Its been a while since i posted last so thought id give you all an update.
I am one month into my IVA, and payday has already arrived again! It has been strange paying for everything in cash as pre iva everything was on credit cards. One bit of good news is that i still have £20 left over from the last pay with a day to go i know its not much but its the first time ive ever had any money left over.
I feel really good and optimistic now im in an IVA, most letters from creditors have stopped, and i know that with each payment i make im making a step towards being debt free, whereas previously it was making payments to credit card companies and interest interest interest!!! charges they were astronomical one card charges were £90 a month. This is a bit like a training course because during my IVA i will learn to manage my money better a great first month wasnt left wanting for anything. Those of you who are still sitting on the fence if you need to get some help and i promise you, that you wont be looking back!!
I know what you mean about it seeming strange paying everything with cash, but as I have said on this forum before, if nothing else it makes you so much more aware of how much everything costs and how much you are spending. Previously it was just a case of flash the credit card and it didnt matter if your weekly shopping came to £100 because it was just added on to what you already owed and didnt seem to matter, whereas now, every pound matters because once its gone, its gone! I am right at the start of the IVA process and I am waiting for my proposal to be submitted, but have moved away from my old bank whom I owe money to, and opened up a new account with this months salary and have now started living to a strict budget in anticipation of my IVA starting. Oh, and just before I stopped paying them last month, the bare minimum payments on my portfolio of credit cards was c. £750 per month, and of that £400pm was interest alone, and thats before the personal loans. It was only when I decided to face up to them and list them all in a spreadsheet I realised what a mess I was in. Best of luck with your IVA. [;)]
Excellent post Kool, and one which should serve as encouragement to those that haven't quite yet plucked up the courage to make that first vital step on the road to recovery.
Good luck with everything, and you too uptomyneck, on your ongoing journeys.
Regards.
Cert DR
23+ years in debt advice
I do not post for anyone other than myself
Dont you find that a nice chinese meal on payday tastes so much better knowing you paid for it out of money you actually have and not money that belongs to a bank or credit card company??
Discharged today the 8th feb 2012. View is much brighter now.
Continuing to rebuild our credit worthiness.
I can honestly say that sorting my IVA was the best thing I have done for a long time. I am managing to put my money into "pots" for things like emergencies, petrol etc. We don't have what we don't have the money for. Its a lovely feeling knowing that I am paying my way again. The only thing is I got rid of one lot of stress and now work is dreadful and my crohns playing up because of it!!
Good Luck with your IVA UptomyNeck im sure everything is going to be just fine my repayments were £1300 a month 6 credit cards and two loans before my IVA! Thats when i realised that i couldnt continue the same way for ever and sought help.
