IT SEEMS THAT ONE YOU HAVE THE AGREEMENT IN PLACE YOU HAVE THE AGREED AMOUNT TO SPEND EVERY MONTH REGARDLESS OF OTHER OUTGOINGS LIKE CHRISTMAS & BIRTHDAYS ECT IS THIS RIGHT ??
You will have to make an agreed payment each month, but this can alter. You won't be able to have an allowance for Christmas or birthdays - you would have to make savings from your other allowances.
The advantages are that your debts will be written off at then end of the period.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Hi, you will need to find money for extras such as birthdays, Christmas and holidays from savings made in other allowances. I'll be eating a lot of jacket potato suppers in the run up to Christmas LOL! There are also lifestyle considerations as you will need to inform your Ip of any change of circumstance - divorce, moving in with a partner, pregnancy, job change etc - and some people find this intrusive. I would say that while I find the IVA tough it is the best decision I could have made and don't regret it for a second. Though i bitterly regret getting myself into this situation! There is some flexibility When people do struggle, experience unusual expenses (cars and boilers etc) or their circumstances change (such as redundancy).
John, If you mean, will you not have much spare cash, when you say tie you down, then no you won`t have. The idea of an IVA is for us to pay back as much as possible to our creditors. What an IVA does give you is an end to creditors chasing you, no more feelings of dread and despair, some order to your finances and some light at the end of the tunnel.
"When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea".
Celebrating Christmas and birthdays need not be as expensive as you may think - a carefully chosen gift for a birthday present of modest value, can mean just as much as the latest electronic games, and if you sensibly plan for these events over the year most of my clients tell me that they manage perfectly well. If yoru family members are aware of your circumstances, it is unlikely that they will put you under too much pressure at these times of the year, if you cannot afford things - and if most of your spare cash at the moment is being used to fund creditor repayments, you may notice little difference post-IVA.
Why not have a chat with an insolvency practitioner who can tell you more about the allowances for expenditure which are granted by your creditors. Some of my clients tell me that they are very suprised at how generous some of the areas are - especially if you have been living on a shoestring for some time.
You can do what I do as well - fill in online surveys to earn vouchers. It does make Christmas and birthdays cheaper.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
There are quite a few. Add me as a frugal friend and I will send you some links.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Hi John - welcome to the forum. I guess in one way you could view budgeting as being a tie but not half as big a tie as the debt repayments! If your budget is set correctly, taking into account all the latest expenditure allowances available, you should find that you are able to adequately sustain your IVA alongside covering your normal living costs - and without relying on any further credit. Learning to budget takes a while but once you're in the habit you will be so much more in control it won't feel like a tie at all, but do make sure you speak to some companies that will help you budget correctly and advise you on your options. There are some excellent ones recommended on here.
Regards.
Regards, Tina Shortland, Debt Advisory Manager for Melanie Giles at Debt Advice TV.
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My view on this is that it is the complete opposite of being tied down. Pre-IVA, every spare penny I earned, most of it through excessive overtime was disappearing on servicing debt. Christmas, birthdays ended up on the plastic so were never really paid for using my money.
Shortly after my IVA was approved, my company slashed the overtime overnight, and I am presently earning £150 ish pound a week less! I would, without a shadow of a doubt, lost my house and been declared bankrupt months ago.
Now, I am living within my means, Birthdays and Christmas have plenty of thought go into them and I actually get to see the wife at night and weekends rather than being just a lodger!
If I do get any overtime, I keep the first 10% and then 50% of any extra on top of that. So, there is some flexibility within an IVA to earn a bit more for those special occasions but at the end of the day, its only 5 years. I can remember totting up everything and thinking it would be 50 years before I got it all clear and I really don't think I could have done it in that time either.
