It’s now been 6 weeks since our IVA last payment.  I have yet to hear anything from DFD and I’m not sure what I am waiting for but I had thought that we might of gotten and email or call to confirm the final payment.  I don’t know how long it will take to get our Certificate of Completion but I know I have to be patient and I’ll be excited to not see our names on the Insolvency Register.

Life has been pretty much the same since the end payment but I will say it is more relaxed.  I have been able to do more, obviously with money but it’s being able to say ‘yes’ to people for lunch dates or nights out, rather than have to sheepishly decline and find an excuse as to why we can’t go anywhere. I’ve had 3 sunday Lunch’s in the pub and the first one was my very fist ever in my life! I think we led a rather sheltered life, all of course due to not having the money to do it.

Our house is being ‘modernised’  but as we rent then we don’t have to pay for any of it, only the upkeep so to speak. I’m looking forward to winter as I’ll not have to worry about lighting fires etc but I do anticiapte that the gas will cost us more. Good job it has only been done now rather than last year. so much needs doing here and I think it’s going to be a losing battle, so much so that we are thinking about moving into town. Rent will tripple though and hub and I have decided to work out a budget and see if we can manage it. We don’t need to be here in the village anymore. We both work in town and youngest son goes to school in town so all his friends are there.  I don’t know if it will come off but we have told our Landlord we want to move and he himself mentioned that he may be able to buy another house in town and rent it to us.  That would be perfect for us as then I’d know it was a very long term let and I wouldn’t have to worry about the owner wanting to sell. we shall have to see if that happens, although I am only a little hopeful.

I’m still ‘tight’ I only like to spend money on bargains… Thank you Ebay! I can’t justify spending lots on anything (apart from my dresses for the occasions of my friends Hen do and Wedding) I stand in the shop and think… why would I want to pay all that, I can get it cheaper on ebay. It actually scares me to think that I could spend a lot but I get a bigger kick out of cheap buys.

I have a bugdet sheet set up for now until the end of next year, I know exactly where money is going and basically what is coming in. I feel safe knowing that its all there in black and white and I would urge everyone, if not done already to do something of the same.

The biggest thing the IVA has taught me is that I do not need the biggest or most expensive, My failing was to just buy and worry about the costs later. Now its the other way around. I havent increased my shopping allowance, I thought I might but we dont need to, so its set at that amount for the next 18 months at least.

My biggest spend was to book and pay for a holiday for a week for hub and myself, paid for in cash and the first ever holiday where we’ve paid for it ourselves and not used loans or credit cards.  It’s not an expensive holiday but it’s just time away to mark the end of an era.  will I ever get another credit card?  Honestly I dont know.  I think about applying for the Vanquis card in the future but I honestly wonder if I could refrain from using it.  It’s all very well saying ‘I’ll buy the shopping on it and then pay it off straight away’ I just don’t know if I would. So I have decided to not apply for one, certainly not in the foreseeable future anyway.

So now all I hope for is that the IVA is fully concluded very soon.

Thats all for now folks xxxx