Hi
My head is spinning with some decisions I am going to have to make over the next couple of months and I am stressed out with it.
A bit of background to my IVA, I am in my 2nd year of a joint IVA with my partner paying 42p in the pound - paying back £1,050 per month for a £120,000 debt (not homeowners).
My organisation has moved and the main office has moved 50 odd miles away. I have been advised that my options are:
1. Keep my £21,000 pa job and salary but move the 50 odd miles, doing 12 hr day and night shifts. Problem - driving stresses me out, especially after a 12 hr shift and the job itself has become sometimes boring and unchallenging whilst still equally sometimes very stressful and I am scared that after a couple of months I would be off with stress and hate it. There are several people off sick at work at the moment, and this has definetely been made worse by the move - and I don't want that to be me! Also, expenditure would go up due to petrol and wear and tear on the car.
2. Do the above job but take a slight reduction in hrs which might make some of the things that annoy me more bearable. Problem: still less money, but not as less as option 3.
3. Accept a 'promotion' to do a higher band job but without shift allowance, so dropping to £17,000 BUT 99% chance of staying in my own area - not travelling the 50 miles each way. Advantage - there are four of these jobs coming up and I believe I would like them all and I would be at the bottom of the scale so could work up each year, whereas at the moment I am at the top of the band and will not get any payrises.
The problem is that when these jobs do start to get advertised, they will only be advertised for one week - so I won't have time to sit and dither about my decision.
My partner said it is my choice, so I did a list of pros and cons for them all - I ran out of space in the reasons for accepting a lower paid promotion here, and equally ran out of space as to why I shouldn't keep my existing job moving the 50 miles. My partner then said well that's your answer then. I said, oh right I'll just phone our IP and ask for a variation meeting cos our contributions would need to be lower and he said oh well you can't do it then!
We have some discussions, but he isn't prepared to even discuss bankruptcy (no offence to anyone else).
Unfortunately, our utility bills and other expenditure have also increased.
So, our contributions would go from £1,050 per month to something like £650.00 per month!!!! This is why I am stressed out - I can't see our creditors accepting such a big reduction, but I am sat here crying with the thought of having no choice but to keep my salary and therefore moving 50 miles.
The other thing that I am trying not to think about cos it won't do any good, is that when I first met my partner I had just a £5000.00 car loan - so the debt was about 90% is! After been together several years and me trying to help him out with a lower interest loan etc cos I had a better credit rating than him it then became more like 60% his, 40% mine and had double to £120,000!!!! Although I have always said it is our debt and we will get thru this, I think that if I make no change in my career cos of the salary then I will possibly eventually resent him for it.
Also, a relative died a few weeks ago. The will isn't due to be read until September, but we may get £5000.00 (or nothing) - which I know the creditors will get, but perhaps it may be a 'sweetner' to go with the reduction.
Thanks, a very upset and confused Milly
