I must admit that I contemplated that too - paying for the window cleaner - but decided to save the money and wait for some sunshine. Glad I did because it's raining here and would only have made the windows dirty again !
My mum got me a piggy bank for Christmas with "Girls Night Out" written on it and you'd be surprised how soon putting the odd pound coin in there mounts up. If I spend from it, I try as hard as I can to replace the money, but so far it's paid for a couple of take aways when I've had a rubbish day and long journey home in the traffic.
An IVA is never an easy thing to do, but I know for me, I have slept so much better and nearly 2 years on, it's kicked my butt back into some sort of reality. I now THINK about what I buy and look for bargains and best prices (I used to do that to some degree before, but even more so now). Saving a pound here and there gives me extra to spend in other areas later on.
I also know that if I hadn't taken out the IVA, I would surely have lost my home trying to keep up repayments on loans and credit cards AND an increased mortgage. Now, I have the higher rate which dropped, but have decided to pay a little extra into my mortgage by leaving it - which means if they go up again, I will be in a better position.
Make the most of things if you can - try and learn from the experience and think about what you can do with your IVA money once you've finished paying. I already have a holiday in mind and with what I pay to the IP, I would have enough money for a decent one in three or four months !
Give yourself something to look forward to at the end of the term (And it does pass quickly).
Do you have a DVD player ? Can you borrow some movies from friends ? Invite mates round for an evening and see what deals you can find on pizza's and get them to bring some beers.
It really isn't all bad the further you get into your repayments.
[:)]
There's light at the end of the tunnel - it's just that sometimes the tunnel seems so long.
IVA Complete June 2009
