Expenditure

[mish1953]

Are the following reasonable for 1 adult and 1 teenager ?
These are monthly figures that PayPlan have given me

Buildings/Contents Insurance £10 - actual £17
Petrol £50
Housekeeping £260
Medical/dental/Opticians £15 - min charge for NHS Dentist is £43
we both wear glasses.
Haircuts £16
Clothing £40 - 2 school polo shirts cost £26, my sprog has size 11 feet - girls school shoes size 11 .. omg
TV licence/rental £15
Schools Meals/ meals at Work £25 - this seems a bit tight, 2 people for one month.
Pets £25
Telephone £40

Are these OK ?

The Bankruptcy pages ---
http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/freedomofi ... t_2.htm#26

make some allowance for Holidays has anyone managed to get an allowance for an IVA ?

Anyone got any ideas

Thanks
Hamish

[MelanieGiles]

I do not think that it is right for these peopole to tell you what you should be spending, but rather it should be the other way round!

You should work out your own income and expenditure budget, based upon what you actually spend, otherwise you will struggle to live under someone else's budget!

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

[BlueShoes]

Hello
I agree with Melanie, you should be telling your IP what you actually spend.
Some of your proposed figures seem incredibly tight; will you realistically manage for five years?
You obviously need to be guided by what they think creditors will find acceptable, but if you can justify every outgoing then I think your IVA is more likely to work in the long run.
Blue

[BlueShoes]

Hello again
Larger size shoes (not available in shoe shops, but are usually available on the internet)can cost a fortune. Make sure you allow sufficient for this, or you will have one seriously unhappy 14 year old!
Blue

[mish1953]

Thanks -- its tricky trying to work out realistic figures, I have concentrated on paying utiilities etc and as a result have reduced our food clothing budgets etc . Two months ago I had a fierce toothache but didnt have enough money to go to the dentist.. asprin at Tescos are only 16p a packet !
To be honest I would rather put up with the pain than have my daughter going short, the £43 for a filling is more than I spend on food in a week. I'm also losing weight which is no bad thing but its not the right way to do it.
Its truly daft but I have been reduced to tears at times, trying to cover the bills and food etc so the expenditure calculations are possibly a bit off, if I ask for too much then I will have less to pay my creditors with .. Im still trying to get my head around all of this.

Shoes ..arrrgh .. there are some places (tallgirls etc ) who do larger size shoes .. my lil darlin is 14, 5ft 11, 38b, redhead, and Im having a tough time trying to keep 18yr old lads away from her !

Keep Smiling and thanks for the support
Hamish

[MelanieGiles]

Are you sure that an IVA is a better route for you than bankruptcy proceedings where, to be frnank, the allowances for expenditure can tend to be more generous.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

[Storm]

Make sure you put an allowance for big sticks to keep those boys away !!!!!

Your budget has to be realistic Hamish you would be entering a 5 year arrangement. Your expenses arn't going to reduce in the immediate term - especially if your young lady has asperations of college or university.

Echoing Melanies comments about bankrupcy as the better option. Only thing you will need to check is your conditions of employment to make sure it wouldn't prevent you from doing your job.

[mish1953]

Im not sure yet Melanie, I'm really trying to keep a roof over our head, if I was on my own I woulnd't hesitate to go BR but Iam concerned about my kid.
Its a tricky call , but on the expenditure front I can control some things .
Ive been a single dad for 8 years, my ex only started giving our daughter pocket money 2 months ago when I explained my predicament, no she doesnt pay any maintenance . I try to give my daughter £50 a month for pocket money, it sounds like a lot but it averages out at about £1.65 a day .
Im stubborn, I dont like being in debt, I dont want to owe anyone anything, I want to be a good dad, I wont ask other folk for help unless Im desparate. Fairly typical 50 plus yr old bloke I guess.
Bottom line is that Im hoping that an IVA will le me keep my house, its an interest only mortgage and I doubt hat I will be able to pay the capital off at the end of the mortgage but by themn sproglette will be 25 and hopefully have a place of her own. I'll have to cross that bridge later.

