Hi there
I saw your post and was working my way towards it - have had a really busy day so just catching up now!
Depending upon the Arm or Service you are in, the type of job you do, and your rank, will depend upon how harshly bankruptcy proceedings may be viewed - but I can tell you times are a-changing in HMF and their attitude is relaxing as more and more servicemen and women resort to unsecured borrowings simply to supplement relatively low wages. (Political statement over!)
How ridiculous to be told that your expenditure cannot increase by more than 10%. Where does that come from? Expenditure rises with the cost of living, and factors outside of our control. You really must dig in with your IP on this - and arrange another face to face meeting to expain your situation. Ultimately you can take this matter to Court and get a judge to rule on the level of your expenditure, and personally if I were you I would rather face a judge on something sensible like this, than face a judge to ask him to make you bankrupt. If you threaten your IP with this, they may just behave a little more reasonably.
You cannot really change your IP company once the IVA has been accepted, so work with these guys and show them you are not prepared to live on the breadline for the next four years. You have to have lives, especially in the stressful environment you all find yourself working at the moment.
And do try e-bay for Xmas gifts. I swear by it, and you can get some really cheap deals. If your child is still young, they are not terribly materialistic at that age, and as long as he has a loving Mum and Dad, and a warm, welcome home, what more would he need. These things will return for you, so do not put your career in jeopardy for the next couple of years. When all of this is over, you can spend as much as you like on him and put all of this behind you.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.
To have me propose an IVA for you, please visit:
http://www.melaniegiles.com/ivaEnquiry.asp
See customer feedback at:
http://www.iva.com/iva_companies/IVA_Advice_Bureau.asp