In the words of Mr Humphries...

balmk

I can't believe it - had my IVA certificate of completion from my IP today. Officially debt free, IVA free, and feeling a little emotional.

A big thank you to everyone who posts here - whether it is to ask for advice, provide encouragement, or to give assistance - without you all this last couple of years would have been much more difficult.

To all those who are just beginning their debt-free journey... there is light at the end of the tunnel. It may seem far away, but with the help and support of the fab people on this board, you will get there!!!

:j

rayday2

Really pleased to hear your good news, well done and is there some pennies for a bottle of something to toast with?

chloebelle

well done you :beer:

I love posts like this, gives me hope that it really can happen!

:j :j :j :j :j

mrsspendalot

yay, congratulations on your freedom!!!!

In_Search_Of_Me

Yeah well done Can you tell us a bit about your journey? Must feel incredible & cant wait to be able to post simular!!

HairyHandofDartmoor

Congratulations! How much debt did you have, and how long did it take you to become debt free?

What are your plans now that you are debt free? Are there any dreams that you would like to fulfill now?

balmk

Well,my journey......

It all started really when I was in Uni doing teacher training. Despite working whenever I could (holidays and during term time when I didn't have school placements), I still managed to rack up an overdraft of £1500, plus a student loan of £5,000. In conjunction with *stupid mistake* a Debenhams storecard and a Marks and Spencer storecard, I left uni with £10,000 debt.

Because of some personal problems, coupled with the fact that I (by my 4th year into the course) decided that maybe teaching wasn't for me, I ended up in a fairly low paid job. Still with the debts to pay off, and also now a partner who also had some debt problems (of which I wasn't aware at the time).

Using my wages, plus further credit cards obtained over the next couple of years, I helped to keep us afloat, all the time believeing that it was all fine and normal - as far as I was aware, my partner was earning good money so it would all work out. I was totally kept in the dark to the fact that mortgage payments were being missed due to the fact that my partner already had loads of debt that I didn't know about.

The first lightbulb moment (mini-lightbulb) came when I realised that I was earning £14,000 a year with my partner (supposedly earning £50,000 per year), but I was paying for all food, utility bills, petrol etc... I figured that there was something wrong with THAT picture and yes, it turned out that my partner hadnt been working too hard, and I was having to heavily subsidise the relationship.

Well, people grow up, they change, they get wiser, and new opportunities tend to present theselves. I got promotion at work, my partner got a new, better paid job that wasn't so heavily commission based, but I still found that I was paying for the lions share of the living expenses whilst my partner was spending money on "living" i.e. cars (which I wasn't allowed to drive), expensive clothes, and the like. My personal debt, at this point. had reached a scary £50,000.


I became ill, was put on anti-dperessants for 3 years, and now have a huge 2 year gap in my memory from the tablets. I kept working throughout though as I didn't feel that I had the option to take time out to deal with things.

Then, after two years of taking the tablets and my system had got used to them, the big lightbulb moment came (more of a searchlightbulb moment!!!) - I remeber it as clearly as if it were yesterday; I recieved my credit card bill (one of many) and realised that by paying the minimum payment of about £50 (all I could afford), I was actually only paying about £3 off the balance. I realised that it had to stop; I was frustrated with constantly having to ask for money from my partner to pay off the debts that we had both run up whilst my partner was having a very jolly time of it all becuase the debts were in my name. ?You know that advert that says "got more going out than you have coming in?" - well that was me, to the tune of about £300 per month.

I didnt know about this site 5 years ago (was it here then?) otherwise this is the first place that I would have come to. I found the details of a debt management company who were really helpful and tried to help me set up a payment plan with my creditors. Following their instructions, I kept my creditors informed of my position every step of the way. Marks and Spencer finance were really helpful. GE Capital were sooooo not. Ultimately the majority of the creditors refused to help, refused to freeze interest, and basically said "pay or go to court".

I wanted to make sure that I had a way of protecting myself and ensuring that I could pay as much back as possible in a reasonable amount of time, so when the agency suggested that I might be best suited to an IVA as the paymnet arrangement route wasn't working, it seemed like a great idea.

As it turned out it was the hardest 5 years of my life, but it was the best option for me (please guys ensure that you seek advice before taking one of tehse up - it ain't a walk in the park, and it doesn't suit everyone). Back then IVAs were still very new, so my creditors were fairly responsive to this one.

It was difficult to see my money going elsewhere, leaving me just enough to live on, but as I kept reminding myself, what money I did have to spend was now mine, which made me feel like the richest person in the world!!! My IP and his team were so supportive and helpful, and it really made a difference to feel that there was someone on my side.

Meanwhile, my partner continued spending (and I was still paying for all the food!!!). I got made redundant and managed to walk straight into another job. A couple of career moves later and I was earning double what I earned when I started my IVA, but I kept my IP informed every step of the way. My contributions increased, but i didn't mind so much about that I was determined to pay off as much of teh debt as possible, whether I needed to or not.

Anyway, you know that song that goes "my fingertips are holding onto the cracks in our foundation" - I know exactly how that feels (relationship-wise). Then I had liughtbulb moment number 3 - why the hell am I with this person? They only care about themselves (my partner was then in a position of being able to offer a Full and Final settlement figure for the IVA and still have money left to buy a new sportscar). So I left.

I now have a super new partner (getting married next year *yay*) who accepted me warts (and IVA) and all - talk about someone with baggage!! (me).

The last 12 months of the IVA were the hardest - you can see the finish line, but it takes so long to get there!! Anyhoo, its done, so I now need to clean up my credit file (it is in such a mess - defaults everyone and in all the wrong places - I have one showing for 2007!!??) so that me and my partner can get a place of our own (we are renting).

So it's been an emotional couple of years.

And some words of advice for anyone who is going through the same sort of thing:

Don't ignore the lightbulb
Get advice from people who know
Choose your path carefully - somepeople are suited to a DMP, others to bankrupcy, others to IVA
An IVA is for 5 long years, not just for Christmas - be committed to it and you will come out the other end relatively unscathed
Be responsible, be proactive - if you are in an IVA don't waste your energy thinking of ways to pay back less just because you don't need to to - you owe that money. Keep your IP informed of any changes in yor life - they are there to support you,and will guide you.


Thanks everyone for letting me get all that off my chest!!

always_amazed

Hey!

Conrgratulations! Want to echo Chloebelle, posts like this do give people like me a bit of hope!!

xxxx

lunar

What an amazing journy, congratulations on sticking with it for so long. And just think at least is has led you to meet your great new partner.

Toto

Well done, that's awesome. Enjoy your new debt free life, it's the best thing ever.

Burlesque_Babe

Good for you.

It is an individual journey for us all and very painful along the way at times, but the (sometimes quite odd) feeling of being debt free is amazing.