Up to my neck & rising...

[TotalMoron]

I'm gonna speak to a few companies to see where i lie before i make a decision. My lifestyle is fairly meagre at the minute & has been for a while so i have a pretty good idea of what i can afford to get by on, barring any major catastrophes.

Thanks so much again, it's extremely helpful to hear from someone who's been there.

[dipsy]

That is the best thing to do. You will get a feel for the company that you like and the advice they give initially is free. Don't jump into anything on the spur of the moment because this is going to have to be sustainable for five years and as Broke says, you need to be fair to yourself as well. Good luck!

[KAYKAY]

I would be sugges two of the Companies to contact would be Cleardebt as mentioned above and Melanie Giles.... but like others have said you need to shop around and find a company you feel comfortable with.

[Hyperdrive]

Hi and welcome.
Just want to say your ratio of payments to creditors/net income available sounds familiar!! Believe it or not we were somehow servicing approx £2k a month and looking back, used further credit from any source we could to manage it, getting into ever more trouble. So builing up a pile of debt is quite easily done without necessarily living the high life.
One thing I initially found hard to take in about the IVA route is that it`s not necessarily about how much you owe (or are paying now), more about how much you can afford to repay. That £2k is now £300 for us.
Everyone`s case is different - Cleardebt sound a good starting point.
I`m sure there`ll be a solution out there to suit your circumstances.

[Broke of London]

Life in an iva is supposed to comfortable. It requires budgeting BUT it isnt about scraping by on a pittance and living as meagre a lifestyle as you can tolerate.

E.g. Budgeting petrol money to visit family and friends or giving yourself enough in the food budget for an occassional take-away, a bottle of wine or coffee with friends, whatever it is you enjoy, is totally acceptable.

An iva is about getting your life back and it will be a long uphill struggle if you don't allow yourself little pleasures along the way.

I know I'm badgering you, but while you are thinking about your creditors' best interests, I'm more concerned about how your iva journey will play out.

End of sermon.

[TotalMoron]

Fair enough, i'd hate to come out of this having had 5 years of being a hermit & living on beans on toast!

I'll speak to CCCS in the morning, set up a new account on Tuesday & ring a couple more companies during the week then take the plunge. Scary times.

[Broke of London]

Exciting times!!!

you may be able to get a full current account rather than a basic account if your credit rating isn't too bad. Just say no to the overdraft. HSBC & First Direct are best avoided as they close accounts of people in IVAs. Co-op are very good and due to buy hundreds of the LLoyds branches so their branch network will improve soon too.

[Gina.gu]

Hiya, my iva is with dfd for the past year just completed with a f and f offer. We paid around 105 each my husband and me had joint ivas and our debt was well over 100k so don't worry you will be fine. Take care and well done taking the first step

[mattyboy]

I think that you shouldn't beat yourself up for having these problems, you are not alone and will not be the last person that these difficulties happen to. Sometimes it's easier said than done, you have recognised that you can't go on without making a change so are making a sensible decision now for the future. I completed my IVA a year ago and it was the best financial decision I made, before the IVA I frittered away £48k with nothing to show for it, not even a car. The thing is you need now to look to the future, the IVA will teach you how to manage your money and budget properly without the need for a pyramid scheme of credit cards.

Whilst it is important to save receipts and keep a good tab on where your money goes in an IVA by budgeting sensibly it's not essential to account for everything and once you have a good relationship with your IP or firm you will find that many will take your word on a lot of things without always needing to prove everything. Your IP acts in the interests of both parties and they are there to help you through this.

With regard to your rent at home you should include an amount that is realistic to cover costs, if it needs to rise to £350 or above now you need to explain this in your expenditure form. The fact that you live with your parents should still go in your favour because it will be cheaper than if you rented elsewhere.

Good luck in your journey and don't beat yourself up about past mistakes

[KM1512]

TM please don't beat yourself up over the past you cannot change it you should be proud of theyself because you are looking to the future and taking control of your financial situation and you are aiming to pay back the most you can good luck in your search for a IP

[TotalMoron]

Done.

That actually went surprisingly well. My figures were altered slightly to what i thought was a very reasonable amount & my fears of being left destitute for 5 years have subsided somewhat.

My disposable income worked out at 210 a month, & given that my loan payment is 160 for the next 7 years (100 of which is just interest at the minute), it seems to be a no-brainer for me.

Stress levels have dropped slightly after a very poor night's sleep. Course, now i have to go to work...

[Niobe]

Glad you are feeling better - sounds like an IVA could be a good option for you but do speak to one or two more companies before making a final decision.

[Shining]

Just caught up with this and having read the whole thread, you've been given excellent advice and now you've spoken to one it is always advisable to speak to 2 or 3 other companies.

The solution will be there for you and now you've recognised you want to move forward debt freedom can be achieved within a given timescale.

All the best and as others have said we've all been there and in some kind of insolvency remedy, we do understand totally x

[nomoremoney]

Totalmoron,
you wake up to a debt problem with 26K and wanted no more...that's credit to you.

I woke up with £XXX,XXX debt,and I toppled *deleted* as she thought she had a big debt and I am a least a decade younger than her. No bragging rights intended but 26K is nothing to get worried about.

When you own xxx,xxx that's something to really worry about!! However,with a job shortage now,a 5 year iva is a challenge than ever before.Sticking to the five years plan is harder now.

[Loads a Debt]

Hi TM,

I had a Barclays OD, Barclaycard and Egg card which made up over 75% of my debt and my IVA was accepted.

I'm sure yours wil be too.