Almost 1 month in

[kallis3]

I love the Wii fit! Use it most days - that and walking the dogs!

At the moment, weatherwise, it's glorious sunshine here in the Midlands.

Lesley, I would not have said that you needed to lose 5 stones!

[ashb]

Good luck, its a long journey to make but the hardest part is over. I am in my 12th month and really dont know where the time has gone. We all act differently but the enjoyment that you are doing something to help your self is very rewarding, look forward to the future, enjoy your life.

[karen]

Hello everyone,
totally agree with all the sentiments I am managing to stick to my budget at the moment and it feels really good. I shop online and this week I overspent and had to remove things from my list.
I was told by my doctor this week it would be better if I could lose
2 stone ......I told I'd lose two stone when he tidied his desk !!!!!
he he he he.
I had a little extra this week due to my other halfs overtime and I was really keen to save it but I slipped back into my old ways and spent it.........I felt very disappointed with myself and didnt enjoy the treat at all. I will know better next time.Its great though
previously any overtime would have been swallowed into the black debt hole but now after I have paid half of it into the IVA the overtime is all ours.
Good luck everyone.

[plasticdaft]

Hello everyone,
totally agree with all the sentiments I am managing to stick to my budget at the moment and it feels really good. I shop online and this week I overspent and had to remove things from my list.
I was told by my doctor this week it would be better if I could lose
2 stone ......I told I'd lose two stone when he tidied his desk !!!!!
he he he he.
I had a little extra this week due to my other halfs overtime and I was really keen to save it but I slipped back into my old ways and spent it.........I felt very disappointed with myself and didnt enjoy the treat at all. I will know better next time.Its great though
previously any overtime would have been swallowed into the black debt hole but now after I have paid half of it into the IVA the overtime is all ours.
Good luck everyone.

Funny how that happnes to us?!? We go on a splurge of a spend and regret it instantly!!

[kallis3]

I haven't done any real splurges since starting but I have to say that when I have treated myself I've enjoyed it!

[cerberus]

Hi everyone,
Thanks for the positive posts above. I'm an IVA virgin about to start on this long road. You have inspired me and cheered me up, knowing that there is a way out of the mess I've got myself and family into. I'm already looking forward to the relief when the phone stops ringing and the letters stop arriving. We're already budgeting and enjoying the sensation of knowing that we're know "paying as we go". Wife and kids have been fantastic although kids are not aware of how severe our debt problem currently is.
Hopefully I'll receive a proposal soon and then we'll be properly on our way to a brighter future.
I could spend ages looking into the past, trying to work out where all the money's gone but have decided to only look to the future now.
Wish you all the best of luck and thanks to everyone on this site.

[MelanieGiles]

What a lovely positive post Cerberus - with an attitude like this you ought to sail through that creditors meeting!

[Jodara]

We have just started out too. The phone calls have finally stopped and for the first time in months I can concentrate on things other than letters and phone calls from creditors.

I think this will be the first time in our married life (10 years) that we have had money in the bank at the end of the month, albeit only a few pounds. I feel 'normal' again!

I also have quite a few stones to lose and due to the stress over the last few months I haven't been able to really get stuck in to weight loss and exercise, although I have lost 2 stones since October. Unfortunately I still have at least another 3 stones to go!

I now feel able to tackle the weight as we have tackled our debt problem - the first hurdle being to admit to the problem!

Anyway, good luck to us all in both our IVAs and our weight loss (for those who need to lose weight of course!)

[kallis3]

Excellent post Jodara.

I think we all love the feeling of the bank account being in the black, even if it is just by a few pennies!

Good luck with the weight loss as well.

[orange]

its tough on an iva.we need new shoes and we are going away for weekend for my parents golden wedding anniversary and cant afford to eat out so dont know how we are gonna get round that one.but in the long run its the best thing we ever did