www.iva.co.uk

Hi, I've just started my IVA and already its a struggle. There has been no allowance for Christmas and my next payment is due tomorrow. I want to take a holiday or reduce the payment. Any experiences or tips to share? Much appreciated.

Hi Mike welcome to the forum,
No one has an allowance for Christmas or birthdays we are expected to save money from other allowances to fund it. Some people here do online surveys for vouchers which helps towards the cost. If you look at Kallis3's blog she has listed all the survey sites she uses which is really helpful. It is not the best time of year to just enter an IVA with Christmas etc as you have not had any time to prepare, have you the chance of any overtime etc that could help.

Mike.01 - welcome to the forum - at the start of an IVA - most people struggle to get used to a budget - unfortunately at this time of year there is christmas !!! - which you will have to fund out of your allowances.

You have no automatic right to a payment break etc - that depends on your circumstances -and an agreement with your IVA company, often it will be tag on at the end. You do however need to check all your outgoings and and make these are reflected on your I+E form

Hi and welcome from me as well.

Unfortunately there is no allowance for Christmas or birthdays, you have to fund these from savings from your other allowances.

You will not be able to take a payment break for this. It has to be for something specific and you will have to provide proof that you have needed it.

Welcome to the forum and I hope that you will continue to log on and ask your questions as you go through your IVA.

Being in an IVA is not easy, and you do need to learn to budget and learn very quickly...unfortunately there are no allowances for Christmas and Birthday's and we are expected to fund any gifts out of allowances.

Many of us have had to be resourceful over the years and we have looked at lots of different ways to still "give" but without costing alot of money - have a look at some of the money saving threads and you may get some ideas !

By all means speak with your IP with regards a reduction in your payment, but not sure that a payment break will be considered to allow for christmas - they are normally given for emergencies such car breakdowns / central heating breakdowns/ loss of income etc - but no harm in asking, and ask while you are doing this to review your I&E and ensure it is set at a realistic level so that you can still manage !

Hi Mike and welcome. I know it's a downer, but I can only echo what's been said above. One other point about payment breaks: They are not get out of jail free cards, and have to be tagged on at the other end of the IVA. Also, there is no absolute right to these breaks, and, depending upon your IP and what is said in your proposal, there might be a finite limit of the number you would be allowed to take, given the emergencies these are intended to cover.

Like "call a friend" and "50/50", these lifelines have to be used carefully, as, once they have been used, they are gone.

I entered my IVA just before Christmas, bad timing on my part, but still the best Christmas present!

Aye, it's tough alright. You could take a payment break, does your IVA factor this in? Next year should be better as you'll be able to plan more for it.

You are usually only allowed to take three breaks and you need to have a good reason for those and I'm afraid Christmas isn't one of them.

If you take unauthorised breaks this could lead to a failure of your IVA.

hi mike and welcome to forum .have you not tried Ebay or amazon ,when i was short i would have a look round my house to see what i could sell ,It tough to start with but it does become a way of life and its fun being frugal.good luck and keep posting.

It is tough in an IVA and for anyone that says it's an easy way out I suggest they try it. It will be worth it though, online surveys are a good way of sourcing some vouchers and anything you save from allowances can be kept for the reason of christmas or birthday.

I assume your Income and Expenditure is up to date and realistic?

font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica">quote:<hr height="1" noshade>Originally posted by kallis3

You are usually only allowed to take three breaks and you need to have a good reason for those and I'm afraid Christmas isn't one of them.

If you take unauthorised breaks this could lead to a failure of your IVA.

3? We got six with ours... I hope so anyway. You've got me worried now as we have taken two in our first year [:I]

You can do six if you have a reason to do it - but Christmas spending wouldn't be classed as a good reason.

If you need to take a break then you do need to speak to your IP.

The vast majority of us can take three payment breaks before the IVA fails if you haven't had permission to do it.

I did say that it was usually 3 - depends on your individual agreement.

As long as your IP has agreed to the breaks, Imhotep. all will be OK.

Some IP's will allow more, some IPs won't allow any (I guess some are more helpful and realistic than others). My proposal staes I am allowed 1 ! So I am saving it up !

I've had more than three as well!

I'm up to date again totally from tomorrow, I continually play catch up but at least I do .............catch up. Let's see how long it lasts this time.x

Hi all, firstly many thanks for the welcome. Very much appreciated.

It's all a bit daunting and a shock to the system but hopefully we will get used to it.

I've emailed them and expect a call back tomorrow..we'll see I guess!

Thanks again all.