No, you're not mean! He has to learn that nothing in this life is free and if he wants washing done and food cooked, he has to pay for it. I think you're being very generous only charging him £20 a month - if it was me I'd be charging a lot more than that!
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
No I don't think you are mean charging for washing as it all adds up - powder, electric, water etc. My kids are 8 and 10 so can't charge them unfortunately but I guess I do really as they haven't had any pocket money since we startd the IVA, even when they help out around the house. I even have to be careful with wash powder as my daughter has reactions to some brands.
Unfortunately, both my parents died and we only have one elderly grandad left who lives in sheltered accommodation so I can't snaffle food that way either!!
I'm always on the look out for the bargains but I have to be careful with my daughter as she is a very fussy eater no matter what we do and we have been, at one stage, on the verge of taking her to the doctors due to her weight issue (lack of it in my eyes).
F&F approved May 13 - just awaiting Completion Certificate - moving to a new Debt Free life !!
i recently told him bout our iva !! in hope he wont go down the credit route , i only chg him for washing really , as he will take little ones out and treat them to macdonalds ! if hes home for a week i do ask him to contribute to gas and elec as i pay by meter ! he may pop a tenner on it ! it all helps
It's good that he helps when he's home and chips in too. Your honesty with him about your situation will hopefully stand him in good stead for the future. Sounds like you've got a good un there.
F&F approved May 13 - just awaiting Completion Certificate - moving to a new Debt Free life !!
My daughter gives me £50 a month, but she only works part time at Asda at the moment and isn't here all the time. Once she gets full time work though I'm afraid her money to us will be going up!
She never had pocket money as such, if she wanted anything in particular we used to get it for her (within reason!).
We're fortunate that she has never been a fussy eater and we have always made her try stuff before she says she doesn't like it.
Silly thing is that things she hated as a child (onions in any form for example) she now loves!
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
The housekeeping budget for a family of 5 according to CCCS guidelines ranges from £347 to £570 with an additional sum of £141 for meals at work/school meals.
Hi Random - hopefully you can renegotiate your food budget as there is a heck of a lot of room for you to have an uplift and still be within guidelines. The lunch allowance alone would be fab!
Hi Broke of London - I'm keeping my fingers crossed big time!! Like you say the lunch allowance would definitely be a help and movement on the food allowance would also be a great help. I'm not looking at being greedy here, I just want to be able to provide decent food for my family.
I know when we completed the initial paperwork there was a section for lunches to be completed as I&E but we were told we couldn't have it. I thought at the time it was a bit strange that our expenditure was requested but it couldn't be taken into consideration but I was so glad to get the IVA approved I didn't want to rock the boat! Here's hoping!!
F&F approved May 13 - just awaiting Completion Certificate - moving to a new Debt Free life !!
I know exactly where you're coming from - agreeing to anything not to jeopardise acceptance and partly not knowing any better. Still you live and learn so keep pushing!
For those of you who are already in IVAs, and do not have the right allowances, can I urge you to tackle your IPs on this and ask them to justify whey they said it was not allowed. IPs are not judge and jury here - that is the prerogative of your creditors.
We are a family of four and 1 dog and tropical fish tank. Our children our 7 & 10. We get food allowance of £380.00 for the family, £21.00 for the animals and £35.00 towards school meals. I know exactly what you mean about the struggle. We try and do one big shop online with Asda for the month, but you still need the extras of bread & fruit, and unfortuantely most of the pack-up now is cheap rubbish, and not much fruit as we can't afford it. Jam sandwiches etc., I make quite a lot of my own cakes now also.
I know exactly how you feel. Next year my 10 year old goes to high school, no doubt he will want dinner money for the plush canteen!! OH NO!!.
Sam
F&F accepted 12/8/13 - Awaiting Completion Certificate
Thanks to everyone for your support. Could'nt have done it without you.
I think what would be helpful at the start of an IVA is if you were advised what you could claim for, i.e. school dinners/pack up and then you justified it. Earlier in the post I did menton that I claimed at the beginning was told it wasn't something I could claim for. The £420 allowance we get is for food/household cleaning items and school lunch/pack up.
I also learnt recently that there is an allowance for work clothing if you are in certain professions, i.e. need to wear suits to work as a matter of course. I asked at a review for a small increase on our clothing allowance but wasn't given that either.
At review our disposable income had gone down considerably but our payments remained the same. I was a bit gobsmacked when I got the phone call and didn't challenge it as I was at work. Thinking back now I wish I had commented at that point.
I take your advice Melanie and hopefully Delan will pick this up but it does look that there is a huge difference in what people are allowed to claim for. Would it not be fairer for people entering IVAs to be given a list of possible things they could claim for in addition to the basics? Just a thought.
F&F approved May 13 - just awaiting Completion Certificate - moving to a new Debt Free life !!
That is a really tight budget Hammie - why not ask your IP to review it in line with current CCCS guidelines.
I don't actually favour IPs telling their clients what the maximum allowances are, as this may then not take account of their actual expenditure. I much prefer my own clients to tell me exactly what they spend, and if that then exceeds guidelines we will discuss whether any reductions could be made or whether there is a good reason to justify having a higher allowance.
