All I wanted was a baby ….my story!

Alot has happened since our last IVA payment was paid last November. We have got a mortgage and bought a house, moved in and done a spot of decorating. A large list of jobs has been written and prioritised with costings by the side…….a decision taken that we can’t do any of them until the money is in the pot !

We have lived life on the I&E budget of our final year in the IVA..allowing us to have a small increase of about 20% …..the rest of the money is being saved and put into various saving pots ….something I would never have done before our IVA !

Since middle of the year I have been in extreme pain and diagnosed with 5 slipped discs – this has stopped me from doing alot of what I had planned…..especially walking over the lovely hills at the back of our house ……but saying that, it has allowed me to spend alot more time on the forum supporting others which I have found to be a continuing reward !

I have been able to introduce a new forum expert in Ryan who is now finding his feet in advising others around issues with their mortgages, or those seeking a new mortgage as they leave their IVA – it so good to see and hear the positive outcomes that Ryan is achieving and other forum members are experiencing the benefit of his advice.

We have had a few trials and tribulations along the way, and the last 24 hours have been eventful…… a heavy rain shower on Thursday night caused a a heavy leak into the loft from the chimney breast …..just what we needed at this time of year ! Not knowing any roofers we landed up ringing round, and were lucky enough to find someone to come out and temporarily patch it – a new tile is needed and a bit of re-pointing here and there ! At least I can comfortably say we are planned for it this time !

I have finally managed to meet some of the forum members at the Christmas Frugal Friends gathering – lovely to meet them and Andy Davie especially – what a fab job he has done in getting this forum to the place it is now -but this would not have been possible without the support of all of the Forum Experts and Forum members……..what a great place for people to come to, to gain advice and support while they travel through journey to debt freedom.

As this is likely to be my last post before Christmas I would like to wish every one a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !

Well it is now officially 12 months since I paid the last IVA payment ! We have been debt free for over 12 months and have been able to save some money in that time for a rainy day !
Today I have arrived home and opened the post – panic stations . Santander have sent a statement with a balance on it and interest charged …….thanks to Declan at DFD as he responded to my email within minutes and advised me to not panic and to send a letter to them with a copy of the certificate !
Now 12 months ago I would have panicked and panicked …but now i am calm and relaxed about the whole thing !

I attended my first Frugal Friends gathering at the weekend – a chance to meet up with other forum members who all have faced similar financial issues – an opportunity to be yourself, no false behaviour – everyone appreciated everyone there – great to hear how people are managing their debt and living their lives within a budget ….very inspirational and I would recommend others attend next years events.

Currently sat in a cottage in Padstow – all I can hear are birds singing…all I can smell is the sea air ! This is the first holiday since our IVA finished where we have been able to relax and not worry about things !
So why do I then still feel guilty about opening my purse, buying a few extra bits ? I think it is because I have changed my views of spending – I still think twice over buying the extras in life and still look for bargains – there is no way I will buy anything at fall price and will always go to the sale rail first !
Off to Looe today – nice little quaint shops, lovely cafe’s and a nice pub lunch are in order !
Our friends who are holidaying with us asked me what I was doing last night – I explained about the IVA forum and how it had helped me in our IVA and how I was now helping others (well hopefully I am) ….. just because my journey has ended, does not mean I have to walk away – far from it – I look forward to logging on each day to see what support I can offer !

Three weeks ago today my 97 year old grandmother passed away – having been in hospital for a week I sat by her bedside night after night praying for her to stay strong but to no avail on this occasion !
During those visits I spent time reflecting on my life – my dad died when I was 14 years old and I quickly had to grow up and stand for myself. I met my husband when I was just 18 and we have been together since – 21 years ! Between the age of 14-18 I did not grieve for my dad – I felt I had to be strong for my mum and sister and did things to suit…..when my hubby and I met it changed and we bought a house after 3 years of being together and got engaged – this is where is went wrong !

