Chapter 13 budget reality check for a family of 5 (feeling overwhelmed)
Hey everyone,
I’m in the process of filing Chapter 13 and honestly struggling to put together a realistic budget. Looking for some perspective from people who’ve actually lived this.
We’re a family of 5 (kids are 11, 9, and 3) plus two dogs. Both of us are teachers—one paid bi-weekly, the other semi-monthly—which already makes cash flow a little tricky to map out. Combined gross income is about $127k.
Here’s where things get stressful:
~$29k in mortgage arrears (servicer wouldn’t work with us at all)
~$30k in unsecured debt
I did a good faith effort on the intake questionnaire, but I keep realizing I left things out that are very real expenses:
Kids’ extracurriculars
Entertainment / occasional eating out
Vet care
House maintenance
Vehicle registration + maintenance
Misc stuff that just comes up with 3 kids
Every time I think I have a handle on the budget, something else pops up. It’s making me question whether what I submitted is even remotely sustainable.
My attorney keeps saying we’ll be able to live a “modest but manageable” life on the plan, but I’m having a hard time seeing it on paper. Right now it feels like we’re either:
Underestimating expenses and setting ourselves up to fail, or
Going to be stretched so thin that there’s zero margin for real life
For those of you in Chapter 13 with kids:
What does your actual monthly budget look like?
Did you include things like entertainment, activities, pet care, etc.?
How tight is it really once the plan starts?
Did you have to adjust after filing?
I’m trying to be realistic, not perfect—but also don’t want to end up in a plan we can’t sustain for 3–5 years.
Appreciate any insight.