www.iva.co.uk

my wife and i are in a joint iva.we are just about to have our 1st annual reveiw most of our allowances are fine,for meals at work we are allowed £35per month between us we both work 20+ days per month which works out about 87p per meal,over a 10 hour shift its just not enough,

Hi,

I believe the maximum is about £30-35 per person per month for meals at work.

However, your IP may have awarded a lower allowance to help get your IVA accepted. It's not always affordable for everyone to have the maximum allowances and return an acceptable dividend to creditors. What are your dividend and monthly payments?

Packed lunches, taking your own snacks and if you have a kitchen, left-overs all work out more economical than buying out everyday.

Takes a bit of planning, breakfast a home in the morning and a late supper, but with packed lunches for during the days, made from sandwiches/fruit/pasta/ or anything else you can find in the fridge.

I claim for meals at work, although offhand I can't remember how much, but I do take sandwiches or soup some of the time.

The CCCS upped the allowances for meals at work from £35 to £36 this year!!!! The crazy thing is that a single person has the same allowance as a couple so the CCCS must think that married couples share their sandwiches and get two spoons for their soup.

I have had arguments in the past on behalf of drivers who by law must stop every so often. The miniscule amounts allowed for meals at work would not cover the cost of filling a flask never mind getting a coffee at a truck stop. Hopefully your IP will be able to increase all your allowances at the review stage which may make the overall IVA a little easier.

It is a disgrace. I'm fortunate in that there is only me to fund meals for, but £36, even if you do take sandwiches every day, isn't a lot for two people.

Are you allowed two spoons Michael? It might take you over the edge!!!!!!!!!

I wouldn't want to share with my wife because I would end up starving to death! Her spoon would move a lot faster than mine.

Gosh - ignore me! I assumed the allowance was per person. The meals at work allowance mustn't actually be for buying lunch at work but a supplement for housekeeping so you can buy food for a packed lunch.

It is a little on the tight side...I'm not sure you'd get a sandwich and a packet of crisps for two people each day on that. Let alone anything nourishing.

Michael!!!

Even if you buy the cheapest bread and filling, it's still going to work out a fair amount each month and of course you can't exist on tap water to drink all the time, so there are hot drinks to be considered as well.

my son gets 35 quid a month on our expenditure for school dinners and he is only 8!!!
Ridiculous that two adults have to survive on the same amount!!

My (boring) lunch time sarnies for the week take a loaf of bread £1.00, a carton of smoked ham slices £2.59, small pot of coleslaw £1.25 and a brunch bar £1.50. So £6.34 for 5 days = £1.27 per day = around £29 per working month.

Don't forget your drinks though!

Ah yes --- Iceland/ Poundland comes in there ... Nescafe 3 in 1 sachets come in at 10p per drink. Not the most exciting fare -- but I don't seem to be losing weight on it (more's the pity).

Talking of spoons, our canteen now charge 2p extra for the plastic cutlery on top of recent increases in the cost of their meals.

Cause of where we are they have a captive customer base, as there really is nowhere else to go at lunchtimes.

Disgusting charging you for that! Can you not take your own?