Well Christmas is coming and like so many people in an IVA I am starting to wonder how I am going to get through it. Its been 6 months since I started my IVA and this last month has been without doubt the hardest few weeks to date. I was down to my last £7.00 and had over a week to go until payday. Luckily I have a large freezer and made sure it is always full so although it was a tough week with no money, at least I had food in the freezer to keep me going. There has also been a number of general maintenance issue to fix around the house like the shower breaking down and leaking water everywhere which damaged the floorboards and also needed replacing. I get paid on the 20th of each month and on this pay day I spent a couple of hundred quid on basic maintenance around the house which has of course a knock on effect on any cash I may have had for Christmas etc. I have consequently been a bit down in the dumps over the last few weeks but reading a number of posts on the IVA forum has helped pick me up. I know I don’t always respond to posts but I read a lot of them and it has helped me considerably over the last couple of days to pick me up and regain my focus. I’ve given myself a good talking to and started to focus on the positives once again. I am sure I will experience some low points throughout the IVA process but I will continue to try my very best to keep thinking positively.
On a plus note, my cycling has gone really well and my fitness is definitely improving. I have also started to focus on a little challenge I have set myself next year. My wife is a Coeliac and I have always wanted to do something to help and support her more. Consequently I have devised what I have called my Spring Challenge. In March I will be doing my first Triathlon, In April I will be doing the London Marathon and in May I will be going completely crazy and jumping out of an aeroplane at 10000 feet completely on my own and not as a tandem like most people do. I am of course doing all this for charity and have set up my own charity fundraising page. I am not writing this on here to ask for sponsorship, as I am sure most people reading this are probably in an IVA like me:-) I am merely just sharing what I am doing and any words of support are more than enough from my dear fellow IVA friends:-) I managed a half marathon run last week so the training is going well at the moment.
I also just wanted to mention the unison pre-paid credit card I am currently using. I generally put about £200.00 on the card every month on or around pay day and I get approximately 5% cash back on all purchases in certain stores like Sainsbury’s, Asda, Wilkinson’s, B & Q and Marks and Spencer’s etc. Its not a lot I know but I am getting between £5 and £10 cash back every month. There appears to be a number of these type of cards available out there so its definitely worth looking into if you haven’t already done so.