Hi, well done on getting to your two year point, sure the rest of the time will fly by now. We have just made our 15th payments and our first annual review has just been completed and I can't believe how quickly it has gone - 25% of the 5 years gone already (although will probably have to do another...

If you are in an IVA, it is my understanding that all PPI claims must be paid into your IVA.

I agree with Foggy in that although we certainly don't live in the lap of luxury, we also don't live "hand to mouth" or feel that we have no life. I don't think our kids are even aware that we have been in an IVA for just over a year (they are 10 and 8) and they don't suffer in any way really. You s...

Hi Foggy, I was quoting what the poster had said was in their IVA proposal - I understand that this is not the usual wording and it certainly isn't in mine! They said that the wording was 12 months payments or equity available, whichever is the sooner, so depending upon the IVA payment and the amoun...

Congratulations on having your IVA approved. You asked how our lives had been transformed by the IVA's and it is because we no longer have the worry of robbing Peter to pay Paul every month because our income doesn't even cover the interest payments on our debt and we have learned to live within a v...

Hi, the wording is "if the amount of equity available in property is under £5k it is de-minus and does not have to be released. however the IVA should be extended by a max of 12 months or until contributions have equalled the estimated available equity, WHICHEVER IS THE SOONER". That reads to me tha...

Best of luck with your creditors meeting. We are waiting for the results of our first annual review now - our IVA's were approved on 4th January 2013. Nowhere near as nervous as I was in the run up to the creditor's meeting and on the day, sitting by the phone/PC waiting for "the call". Still rememb...

If your housekeeping allowance was agreed in your IVA proposal at a certain level, unless there has been a dramatic change in your circumstances, it seems very harsh to reduce the allowance at your annual review. We are waiting for the results of our first annual review and this has made me a bit wa...

Please don't be unsure about the IVA because of this. When we entered into our IVA's we had over £7k on overdrafts and were living up to our overdrafts every month. These were obviously all included in the IVA's and we have been living for just over a year now (IVA's approved Jan 13) without any ove...

Before we entered into our IVA's (we both have one) we were going to have a "family meeting" and tell my mum and my brother/sister in law but by the time we had them approved, we decided not to tell anyone. We have told my 21 year old daughter who is at Uni so she is aware of how serious our financi...

Lesley, that's exactly how we feel with no pressure to pay any credit bills that we couldn't really afford anyway and, like you, we now have "real money" to spend each month - no more borrowed money whether in overdrafts or on credit cards. We did spend over budget in December due to reduced income ...

Happy New Year to you all. We have just completed the first year of our IVA's (have just made the 13th payment!) and I wanted to say to gman that it really is not all doom and gloom and no fun. We truly believe that with the help of Melanie Giles our budget was set at a realistic level and some good...

Hi,just to echo every one else's sentiments. This is our first Christmas in an IVA - this time last year we were "looking forward" to our meeting with Melanie Giles to discuss our IVA proposals. As I have previously posted, I actually enjoy the budgeting and seem to have more money than before and n...

I saw a Windsmoor winter coat in a charity shop for £30 the other week and when I looked at their website, their cheapest coat is around £150. I did think about getting it as it was in my size but I am desperate to lose weight so I didn't want to buy something in a big size!! What a bargain though -...

Hi, I've got a feeling that British Gas won't cover your boiler if it's older than 10 years so check with them first. That said, we have had their cover for over 13 years now (and bought a new boiler along the way - but not from them) and have their central heating cover as well and they have been c...