www.iva.co.uk

i was just wondering, do you have to have an appointment with your IP to discuss IVA face to face. I know some do. Its just Melanies team are in Cardiff and we live near Sunderland. Wouldn't be a problem if we did. Just wondered

Hi Angela, I am with Payplan, and I didn't have a face to face meeting with my IP. Everything was done over the phone. x

Angela

As Tina probably mentioned - unless you are self-employed a face to face meeting with your IP is not mandatory, but most IPs do like to encourage face to face meetings, so I will leave that up to you.

If I had more time I would love to come to Sunderland to meet you. My Dad was from Sunderland and had a season ticket at the old Roker Park. We used to go for holidays there every year, and can vividly remember Barns Park, Monkwearmouth Station, Whitley Bay and swimming in the North Sea which was very cold!

If we don't get together now, Andy will be arranging a frugal friends event for Newcastly, so perhaps we can meet up then.

Hi Melanie, would love to meet you at some point, we would definetly go to the frugal friends if was in Newcastle. Roker Park was fab, used to go every week with my dad (even 3rd division). Now married to a newcastle supporter, so don't go as often now, you would get a surprise how much the city has changed over the years..

Hi angela

Don't worry if you can't arrange a face to face meeting.
I, like you, wanted to but due to cirrcumstances I was not able to do this with Melanie, instead we hd a chat over the phone.

If there is a frugal friends meeting in Newcastle anytime soon, I would try and come as I often work in Newcastle so can book a night away in Newcastle as I love it!!

Emma x

Hi Angela we too are with Melanie and her team and everything was done quickly efficiently and effectively by telephone, fax and email. If the Frugal friends come to Newcastle I will be there!! I owe this website a lot and would love the opportunity to thank certain individuals personally. It will also give me the chance to bore people with my Slow Cooker recipes [:D](did you know that a slow cooker on LOW uses about the same electricity as a 100 watt bulb?)

Hi maxdebt

Are you a slow cooker fan then?

I sell small domestic appliances for a living and one of the products in our range is a slow cooker. Since my iva has been accepted I have been usng the slow cooker a lot a you can use cheaper cuts of meat and the slow cooker makes them taste amazing[:)]
Also so convienient to put dinner on in the morning and have it ready 8 hours later, and as you say a great energy saver also..[:)]

Yep I love my slow cookers, economy without sacrificing taste! [:D] Beef casserole tomorrow

Yum Yum, I might do a chilli[:)]

I've got a slow cooker MAXDEBT and no I didn't not realise that!! I would love to get some recipes off you, as chilli and casserole is about the limit in mine. Are you never worried about leaviing switched on all day if you have to go to work though?[:I]

LOL I presume your question of whether it's necessary to meet your IP has been answered to your satisfaction! [:D]

Don't start me talking about slow cookers or I will be here all day (I have the housework to do ho hum [:(] ) Slow Cookers use very little power and are very safe. I work nights so I set my slow cooker away in the morning, go to bed, get up to the delicious smells [:)]I use my large slow cooker for roasting chickens, ham or beef joints and my smaller one for casseroles (throw in just about anything from the bottom of my fridge with the ubiquitous tin of tomatoes, worcester sauce, pepper, mixed herbs, a stock cube etc) set it away and 6 - 8 hours later tasty food which you can thicken with a bit of cornflour if you want. OK that's enough talk of Slow Cookers. [;)]

As for recipes the internet abounds with them especially American sites ( the yanks love their 'Crockpots'!) but they tend to be large multi ingredient( and expensive!) recipes and I can't be bothered (or afford) all that preperation.

Here are a few slow cooker recipes for those working on a tight budget (all of us!) [:I]

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/sho ... ostcount=9

just had a quick look at the website, looks good!! thanks Maxdebt[8)]

Wow slow cooker fan club[:D]

Angela slow cookers are very safe to leave on all day while you are not in the house, the company I work for have sold slow cookers in the usa, uk and france for 15 years and I have never heard of a safety issue..
They are so great for making cheap meat taste like a prime cut as they cook so slowly over a long time everything is tender. Also healthy, I love doing a whole chicken and don't put any oil in just a bit of water and cook it on a rack so it is off the bottom of the cooking pot. YUM YUM[:)]

Also they can be brought from as little as £10!!
When I was last working in Newcastle I popped into Fenwick and they have one for £10 or John Lewis does a slightly larger one for around £17.
I have a large capacity one (6.5 litre) and make large amounts and then freeze in handy size portions,

Hope you are OK
Best wishes[:)]
Emma

Hi Angel

Hi am with Melanie too & I too have a bit of a 3 hour trek but I am looking forward to meeting her. I think face to face is good if you can as an IVA is just such a huge step for us all.I have decided to go up by train as it will be a long drive with my mind not on driving.
I am hoping that there will one day be a FF meeting here in Devon.[:)]