Last payment paid

[inside_solution]

As i said in my other post, i really wish i'd found this site years ago! But hopefully i can provide hope for others just starting out or living with an IVA now.

I got my first credit card at the age of 20 and can still remember my very first purchase (Chanel perfume) like it was yesterday. I then went on to pay off the card with a loan and then run the money back up again.. Several other credit cards, master cards, overdrafts, loans, stores cards later i was left with 37 thousand pounds of debt and i was only just 24. I accept full responsibility for my debt but i'm still left with a bad taste in my mouth that all these lenders kept throwing money at someone who was obviously drowning in debt and just didn't earn the money to justify that kind of credit.

Anyway, i stupidly rushed into my decision, i paid a 'debt help' company £500 to put me in touch with Capital (who are now Synergi) and i started in the process of setting up my IVA. For me, the worst part of the IVA process was whilst it was being set up. The harassment from these companies debt collection departments was truly awful, i was trying to hide what i'd done from my Mum (she still doesn't know the extent of my debt, i think she'd keel over) whilst receiving phone call after phone call and had various people turning up on our doorstep.

Over the years it has been tough, giving 50% of overtime and bonus always seemed like a kick in the teeth, also one year i didn't declare a pay increase until the anniversary so they charged me 50% of the increase for the 4 months i'd not let them know... I'm still unsure if that's right! But i paid them anyway.

Now at 30 i'm finally able to plan my future!! I can finally move out, which has been the hardest part about all this for me and probably my poor Mum!! I can go on holidays again, not restrict my going out and maybe even treat myself to one pair of Jimmy Choo shoes (just as a one off congratulations present to myself) [:D]

I'm saying all this but i still can't actually accept that i'm done!! Having had this IVA company take extra money off me over the years i'm scared of receiving a final letter telling me i owe them just a little bit more before they'll declare me free!!

But..

Hopefully this has been helpful? Funnily enough, i wouldn't change the last 5 years!! I have now learnt to budget and save, also i've curbed my insane spending habits and realised what drove me to spend that much in the first place! It has been a massive learning curve for me.

In the beginning it seems like the 5th year will never arrive, but time has just flown by!!

Good luck to you all, stick with it and soon enough you'll be in the same position as me! [:D]

[kallis3]

A very helpful post.

Have you thought about doing a blog? Threads disappear in time, but blogs go on forever and are read by a lot of people.

[S2004]

i know what you mean that how we got into debt with crefit cards then got a loan to pay them off then ran them up again this happened 3 times and me and hubby ended up with 3 loans and still 4 cards im 2 years 2 months into my IVA and hubby 7 months in to his we have 6 year IVA because we had to reduce are payments this year because we was struggling so the extra year will make up for that.

and like you we jumped in feet 1st in to IVA i was pregnant at the time and just wanted it all sorted wish i had found this site 1st and took some time to think about it more because i felt like we had to fit in with the IVA and not the other way round and some allownces was set to low but i was to scared to say no we need more to live on. but coming on here makes me have more knowalge and that when i had my payments reduced yes i have to do an extra year but that's ok with me it would have took me about 25 years to pay everything off if i did not go down the IVA route.

so i would just say to anybody just starting down this road think long and hard about it and get your budget right at teh start i found it very hard 1st 2 years because i was scared to say in needed more money to live on.

good luck everyone how is just starting out there is light at the end of the tunnel[:)]

[Pennyless]

Inside_solution well done, you deserve a treat. As a newbie to the IVA process its great to read the positive posts of people like yourself and the advice both you and S2004 have given is invaluable to those like myself, who are just taking there first steps towards what will hopefully be eventually debt freedom.

S2004 I agree entirely but again as a newbie I just want to get the IVA succesfully completed, therefore like you were, I am at the complete mercy of whatever the creditors decide. Fortunately with Melanie Giles as my IP and the advice received from her Staff, I feel I have been lucky so far in that I have avoided much of the pitfalls and hurdles that some posters have mentioned when initially getting their IVA off the ground.

Good luck to us all.

[kallis3]

We were the same - took out loans to pay off the cards, never cut them up afterwards though! Always kept them 'for emergencies'. It's amazing how many emergencies involve buying new clothes etc., that you don't need!

Never, ever going down that path again. If I can't afford it then I won't have it.

*Just noticed my spelling mistake!*[:D]

[Julie]

Congratulations on completing your IVA, inside_solution....wow I like your idea of the shoes [:D]

Posts like this are a tremendous help to anyone looking in on the forum, no matter what stage their at.

Good luck in your future and please stick around as you'll be able to advise others xx

[Shining]

i like to read posts like this. good luck for your debt free future.