13 years into our mortgage we admitted defeat and the IVA commenced and we sold the house moving into rented…..
this time allowed me to reflect, grieve and come to terms with our spending habits and have been able to re-start our lives now that the IVA has finished !

Today I was asked a few questions by the solicitor – one of which was any of the excutors declared bankrupt or in an agreement with creditors – I could hold my head up high and say NO ! It felt good !

Well six months have passed since we moved into our house, following the IVA completion and the unfortunate circumstances that resulted us in being able to gain a mortgage again so quickly – my beloved god mother is forever in my thoughts and I will be forever grateful to her for our second chance !
I can honestly say that 12 months after our last IVA payment, we are still living life on the same budget regime – the only difference is instead of paying for the IVA each month we now save towards a pension and towards a car replacement pot, along with a contingency pot…. We have allowed ourselves an extra £100 per month for home improvements but no more !
We have signed up for a Pre Paid Credit Card and have £100 put on this per month – we are yet to spend anything using the card and it is there as an emergency nothing more !
I have continued with my regular car boot sales, ebay sales and all continue to help at the church as a verger where I am paid verger fees for weddings and baptisms – these extras have allowed us to have a holiday this year !
I have continued to enjoy the forum – although now not in an IVA I hope I can offer reassurance to those who are, comfort to those who are struggling to comes to term with things and also suggest ways of living life on a budget !
To those on your journeys, starting out on them or nearing the end of them – keep focused, be positive and use the forum as a sounding board – we are all here for the same reason and we can all work together to enter debt free life again !

As you will recall our IVA finished with a F&F in November 2010 – we have since been paying back the relative who paid the F&F for us at the same rate as a our IVA – so actually life has not been any different at all since !

This week we have been challenged by our letting agency who despite having had a good relationship with them for the last three years, have decided that we owe them £775 going back to August 2008 – I have argued, I have given them dates, times and names of who we saw to pay this money to etc and have provided them with all paperwork and receipts that I have – it is just very unfortunate that I do not have a receipt for the rent I paid in cash in August 2008 …I have kept every other receipt ! Typical !  It appears having done some digging around and questioning of the various staff members I have spoken to, the person who has been dealing with our case for the last three years has left in a bit of a cloud !!!!  No one will confirm, but apparently we are not the only ones to be having our accounts cross examined by the senior manager now for anomalies – well they are going to have to find proof that we didn’t pay it !  Otherwise I can see us heading to court on this one !

We are still playing the waiting game for the inheritance to come through – the house still has not sold and until it does then we will not benefit.

Our completion certificate has still to come through and we are still showing on the insolvency register – so all in all, we are still in the same predicament. We came very close in January to running out of cash towards the end of the month – but we managed to stay ok with £6.85 left on payday !

Looking forward to supporting the new comers to the forum – I have received an email this last fortnight asking me to become a IVA Mentor – I have accepted and hope that I can provide the support and comfort that is needed as you progress through your journies!

Firstly – Happy New Year to you all !

As you have read my Full and Final offer was accepted at the end of November 2010, and with the support from family we were able to pay this amount across before our December payment was due – so in theory Christmas could have come early ! But no…instead…we have used the money to pay back my mum some of the cash she lent us to repair our cars over the IVA…we have paid for 12 months road tax rather than 6 months road tax and we have for the first time in 3 years been able to buy our close relatives a xmas present totalling £10 rather than £5 !
It has been a rewarding month, but also a very scary month – we could easily have treated ourselves with things for the house, for xmas etc but we haven’t – I have continued to write down our expenditure, withdraw the weekly amount of money and shopped by the list written – the only extra shopping item this month was a bottle of gin and three boxes of beer for the other half !
It is true what people say once you have experienced life on a budget, it is very hard to go back to old ways – and I am so glad – I love my life now!

Going back to the main reason as to why we got into the debt track – that being I wanted a baby so badly – I have continued to reflect and consider our other options – but having been through so much and come out of the otherside, for now I think it is time to enjoy life with the hubbie and not look back !
Here’s 2011 and I sincerely hope all of you in the IVA route now continue to make your payments and look forward to the future and not behind – best wishes !

