Christmas Time

[pippa]

Hi

For the first time in years I am actually not dreading Christmas, one positive thing to come out of my situation is that my whole family have decided to have a debt free christmas, we are only going to buy a small gift for our own children, but we do intend to all get together and have a few days of family time.

Might sound a bit bah humbug to some, but christmas is such a commercial time of the year that I have always got carried away in the past and I think a lot of people feel under pressure to give as much as they can.


Pippa

[lily]

I know how you feel Pippa, I felt exactly the same last year, there wasnt much but it was honest, I was being honest and my family knew about everything and were great about it. I really was looking forward to it so much.

It actually did turn out to be the worst one ever, and it really was a case of being on auto pilot and getting through for the kids sake but didnt relate to money or debts.

lily

[pippa]

Hi Lily

Hopefully this one will be a better one for you. Personally I dont think things an get much worse this year,unless I lose the house [:(], but at least i will be having the christmas I can afford as you said an honest one.

Pippa

[aguise]

Last christmas was the first one that we actually paid for and not credit and though we bought less it felt great to not feel after the dread of the credit bills coming through the door.

Ang


Please visit my blog at http://aguise.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[Maz]

Aguise, What you have said makes sense, I never thought of it like that. Yes, you are right just because it's not the Xmas we were used to doesn't mean it has to be worse. OK we may spend less and not go out or socialize as much but it will be a great relief not sweating in the new year when the CC statements arrive!!
I suppose it's tougher where kids are involved - i don't have any.

[lily]

Seems a lot of fuss for just one day too, right? In years gone by I have thrown out all sorts of food after the event. I dont mean to sound like a humbug but its started already, summer isnt even over yet.

I think it will be hard for us this year but its got to be easier than the last.

lily

[aguise]

Thats it Maz, my kids are grown but you still buy for them but we limit the amount on each person so not to go over the top, I also start to buy ther odd extra bits of food for a couple of months even before , obviously tins etc but it takes some off the bill when it comes to the shopping for xmas. I also save all the nectar points for the year and this helps and we decided to have vouchers for our birthdays off everyone, not exciting i know but they are there if anything breaks and needs replacing or if push comes to shove we can get some chrissie pressies with them.

Ang

Please visit my blog at http://aguise.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[aguise]

Lily totally agree on the food I cut down by loads last year and dint miss a thing like you say you end up throwing a lot out. POundland or wilkies had all the xmas stuff out yesterday, I thought oh no not yet at least give us till October.

Ang

Please visit my blog at http://aguise.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[ray_a]

Having a few Christmases without credit cards meant we cut back and bought smaller presents! We had saved using an Asda card so we had a nice time and enjoyed it!

Just putting away a few pounds did wonders!

[bagpuss]

not sure if this will help anyone but its what we did ... we asked everyone who brought our kids presents (grandparents, family, friends etc) if they could buy 2 presents instead of 1...i dont mean spend twice the money...example: if they normally spend £10 on 1 presant to buy 2 presents at £5 each. Then they gave us 1 of those presents. So the kids still got presents from everyone and from us but we didnt have to buy them. This is also why its important not to feel ashamed and hide your debt...by telling family and friends you will be supprised at how they will want to help you if they can. After telling our family and friends they rallied round and made us up a xmas hamper...they all brough 1 extra food item or 1 extra bottle of wine and made the hamper up for us. That was our xmas present and it was the best i've ever had.

[james.c]

I was dreading christmas, but after thinking about it, I look at this way -

Before the IVA my monthly outgoings on loans c/c etc was more than my £399 a month I pay in to my IVA, and so used a c/c at xmas.

This xmas, my IVA payment is less than c/c and loans and also i dont have a credit card to fall back on. so i have no other option than to budget.

If were all honest no matter what the reason foe ending up in debt and IVA, none of us had to budget before, were as we have to now.

Thats one good thing about an IVA been for 5 years, cause at the end of it we will be use to budget and never get in debt again.

no matter how bad money gets, theirs stll alot more important things in life

[MelanieGiles]

What a very sensible and realistic post, James.

Some clients of mine save up £20 per month from their miscellanous budget for their food shopping and Christmas presents. Half of this is allocated to their food, which they buy at local markets and Aldi And Lidls. Both shops, being German owned, have fantastic Xmas food ranges - I buy a lot of stuff there myself at a fraction of the prices charged by other stores.

The balance of the money is used for presents which are limited to £5 per parcel, and they come up with some amazing ideas for their four children. Check out e-bay for fantastic deals - I must be one of their best customers!

And although five years seems a long time, it is only five Christmases. You can then promise your family the Christmas of a lifetime when your IVA is over.

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

[bagpuss]

and it feels so good to have christmas all over with and NO bills/statements coming in January....it used to take us all year to pay back what we spent on 1 day...madness.

Angie xx


My IVA Story......http://bagpuss.blogs.iva.co.uk/2007/09/ ... iva-story/

[lizziej]

From my I&E I have allowed myself £65 per week for food / drink etc - whatever I do not spend in Asda on a Saturday I have put onto a savings card so that I can then use this at Christmas of when friends come to stay - so far I have £40 on it !
Also I have started to shop at the market for my fruit and veg - alot alot cheaper and fresher food!
Looking forward to the xmas sales as I will be looking to buy my xmas presents and birthday presents for next year then - it sounds madness but it does save you money throughout the year if you do it!

[louisa.s]

Just seen this post and thought it might be an idea to point out that Tesco do a Christmas savings club type thing were you opt to have all your clubcard vouchers kept back until Novembers posting and you can also top it up to a max of £300 I think. I also save up all my 1,2,5,10 & 20p's over the year and you'll be surprised how much that adds up (also weighs a ton) and then we use that for pressie etc.