www.iva.co.uk

Hi me and my husband have around �55,000 of unsecured debts which are not getting any smaller and are seriously considering an iva we want to avoid bankruptcy as we do not want to lose our house, I was just wondering what sort of living allowances would be acceptable there is me my husband and 2 young children

Hi Amy, welcome to the forum.

You'd best bet is to speak with a few recommended iva providers on www.iva.com. They will go through all the detail with you and allow 30-45 mins to discuss your income and expenditure. Many people successfully complete IVA's with several children and in fact I have found that I have more disposable income than before as I'm not paying to the credit card companies.

Once you bite the bullet, you can stop paying the creditors and put away a contingency in preparation for the long haul of clearing your debts. Get those things like boiler servicing, car repairs etc done BEFORE you commit to any IVA and there will be less room for large expenses.

Good luck and keep us posted on how you get on.

Hi Amy welcome to the forum

I agree with all that winter_blues has said. I just wish i had known about this forum when i started my IVA as i would not have gone with the firm i am with now.
It is a big commitment and is not easy but very worth while once it has finished and you are once again debt free.
Please do take as much advice as you can and make sure you choose the IVA firm carefully and make sure you fully understand the proposal regarding your property and what will be expected of you when it comes to equity release etc.

It is good you found the forum before starting your IVA. I have recently made our last payment and for us, it has been the best thing. There are several IPs who post regularly on here that I would consider calling if I were you. We were with cleardebt who were amazing from the start. Read the blogs and the reviews. You need to find someone you feel comfortable with. Five years is a long time. Make a list of all expenses, pocket money, school dinners, haircuts etc so you have this info when you call. Good luck.

All I would advise after being in an IVA for 5 years, is look carefully at your options. It might seem like an easy way out of debt but it's certainly not. I have 4 children and have found it very hard indeed, the living allowance is minimal and you have no money for any 'extras' such as unexpected bills.

I would look long term, cut up any credit cards, sell your car and downgrade if you can and see if you can live on what you have left after paying your current debts each month. Also look at equity in your property and if you have any, consider using that instead.

If you do go for an IVA, look at this forum and find a good IP, it makes a lot of difference as I read regular horror stories about some of the larger firms.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Getting towards the end of my IVA I agree with the above posts.

Make sure you understand about what will happen if you can not re-mortgage at end.

I was lucky in the fact that my children had grown up when I started and I do feel it would have been much harder with small children. For me it has not been to bad but would have been easier if I had chosen a different IVA company as they have made it more difficult then it needed to be.

So chose carefully and good luck.

Hi Amy.

Expect to live frugally . All available disposable income goes into the iva.

We've been through it with 4 kids & it was no picnic.

Get advice from a few reputable iva companies & look closely into what the reasonable allowable living expenses. Although there are set guidelines-What you are told about seems to vary from company to company.

If I had my time again ( hindsight being a marvellous thing ) I would have paid a lot more attention to detail. 5 years is a long time to have an unrealistic budget set.
Things like school uniforms ,school shoes ,school trips - an " optical" allowance has to be realistic , cos let's face it a half decent pair of specs costs a bit- haircuts - dinner money, bus money , need to be taken into consideration & given a realistic allowance for.
Holidays will be a thing of the past also as they are considered to be a luxury.

Will your cars last another 6-7 years ? Does your house need any money spending on it? You won't be able to do anything whilst in the iva. Although in emergency circumstances you can take an agreed payment break but then those missed payments will be added on to the end of your iva- delaying completion date.

Also although we rent- having any equity in your property at the end an iva can be a bit of a headache. That needs explaining clearly .

If you are serious about it, open a new basic bank account with someone who is not one of your creditors or linked to them & start putting a bit of money in it. You'll need it once the iva starts.
When we decided to go ahead with our iva- we told our creditors & started to put the money that was going on to debt aside. As we had to send money to the iva company just before the iva started.

Good luck & I hope you find the right solution for you & your family.

Hello and welcome. I found the site before I entered into an IVA. I can concur with all of the above, especially hair_bubbles. Once committed, save all you can and t err y to get the big things done before you're accepted. Once in the money is tight but again, I'm with clearest and couldn't ask for any better company to help me and my family through this extremely tense and difficult time. I wish you the very best of luck, don't despair as all will be fine, eventually....
Take care.

I would arrange to have a chat with an insolvency practitioner, who can understand what and where you spend your money on, and give guidance with regard to creditor expectations in this regard. The allowances are pretty much the same across all of the insolvency processes, but if you have some unusual expenditure then you need an IP who is prepared to fight your corner for you. I usually find that this can be successful, so long as the correct justification is there.