I just wanted to post for a couple of reasons. First, to thank everyone for taking the time to reply to my post a few weeks ago when I hit rock bottom. All your advice and that found on the forum was invaluable to me during what I now call ‘that weekend’.
During ‘that weekend’ reality hit home big style – every last ditch attempt at consolidation had failed, I had no credit left, was unable to make my minimum payments for the first time in my life, and had no cash for the rest of the month. This is the first time I had been in this position – until then I had spent countless years reconsolidating, switching, refinancing, PPI claims, and always had credit available, but unfortunately we were relying on credit – it was constantly on my mind and I always worked in 5 year chunks – in 5 years this will be paid off, but in reality one loan rolled into another and getting into my late 40s I was conscious that time was moving on but my debts were getting bigger.
I put my details in the Stepchange online calculator and was given various options but the recommended route was IVA. Until this point I’d never heard of IVAs and so came across this forum when looking for some answers to the million questions I had. I wasn’t eating or sleeping and realised I had to get help. This forum gave me pretty much all the answers to the questions that were keeping me awake at night so thank you so much to all of you who put the time in to share your experiences.
I also wanted to share my own experience in the hope it might help anybody else who is going through the same as I did ‘that weekend’.
That was 3 weeks ago, since then I’ve had a good long chat with Stepchange and left that call feeling much better than I had in a long time.
I support everyone’s advice on here to speak to a number of IPs as you need to find what is right for you. Personally I thought I’d try first with Stepchange as the voluntary/charity sector is close to my heart and see how it went. So far so good, almost all my paperwork has gone off, was dreading that bit as my filing system doesn’t exist but it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I’ve just had my bank account details through. Dreading next week as now my payments are late and next week I imagine the creditors will start to chase me.
We have spent the past month with virtually no cash anyway so have already made a start on the art of budgeting and I am actually starting to look forward to a life without credit. A couple of weeks ago the thought of that daunted me, not for everyday life but for emergencies. But I know with careful budgeting, sacrifices and forward planning we will manage.
But I can tell you that I feel better than I have in a long, long time. I know as a family we have a tough road ahead but I am so looking forward to that day 5 maybe 6 years in the future when this journey will be over and a new, brighter one can begin.
glad we were able to help and provide you the support and reassurrance that you needed. Whenever you need to talk we will be here ..looking forward to hearing your next update and the YES when you IVA is approved x
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
There is a solution for everyone .... Just need to stay positive !
It is a long tough road but it is still the best option .After a while living within your budget becomes second nature ....I still miss the holidays and meals out but have learnt to appreciate the simpler things in life like a bag of chips at the seaside !!
So glad that you are now in a better place as a result of help and advice you have availed of on the forum.
StepChange do not act as a charity when they are proposing IVAs, they are just as commercial as the rest of us, but they employ a good IP and we very rarely see any complaints on this forum from their clients - so you would appear to have made a good choice, and hopefully that creditors meeting will be convened very soon.
Hi whyalwaysme, well done for making that first step towards your debt free future, the relief you will feel when your IVA is confirmed will be fantastic and you will know exactly where you are in relation to your outgoings and incomings, aside from those that crop up unexpectedly from time to time, either way the journey won't always be easy but the end result is certainly worth it, good luck and best wishes.
Om shanti, namesté, good luck to all who are embarking on the IVA journey, it isn't always an easy one but the outcome is the best.
IVA COMPLETED August 2012, received Completion certificate 18.4.13.
The first step is often the most challenging, and that step is the 1st time you ask for help. The feeling of relief that you do have options, that you arent alone and that people dont judge you all make you wonder why you didn't ask for help sooner!!!
Good luck with sorting things out.
Paul
Discharged today the 8th feb 2012. View is much brighter now.
Continuing to rebuild our credit worthiness.
I like reading posts like yours Why because it makes me feel good someone else is getting free of the burden that can wreck lives, just for money.
It`s worth it and well done[:)]
Last edited by Hyperdrive on Fri May 24, 2013 10:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Enjoyed reading your post. This site helped me too, my attitude is better towards my situation and its all thanks to this forum. Good luck. One monthly payment is a massive weight off the shoulders. The months soon go down. Im 61 down and 10 to go personally, it does pass.
