Just do it ! No regrets.

[new hope]

[:D]Hi everyone, especially newbies !!
We are 14 months into our IVA. It has probably been the best decision we ever made regarding our finances.
We were 48,000 in debt, behind on our mortgage and chasing our tales to pay our 12 credit cards off. We made a decision december 2008, that we would never have a christmas like that again. It was very grim Stalked by credit callers, struggling to pay for our gas, food etc... I found this site on the 22.12.08 and surfed it for a month , trying to get the courage up to call someone. At this point my husband wasn't aware of our level of debt, another scary problem. I made the call in January and came clean to everyone, including myself. We went on a debt plan for 6 months and then got the call to say we were ready to apply for the IVA. Passed on the 16th November 2009.
Ok I wont' lie its not the easiest, pleasant, experience to go through. It can be hard to adjust to no credit what so ever; But you will beable to sleep at night, you won't dread the phone ringing anymore, you will be in control of your own money.
Be brave, call someone, they have heard it all before and all you have to loose is a bit of pride.[:I]
I have 35p in my purse just now, but it is my 35p.
No regrets.
New Hope and Hubby

[nepensioner]

What a brilliant post, so pleased things are working out for you

[Broke of London]

Great post and I totally agree with everything you wrote. I feel just the same. I'm not having the time of my life but I'm not scared of the post, not afraid to pick up unknown numbers and not constantly anxious the debt collectors are going to come knocking. And my debt is shrinking every month...yay.

[kallis3]

Great post - I'm just coming up to three years (where has the time gone?) and it is the best thing I ever did. Totally in control of the finances and know where every penny is going.

It is hard sometimes but we get through it and just look at each month as one closer to debt freedom.

[Tina Shortland]

Posts like this are a great inspiration for other people in trouble NewHope so thank you for taking the time to write it.

Glad to hear you and Hubby are having a positive time now. Its a massive step to take when you finally know you need help but as you and so many more have found out, it really does get easier over time and there is light at the end of those dark tunnels.

Best wishes,

[flow13]

What a great post. x

[ginger3232]

Welcome - New Hope

Totally agree, the worse thing about debt is the sense of feeling ashamed of it all. Whilst the IVA can be hard and not without blips. However when you come out the otherside (which you will)your steep learning curve in personal finance management, will have been learned and you never want to go down route of mounds of personal debt again !!!

[size5]

I have just picked up on this thread, and whilst I haven't spoken to you personally for quite a while I do remember our first contact very well as I could hardly talk, not ideal for someone who has to talk for a living!!

I am delighted you are happy and feeling so positive about things and, as the others have said, this post and others like it are a massive help to those that need reassurance that there is assistance out there, if just 1 person looking at this picks up the phone and makes that initial enquiry for help then you have done them a great service.

Regards.

[animaleyes76]

I was the same.

One week after payday and i was wondering how i'd only had £40 for 3 more weeks. Of course I didn't manage it, borrowing off my mates as everything else was maxed out, then having to pay it back on payday and being broke again.

I'd never even heard of IVA's until my housemate said he was in one due to a failed business venture. After that I scanned the internet, found some info and went for it.

Sadly I found this site after my IVA was accepted but I don't really have any regrets. I went through an introductory company , not knowing that i could go direct to an IP. I kinda felt a bit bitter for a while having handed over about £750 that wasn't really necessary, but now i just look at it as the kickstart to the road to financial recovery.

I never really got bothered by the constant calls, letters I just knew that i couldn't go on living as i was, constantly broke.

50 months later, and with only 289 days of my IVA left (yes i am sad for knowing that ) i am nearing the end of 5 years of budgeting, 5 years of only spending the money in my hand, 5 years of what I thought would actually be a nightmare, but which although difficult in places, was never as scary or difficult as I thought it would be when I started.

In fact, I think despite having to go without some of the nice things in life I have become a less materialistic person, a happier person and a person that is finally in control of my finances and my life.

However bad the "IVA years" are, they are never as bad as the "Pre IVA years" with the spiralling debt, the uncertainty and the sense of hopelessness of the whole situation.

I've been pretty lucky compared to some of you. I haven't had any expensive things need replacing or break over the last 50 months (touch wood), and apart from a 3 month blip 6 months into the IVA (which resulted in a variation with 3 added months) the whole thing has gone smoother than i could ever have imagined.

I think the biggest obstacle is admitting that you can't deal with the situation you are in and then speaking to people that can help.

To anybody wondering about arranging an IVA but worrying, I hope these few comments will help you pluck up the courage to speak to an IP and see what solution is best.

Pick up the phone and get your life back. I did and it's one of the best decisions i've ever made.

Oops i appear to have rambled for ages!! lol

[Shining]

Hi, I totally agree what a great post, I've never regretted entering into my IVA, the one thing I like is the security, the protection from the creditors and mostly knowing I've got food to eat, warmth in the house and food on the table as before I'd pay my creditors firt and these basic human needs came second, to me it was a godsend as i feel richer now in a strange sort of way.

[kallis3]

I'm afraid I was the opposite to you Lesley - my human needs came first and the creditors second, especially as hubby knew nothing about the debts so it was carrying on as normal!

[Skippy]

Same here Jan. I made sure that we had food on the table before worrying about creditors.

[kallis3]

Paying the mortgage and utility bills and council tax were the No.1 priorities and then the basics of life came second.

Creditors definitely took a back burner - probably why we ended up in the position we did!

[Shining]

I'd live on the breadline to pay the bills, in hindsight I can see now I needed help long before I sought it but again hindsight is a wonderful thing. The main thing is when I sought help via Melanie and made that decision to go ahead, I stopped paying my creditors and started living.

[Skippy]

The mortgage and bills were down to Dave and I had to buy the food. My repayments were so high that I couldn't repay them and by enough food for the month.