful. She gave me some ideas of where to look for parking and, finally, I found a metered space that was open.

I pulled in without any damage to my car or the cars around me. (I'm not very confident with my parallel parking skills. Luckily, Tampa has generous spaces!) I got the stroller out, the diaper supplies out, the toys out, and finally, got my daughter situated.

When I went to Publix the other day I got lots of $1s for the various tolls. Unfortunately, I hadn't thought to get quarters. The parking meters ONLY take quarters. And it's $1.50 per HOUR! Holy cow! I had just enough for an hour and a half and crossed my fingers that it would work out. (Side note: the town I live in does not have metered parking.)

We walked the four or five blocks to the courthouse. I'm so very grateful that I've been working on my direction sense. It's normally terrible. I figured out how to get there with no problems, even though I had to detour an extra block due to a sidewalk being closed.

There wasn't any line for security. Which was awesome, because I am clueless about that kind of thing. I had to show my photo ID, empty my pockets, unload the stroller, push her through, then go back through myself, answer questions about the contents of my purse (I have an epi-pen, which apparently got flagged as they asked about it), let them examine the stroller and it's storage areas, and then recollect all my stuff.

We hit the bathroom and then headed to the courtroom. In 2005 my mom was in the room directly across from where we went, so it was a little deja-vu like. We waited in the back. The kiddo was amazing. I mean I could not have asked her to be any better than she was. I am so very proud. (Another side note: she spiked a fever of over 102 degrees last night and was still feverish this morning w/o meds. She felt okay after Motrin kicked in, but without it was miserable.)

I watched a few cases as best I could. No one was assigned a home visit from an appraiser, which surprised me as I was terrified it would happen. Apparently MDFL is appraisal-happy according to what I've read on www.bkforum.com. The trustee was respectful. He seemed to have a little less patience for people who were wishy-washy or putting on a "poor me" show. Yet when one lady genuinely bust into tears, he was very compassionate (still in a professional kinda way).

The lawyer showed up and popped his head in, called my name softly, and then helped me get the stroller out into the main area and into a conference area. Babygirl got out and shook his hand and then was silly for a few minutes. I'm so very glad we had this time because when my mom got called up she had no idea where her lawyer was; she didn't recognize her! It was very reassuring to have talked to him beforehand.

He gave me the following advice:

- Answer all questions honestly and completely. Then shut up.
- Do not offer ANY information that's not asked for.
- Speak clearly and with authority. Give short answers.

Then he told me a few questions that the trustee might ask. (There's a really great list of these somewhere on the internet... I should find it and link to it.)

Then we went back into the room. He said we should sit up front so that the trustee would more likely call us next.

We watched one case together. At one point he leaned over and whispered, "this is exactly how not to answer questions." The lady was wishy-washy about everything. "Did you read the form that explains the difference between the types of bankruptcies?" "I think so. I'm not sure. If I did I think I read it online and not a paper handout. I'm not sure."

We got called next. My daughter was very good and he was kind to her.

I handed him my FL driver's license and my SS card. He read both. "This is case number ... with filer ... ." He swore me in. "I have in front of me .... with her DL and SS card. Please state your name and address for the record."

I did.

"No creditors are present."

He looked at my paperwork. To my surprise he asked me the least questions of anyone. He didn't ask why I had filed bankruptcy or why my husband wasn't filing with me. He confirmed the car I owned and then basically asked me if the form was complete (yes, sir), had I listed all my assets (yes, sir), did I read it before signing it (yes, sir), and so forth.

The only non-everybody question he asked me was about my business. "I see here you used to have interest in a business."

"Yes, sir."

"Are there assets remaining?"

"Yes, sir. They are listed in my paperwork."

"Could you give me an idea of what kind of assets those are?"

"A massage table and some facial equipment."

"Is that all?"

"Yes, sir."

My lawyer interjected that it was a very small business and made a few other comments along the same lines. The trustee nodded at him and looked again at my petition then moved on.

"This concludes the meeting of creditors."

If my kid hadn't been with me and been slightly distracting, I would have been done in under five minutes. It probably took ten with her.

I met with the lawyer again. He told me that they (the creditors) had a certain time period to object. He said, "they can't just say, 'hey, we don't like this!' there are only a few cases they can report against you." Then he asked if I had committed fraud, transfer of assets, etc., to which I answered no. He told me that I should get my letter of discharge in approximately 90 days and wished me luck.

We stopped at a play place in St. Pete and had lunch while we were there. She was feeling pretty good (I had re-Motrined her before we got called) and had the energy to play. It probably wasn't the best mommy move, but I needed fun and she had been SO good in the courtroom.

Then we had a long drive home. It still hadn't hit me. I talked with my mom and reassured her that she hadn't even come up in the conversation. She was greatly relieved. I'm so glad that she's supportive of me; after all, she's been through this too.

So now I'm a member of the 60-day club. Woo!

Next week...

My 341 is next week.

I haven't had much to say. Getting the paperwork in and making sure they had what I needed was the hardest part. Everything else has just been waiting. And more waiting.

Next week will be a big weight off my shoulders. I'll be in the 60 day club!

I did complete the 2-hour training. My lawyer uses Hummingbird. It was pretty much basic financial knowledge and then I had to do a test afterward to prove I watched it. (The test was random words that I had to write down at random parts of the video, six total.)

I received a piece of paper from the court stating that I have completed all required documentation. So that was good. I had to reread it twice to make sure it was a good thing! It was written in legal-ese.

I'm still planning on taking my daughter with me. Both lawyers recommended that I do so. My appointment is before 10:00 so I'm thinking of making a day of it. Go up, do my 341, panic in the car for a few minutes afterward to get the stress out, take the kiddo to MOSI or something, and then hit the all-you-can-eat wing place on the way home for lunch.

341 Scheduled!

Just got an email from my lawyer's office that my 341 has been scheduled in July in Tampa.

No mail yet...

Supposedly I will receive a letter from both the court and my legal firm when the filing is completed and a 341 date has been assigned. I still have not heard, but then I didn't expect to until later in the week. *fingers crossed*

I'm nervous yet calmer than I was the day I filed.