Last year we were upto our eyeballs in debt, happily (ignorance) putting presents, wine, beer food on our credit cards in readiness for our daughters 4th Birthday.We spent alot, BOY what a difference a year makes, its been tough tough tough, Last year 12 children at Jungle Land, this year 4 at Pirate Adventure, a lot less cost,no less enjoyment. Homemade cake ( v proud of my efforts), presents are few but lovingly saved for.
IVA's are not the soft option some people think, I hear colleagues in ignorance talking in my office about debt and silly people who then just write it all off and start again a fresh blah blah blah !
Our I&E looks very fair on paper & 99.9% of the months it perfectly livable with,but then in real world some months aren't normal months. August we have had 8 trips down the M5 to collect drop off daughter ( lovely grandparents helping out with school holiday cover but double the petrol allowance, school uniform, school shoes, and then two new front tyres PLUS a party to pay for. But 4 days til pay day, food in, petrol in the car, birthdy caked made, presents wrapped. What a great sense of achiement we have done it without credit.
I think that what you have achieved is fantastic, we too are in the same situation this is our third month and I am a completely different person. No phone calls, letters, bills paid, food in the house, daughter not suffering because of stress, i wouldnt change it, best decision we ever made. Good luck for the future, i know its not easy, but the alternative didnt bear thinking about.
Well done, it sounds like you really are on top of things. I too manage to get to the end of the month most of the time - its amazing how you can make it stretch when you want/need to! I now check my bank every single day, whereas in the bad old days I only bothered to look to find out why the cash machine had decided it wasnt giving me any money that day! I work out exactly what my daily allowance is after I have paid all my bills at the start of the month and then stick rigidly to it, and if I underspend during the week, it means I can maybe have a couple of pints at the weekend and I enjoy them all the more because of it. The only time I sometimes struggle is work related, as I need to drive a lot. I get the petrol expenses back the following month, but no credit cards means I have to have the money there in my account to put the petrol in to begin with, and if I have a £40 petrol journey in one day, as sometimes happens, it bugs me when this exceeds my daily allowance, and it means I struggle a bit that week to make it up. How times change! Wouldnt have it any other way though, even if I have one pound left in my account come pay day, its a lot better than where I was before! [:D]
Excellent posts and lovely to read that people are managing so well.
We just about manage to get to the end of the month with a couple of pounds left in the account, but it's much better than it being the other way round.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Totally agree - the relief at the end of the month to see a positive £ sign rather than a negative one is one I have longed for for years - life in an IVA is a challenge, but in my opinion is rewarding - you really do have to work hard to make things happen but when things come off it is so rewarding and satisfying !
Hope you daughters cake tastes nice !
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
There is a solution for everyone .... Just need to stay positive !
We really do manage far better than we used to, no more "ah, just put it on the card" we now have to save for special treats and it makes us both feel better for it as well. This months treat of a £10 2 for 1 dinner at the local pub has gone down the drain as we pledged the money to the Pakistan flood relief, we may never be rich but those poor people have absolutely nothing. Next month we may just do it again as well.
Great post..like you say no less enjoyment! Sometimes I think we think our children need all this money spent on them to make them happy but they don't. Due to our dire financial circumstances, I made my son's birthday card and didn't have any sort of formal party but he still had a great day. I actually wrapped up presents for him that were his older brother's barely used toys and at the age of 2 he didn't know the difference - the toys were new to him!! I can honesty say though that I am far happier 'making do' than buying things that are never played with.
very nice posts and gives us all a push to continue-I am in my 13th month and when I see others here talking about a few months to go it seems a age till that happens. But IVA is a rewarding process and its not all about money-I have just sent some money to the people and terrible events in Pakistan and do you know what, I felt really good doing something for people who have lost everything, makes you think we discuss costs of road tax or VAT but they have NOTHING not a bean !! Puts life in to perspective!!
Totally agree, although this month I haven't got any money I can spare - I normally give to local charities in town on a Saturday but recently haven't been able to - however my thoughts are with those people who have been caught up in these desparate floods - after last nights rain near me I had visions of us in a similar position - my god it rained !
It's brilliant that even those in an IVA still want to give to others !
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
There is a solution for everyone .... Just need to stay positive !
Fantastic and inspiring posts. The IVA road isn't an easy one to choose, but like the rest of you said. Its definately rewarding . The feeling of pride that you've achieved that next month and were knocking them payments off is amazing. I was worried about the children, but to be fair they are still none the wiser and havn't been affected but our mistakes. The whole process has brought us even closer together and brought us back to basics and taught us again the true meaning of life and whats its all about.
We had real doubters in our family - some members of the family even said they would be surprised if we lasted as a couple !
If anything the IVA journey has made us stronger and even more determined ! And we certainly appreciate everything we buy now - even the smallest of things ! Last month I bought M&S knickers instead of Asda knickers - that made us giggle - but actually it meant alot to be able to do it !
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
There is a solution for everyone .... Just need to stay positive !
