Short Course Description
Personal Financial Management After Bankruptcy Filing helps learners establish practical financial habits for life after bankruptcy. The course begins with short- and long-term goal setting and the construction of a realistic monthly budget using gross income, net income, and fixed, variable, and periodic expenses. Learners then practice maintaining financial records, distinguishing needs from wants, comparison shopping, evaluating insurance coverage, and saving for emergencies and future obligations. Separate lessons explain the types, sources, and costs of credit; debt warning signs; responsible alternatives to borrowing; and how to obtain and review credit information. The course also identifies trustworthy public and nonprofit assistance, key consumer protections, fraud-warning signs, and strategies for managing an unexpected financial crisis without automatically taking on new debt. Each learner completes activities and assessments, receives instructor assistance when needed, and leaves with a written personal financial action plan.
Audience and scope
Individual Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 debtors seeking post-filing/pre-discharge personal financial management instruction.
Internet delivery in English only unless and until additional language versions are separately completed, supported, disclosed, and approved.
Educational content only. The course and its instructors do not provide legal advice, select a bankruptcy chapter, interpret a court order, or advise whether or when a debtor should file documents.
This is distinct from pre-bankruptcy credit counseling (CC-101-LMS). Enrollment, disclosures, records, and certificates must not be interchanged between the two programs.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of DE-101-LMS, the learner will be able to:
Set measurable short-term and long-term financial goals and identify concrete steps toward them.
Calculate gross monthly income and net monthly income from common income sources.
Identify and classify monthly expenses as fixed, variable, or periodic and construct a balanced spending plan.
Use a practical recordkeeping system and apply decision-making tools to distinguish needs from wants and comparison shop.
Evaluate basic insurance needs and develop savings targets for emergencies, periodic expenses, and financial goals.
Identify common types, sources, and total costs of credit and recognize debt warning signs.
Select appropriate uses of credit, identify alternatives to borrowing, and obtain and review credit-report information.
Locate public and nonprofit consumer-assistance resources and recognize protections involving credit-report correction and consumer fraud.
Identify alternatives to new borrowing during an unexpected financial crisis and know when to seek help from public or private service agencies.
Complete a personal post-bankruptcy financial action plan integrating budgeting, savings, credit, and crisis-response strategies.
Instructor(s)