Hamish

[mish1953]

Im going to speak to my HR people tomorrow about the effect of BR.. Im beginning to think it may be the best way.. but I have ave a highish security rating due to the nature of my job, I need to make sure that it wont be damaged.
thanks
Hamish

[Storm]

Depending on your SC level it may limit your access to certain areas - it is definately worth checking with them first to be clear.

[mish1953]

yep - Ill arrange to see someone from HR tomorrow - Im an IT bod with 'god' access to the the ITC stuff, but a civvie not a sworn officer.

Hamish

[scaredkez]

mish i am a mother of 3, ok hubby still here, we got into terrible debt the old scenario, i was petrified of going BR because of our home, but it is bricks and mortar at the end of the day and you will find another base, the official receiver will not throw you out over night if you go BR, you have up to a maximum of 3 yrs in your house depending on the trustee, if you have no or little equity you may be able to keep your home as long as you can keep up mortgage payments, a DMP should only be used as a short term solution, if you feel that you can go for an iva and live on the I+E which will be brought down to the bone and pay your creditors back as much as possible then do it, if you can't BR is a solution, its not an easy way out but it will take away the hassle of the debts, the OR is very lenient in BR as it is up to him to keep you solvent, and they are a lot more generous, i am not trying to make it all rosy but it is a solution, you also have to take into mind your daughter is 14 and 5 yrs is a long time to keep saying no to things, since my iva was rejected my sons school outings etc has been unbelievable and they are all curriculum based and have to attend, i would never have been able to afford them in an iva, think long and hard about what you want to do, is it only the house you wish to protect is it worth all the stress, i wish you luck, another thing my area, dentists on the nhs are not cheap at the mo, not there doing the goverment for you, if you go regular to stay on their books a check up is 15.90, you know the cost of a filling, but if you need work within 2 months at the same or lower cost it is free as long as it is not an emergency so one word of warning never admit to it being urgent as they can charge you 15.90 again, your daughters treatment is free, if ever you are struggling to pay them ask to speak to manager and see if you can come to a compromise by paying for the treatment on a weekly basis before you receive it, as the new laws are that you have to pay before it is completed.
good luck i hope there is light for you soon
kerri

Please view my blog at: http://scaredkez.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[BrassicLintus]

Hi Hamish

It is all a bit scary isn't it!? And I'm sure lots of people on here all know that feeling of not wanting anyone else to help and being too stubborn (or scared) to ask, but in the end you have to bite the bullet and get advice! Don't be forced into something that you're not 100% sure about, and if in doubt - ask questions. But don't go with the first company you contact, ring around a few and pick the one that you feel most comfortable with. After all, they'll be in your life for the next 5 years!!! I'm hoping to enter into an IVA soon and am a bit worried about my monthly expenditure budget being tight. I've set my household allowance (food, toiletries etc) at £200. I've been told that my IVA process should take around 10 weeks to complete, so what I'm doing this month is "practising" living on the £200 budget that i've set. If after this month it proves too difficult and i've under budgeted at least i can contact my IP to try and rearrange my figures before entering the IVA, rather than enter into it and it fail due to my bad calculations!

[BlueShoes]

Hello Brassiclintus
That sounds like a good plan. I've been trying to economise during our weekly Tesco shop (not taking the kids saves me a fortune-no pester power!) I only fall for bogof offers if I actually usually buy the item (or similar) and always look for household stuff when on offer (washing powder, dishwasher tabs, deoderant, shampoo etc) cause these are usually good savings. (Just need room to store everything!)
Oh, and we've started to save our loyalty card vouchers, as friends of ours have just traded theirs in for a week in a caravan with Haven holidays...and as holidays will strictly be off the agenda for the next five years, we thought this would be a good plan!
Blue

[BrassicLintus]

Hi blue

I think my weekly shop to local supermarket will be the furthest I get to a holiday in 60 months!!! End of week 1 practising living on my budget and must admit it's tough going! But I've still got £10 left! Woo hoo!!! Although it's been an experience having to watch every item that goes into the trolley, so used to just loading it up, makes me realise just how i got myself into all this debt in the first place! Still experimenting on what items I can save on ie the "value" ranges cos some of 'em aint even edible!!!! I have discovered Asda bubble bath is quite nice tho! Guess there is a life after Radox!!!

Bam