Well since 2010 started so badly with the sudden death of my god mother, I have had to go through 2010 with sorting out all of the matters left behind her ! The house is now on the market, although no interest at all, despite reducing it’s price by £25k already, and a further discussion for another reduction of £25k……but alas the estate agents have said nothing is selling at mo so we are leaving as is until January !
Having received a partial inheritance and paid this automatically into the IVA, we are now in the position, with the support of family to offer a F&F – a variation meeting has been called for the 26th November.

Since being informed of this date I have gone through the emotions of being scared, anxious, positive and negative – I know the IP would not have agreed to the variation if they felt it was not suitable, but you cannot help worrying can you !

We spent last week in Cornwall with family – it was a lovely breakfrom home, but typical as soon as you stop workthe cold and flu bugs come along and bite you ! Haven’t been able to get rid of it and am still suffering !

I had to interview someone at work today and having got to the bottom of their constant absences it appears they too are having financial difficulties – I have referred them to the forum and have shared my experiences – they are now more positive about the future available to them !
This forum is invaluable and has offered me the support I have needed throughout – thanks !

Well….I was 38 yesterday ! Another year passed me by ! I woke up early – don’t know why really as I knew there were only a few cards waiting for me – opened them up….got a few pound from relatives – which I know I should be grateful for, but this year I have had to put it immediately straight into the contigency fund ! Hubbie hadn’t come up with anything this year, although we had arranged to go out for dinner with my sister and her family last night…………..I went off to do a craft fayre – trying to sell a few of my hand knitted items ! Set up stall and all was ok – made £50 quid – into the contigency fund it goes…..got a phone call half way through the day from hubbie – he had been called into work as they had been broken into – waiting for police to arrive to take fingerprints etc – this was 10am – at 3pm when the craft fayre finished he was still waiting – I went across to his work to see him – at 5pm they finally turn up – within minutes they say they can’t take any prints as it appears the culprits wore gloves ! It then took him till 8.45pm to make the premises safe until contractors could come in on Monday to complete a fix permanetly ! By this time I had had no choice but to cancel the restaurant and the taxi booking! Great – there I am, no pressies, no real birthday atmosphere and my birthday meal had been cancelled !

Landed up with a chinese takeaway – which was one of the worst ones I had ever had, and a glass of lemonade – hadn’t bought any alcohol as we thought we were going out – and no shops open when we finally got back towards home !
Oh what a sober / boring birthday !

Thought we would go out Sunday / today instead – hubbie decides he was watching grand prix ! Off to the supermarket I go to get some supplies – thought a bottle of wine might be in order – but alas no – my bank card was not accepted at the till -despite me having £120 in the account !
Got home, rung the bank – they apologised – they had temporarily suspended my card as I had recently paid for something via Paypal and it appeared to them to be suspicious as it was for £1.97 !!!!! Give me strength ! By now the supermarket’s have closed – we have no off licence near by…..and now I have to put up with hubbie watching the grand prix and the James Bond film on tv ! Help…….get me out of here !

Just got back from a funeral – it has been a very long day and a very traumatic one at that! A close family friend died and I agreed to go to the funeral – not thinking about the closeness of the funerals at the beginning of the year ! All was well until the burial – the person whose father it was and his brothers and sister were in pieces and it all came flooding back ! I struggled then…..we walked back to the cars and went to the wake – I could only stay an hour and made my excuses and came away and drove the 120 miles home !
All the way home my mind was on my godmother’s death at xmas last year – what had happened since etc – I couldn’t focus and had to pull over on two occasions !
Got home and hubbie had cleaned the flat and done the washing – bless him! Having driven the 240 miles round trip, all I needed was a hug !
Had to come on line to pay the IVA extra payment for overtime …..that got me thinking too……stupid thoughts about how silly we had been, and guilt set in once again ! But then actually – having reading others blog updates – I now realise that I am in the same position as lots others, but have the support of this wonderful forum ! Thank you- ramble over