www.iva.co.uk

I couldnt have wished for a better company .

Yes ours is interlocking too.
I have posted a message for andy to send me your email address and I will send you our I&E to look at, and if you could send me yours.
Mine is on excel is that ok will you be able to open it

My hubby is computer wizard ! im sure that he will be able to ,i will reply with ours in email is that ok ?

Hi caraf Im with Blair Endesby have heard a bit of bad press about them but so far a year in I have found them to be great, I also get £32 for 2pets and a £70 contingency allowance.

i was told by dfd that i have to send my kids with sandwiches instead of dinners but my girls are 15 13 and 10 and would be embarrassed by this cos all there mates are on dinners

Hi anfieldbabe
We have an allowance of 10.00 per week each in our I&E for my 2 girls (aged 15 & 10) for school dinners and also 6.00 per week each for school bus

The CCCS allow £12 per month per child for school dinners. I equate that to 73p per day - and for any of you who actually have children in school paying such a low sum I take my hat off to you. I think Jamie Oliver might have something to say about the unfairness of these figures.

I am desperately struggling with the budget, I have 4 children , myself and my husband and only in the third month of IVA, I just hope i can get used to this type of budget, we have been on beans on toast for the last 2 days till i get paid again. I didn't realise things would be so tight!!!! I hope i get better at budgeting as this is really getting me down, couldn't even afford to buy hubby a valentines card!!!! But made one instead!!! oh times are hard!!!!! feeling desperately unhappy at the moment!!!!! but i suppose its like a hangover, you get yourself in a state in the first place, you just have to suffer in silence!!! Sorry just feeling a bit down!!

Hi Gill. Sorry you are feeling down. It can take a while to settle down to budgeting. Try to look at any things you can save on. You have to look at everywhere you can save the odd pound or two. We frequently have things like eggs on toast or an omelette to save on the odd meals. Look at the value products in the supermarkets, I know some of the foods are not so good but cleaning materials etc can be a tenth of the price of the well known brands. Ebay is great for clothes etc I quite often make offers on things and nearly always new stuff with tags, and get them for a fraction of the price in the shops, just watch the postage on some things.
Try not to feel down.

Ang

Hi Gill, sorry your feeling down.I have three children (12,10,8).I have only just started my iva ,it is so hard when you have to explain to your kids "We have to be carefull with money". My kids are pretty good when it comes to clothes etc they have never been bought branded items so dont expect them now.Toys i browse on ebay ,you can get some bargins.I have £45 school allowance in my iva for school meal money and trips ,activities etc.You dont need to suffer in silence their are plenty of people on here to listen to you and offer support.

What is the allowance for a couple for food? Is there a minimum you have to abide by?

Per the CCCS guidelines

Minimum - £185 per month
Guideline - £240 per month
Maximum - £295 per month

And this is for food, toiletries and household cleaning materials as well!

my allowances were;

£200 board to parents
£100 food
£20 Internet
£30 Mobile
£200 petrol (work is 70 mile per day round trip - still didnt cover it)
£15 clothes

i'm glad i paid it off early as they took 50% of any bonus over £50 too, which most months i simply couldn't afford to give!

Hi Gill.p
I am a family of 6 (4 children)

It is hard when you first strat your IVA as you have not been living this way. It is a total lifestyle change.

The good thing is at the end of your IVA, although it seems a long way off, you will be quids in!!

We had many a day living off of beans on toast, cheap yukky pasta etc all because they were cheap meals. The problem was I hate eating and feeding my children processed food. So each week now I plan out a weeks meals write a list and only buy what I need.

I steer clear of the clothes etc so as not to get tempted, unless there is a sale on then you can pick up some good bargains.

We can now eat healthily each week but my cupborads are always bare towards the end of the week because I only need the items we eat each night for tea etc.

I shop and sell on EBAY and even go around the secong hand shops and carboots picking up bargains. (Something I would not ever of doen in the past)

Things will improve once you find your own routine. I actually don't mind it so much each month now. The secret is to budget 1 week at a time then the month doesn't seem to drag until pay day.

Good luck you will soon feel good about it all.[:D]

Dad and 15 yr old daughter

Mortgage/rent 457.00
Housekeeping 300.00
Gas 88.00
Electric 50.00
Water 30.00
phone 60.00
petrol/travel 60.00
clothing 60.00
council tax 80.00
vehicle tax/mot 18.00
vehicle Ins 37.00
home ins 17.00
veh maint 25.00
breakdown ins - AA 7.00
pets care/food 20.00
hairdressing 20.00
medical/dental/specs 5.00
TV license 12.00
hol/birthdays 0.00
contingency white goods 0.00
house maint 0.00

Surplus 154.00

IPA 80.00

Ok a wee bit different -- I was BR

Slainte
Mish