Hi all,I’m looking for s

[IVA101]

Hi all,

I’m looking for some tips / advise..

My Iva was approved last week, my payment is £100 rather than the £700+ To creditors which is amazing.

My worry is that I don’t want my payment towards the Iva to increase on the yearly reviews (unless I get a pay rise etc then fair enough)

So now my payments are 600 less than how I’m usually living, I feel i am going to have a lot ‘spare’.

So how do I get around it ‘looking’ like I am spending the correct amount on the expenditure and there will be no need to increase / decrease payments.

I’m thinking... how my expenditure shows ‘food’ £180 & ‘fuel’ £160 - should I take these out in cash at the cash machine on payday. And STOP using my debit card to purchase thing (where possible)

Can someone please give me some advise?

May sound like I am ‘winning’ however I have entered an Iva because I was struggling, now I feel free and don’t want my payments to increase to near enough the same as the old payments in the coming years and me have an IVA stuck on my file at the same time.

Please help and give ideas.

[Foggy]

Many of us took allowances out in a cash lump sum at the start of each month .. in my case because I no longer wanted to use my debit card, being 'plastic'. With cash, it was impossible to spend what I didn't have in my hand --- so there is a valid reason there for doing that.

However, why are your figures so far adrift from reality ?

[kallis3]

I agree with Foggy.

[IVA101]

I scraped each day of each month, just to do things like get to work etc.

But now my payments have dropped £600 and put that into reality of Luxury’s like getting my haircut etc there things I didn’t usually do ‘monthly’.

So if I can possibly try to live the same as old ways for a number of extra months, years , I would have extra money spare.

Sorry if I’m not making sense, I just basically want to try and save some money and never ever struggle again

[IVA101]

And I want to just use cash from now on for the same reason, but I just don’t want to get to the annual review and the IP ask me why am I drawing all this money out each month in cash.

[Jessie91]

I got approved few weeks back and I know what you mean by this I would just withdraw your “spare cash” and keep it at home. If asked why you withdraw cash it’s your way of budgeting and easier for you to use than using the plastic (card)

[Foggy]

It isn't really "spare" money -- some of the allowances are meant to be saved from month to month, until needed.

[abbiesmum2003]

I know how you feel.
We were paying over £1000 a month on debts then emtered IVA for just over £200.
It felt like we’d won the lottery and had
all this ‘spare’ money but we werent really shopping properly or filling the car up or living. it soon goes on things like christmas birthdays and household maintainance which you have to now save towards as no credit to rely on.
Just be careful and dont overspend thinking its ‘spare money’.
We didnt spend the full budget on fuel but one month wed spend more than another.
You can put any extra from your allowances into a savings pot. They dont check your statements as closely as adding evey penny on fuel or shopping so dont worry. Its usually just direct debits and income.
We underestimated how much we actually spent on shopping!
Some of the ‘spare’ money will be needed to be saved towards annual exenditure so dont neglect that either!
Dont worry about the increases at review. If salary hasnt suddenly increased then payment shouldnt chamge much....youll need to pay across any additional overtime as per your agreement.
Hope that helps. Congrats on facing up to debt and sorting a solution. This forum is a godsend.

[luluj]

I would definitely go down the CASH route.... I had envelopes set up,and each payday would withdraw the months money and split it amongst the envelopes according to our allowance. Ivwoukd just leave the direct debit money plus say £50 in the account for emergencies.

I would then at the end of each month put whatever was left into another envelope with xmas/ birthdays written on it .... even if some months it was only £5 it soon added up.

Anything left in the account each month I would sweep across to our savings account which was then used for emergencies.

[Jessie91]

Luluj do you also take out your shopping money for the month and pay that with cash or do that online or pay with card? As just started my iva and just finding the best way to budget and keep away from the card.

[kallis3]

A lot of people do that - pay in cash for normal shopping. Do you have a debit card still? You may find it is not available for use in a supermarket but is still ok for cash machines and would not be accepted for online.

[Jessie91]

Hello, yes I switched banks before my iva got accepted advises my CF so I have a Barclays visa debit card a normal card I assume. I have used it in shops before. And just did my online shop with it for this weeks food shop. Was seeing if it’s a lot easier to deal with that in cash for most people?

[kallis3]

You may be tempted to spend more if you use your card rather than cash.

[Jessie91]

I think your right because I was constantly just using my card/credit card all the time without even thinking. I think I will definitely leave direct debit money in and just withdraw the rest and put in envelopes as advised on here and put the card away till next pay day.

[Foggy]

Jessie -- if you are used to online shopping for groceries you can carry on doing so and just leave that allocation of money in the account along with the DD monies. Work out your allowed budget for the shop and do not exceed it. It is easier to keep track of spend online, as well as look for bargains, but you have to be disciplined about it .... no random browsing and chucking stuff in the virtual cart !

I must admit that I gave up online shopping until I was comfortable with the debit card again ... which was after the IVA finished. I will also admit to feeling a bit smug paying for the shop, in the queue at checkout, in cash, while everyone around me was flashing plastic .. at least some of those were possibly living on credit or close to the edge!