www.iva.co.uk

been in a financial mess for a few years, owe about £65k and earn £50K, relationship breakdowns, constant stream of credit, remortgages etc etc. Finally been advised to talk about an IVA but just worried about how much I will need to pay back per month and even though a good salary what impact it might have on my daughter and my hubby

Hi and welcome to the forum. You've found you need some help to get yourself sorted and that is the first step towards your journey to debt freedom. You will complete and income and expenditure form with the companies you contact and a ballpark figure can be give in respect of payments, this is based on disposable income.

What I would suggest is you talk to 2 or 3 companies, the site www.iva.com list some companies and by contacting more than one you can ensure case specific advice.

Is your daughter adult or a child? I assume hubby is not entering into an IVA too?

Firstly, welcome to the forum, and congratulations on realising the need to seek help and advice. An IVA is a way of paying as much back to your creditors as possible, whilst still retaining sufficient funds to feed and clothe your family whilst maintainig your household expenditure. Please visit www.iva.co.uk for some free impartial advice on all debt solutions. Please speak to 2 or 3 companies and see who you feel most comfortable with before moving onto the next step. Good luck.

no, well, my hubbby doesnt want to yet but he may do,Daughter is a child . I just want to sort out my life and instead of seeing no glimmer of hope see somehting on the horizon even if it's painful to get there!

Sorry must have been posting at the same time as lesley.

Hi. As said above, speak to a couple of firms to get a spread of advice. You will need to find a company you are comfortable with. Get as "genned up" as possible by asking any questions you need to. The general consensus here is that most people wish they had gone into it sooner, rather than later.

thanks, I think it's the right approach but just feel it's a big tie and won't give us any flexibilit, what if the car breaks or boiler seezes and how about any christmas presents?

Christmas presents you would need to save for slowly throughout the year by cutting back on certain allowances etc., You may well have a contingency fund per month and this could be saved for any unplanned things like boiler repairs. IP's do have the discretion to sanction a payment break should the need arise in certain circumstances. x

Yes, it is a tie and a serious undertaking. However, there is an end to it when you will be debt free. If you are having problems now, think what it's going to be like in another year or so. Apart from everything else, just losing the stress makes it worth it.

IVAs are a serious undertaking and the most important thing is affordability. Your IP will put together a proposal based on a domestic income and expenditure and your husband's income is his own.

Take some free advice and see what your options are. Any IP firm should go through all the various alternatives with you and you can decide what is best for you and your family with the full facts.

Hi
As you are here asking I think you alrady know what you have to do
If you are happy to keep paying your debts now and can see a way to clear them well you should do that
If you cant see yourself clearing your debts and getting nowhere then you need the IVA Yes its tough and scary and you have to be prepared to do without a lot of things But at least you have a finishing line and something to aim for If you carry on now do you see yourself clear in 5 years
Ask for some advice sure read a lot of information and peoples comments they are all pretty much the same as yours now
Sooner you start the sooner you finish
good luck but you will be fine

Hi and welcome from me as well.

I think most of us know how you feel. It is a daunting prospect.

You will be able to have a life though and will be allowed a contingency allowance for if anything goes wrong. As to Christmas etc, you can save money from your allowances and you could also do what I do and do online surveys which earn you vouchers and I use that to fund Christmas.

Speak to an expert via the link posted above, or you could visit the 'Ask a Question' link and speak to any of the experts who post on here.

The advice is free.

thanks for all the great advice, as one person said , if you're already on these sites then really you know what you have to do. I cant see anyother way of paying them off before we retire so in the long run we'd be living on a strict budget anyway because we would have to plus I hate, hate giving all those lousey credit card companies the interest they charge! They're so very keen to get you to rack up the debt but not as keen to help you clear it and live a life!

All the best there will be a solution for you and at least with an IVA you'll have an end date of when your debt is cleared so although it seems daunting today, one step at a time and you'll soon be on the way to debt freedom. x

In the period in which your IVA is being presented, you may decide not to make any payments to your creditors in which case you could save that money and start up a savings account for contingencies. Most IP firms would encourage you to do this, as it means you have a cushion of a few pounds to meet unexpected expendiure in the future. The IVA will allow you certain contingency allowances - for instance towards car and house maintenance, and a general fund for sundries and emergencies, so do make sure that you keep sufficient funds aside to boost your savings during the IVA - trust me those funds will be required at some stage!