With the cost of living crisis, more and more of us are struggling with our finances, so it’s important to speak out and seek help
WORDS: LUCY ROBINSON PHOTOS: GETTY
When it comes to money, us Brits are notoriously bad at discussing anything to do with the “M” word. Whether it’s chasing a payment from a friend or chewing over a monthly paycheque with a significant other, money can be an ugly subject. But as ugly as it may be, it’s an important topic to talk about.
According to Citizens Advice, one in four people in the UK are behind on at least one bill, while more than half the people who turn to them for help with debt are in a negative budget, meaning their income does not cover the cost of bills or essential spending.
“While the cost of living crisis may have got us all talking about money and debt a little more, it’s still an issue that many people find difficult to open up about, but the reality is that debt can happen to anyone,” explains Simon Trevethick, head of communications at StepChange Debt Charity. “Our latest polling shows that over one in 20 adults are in problem debt across the UK.”
The gender gap when it comes to debt is particularly worrying. StepChange says 45% of women in the UK have stated that they feel worried about their current financial situation and in 2023, 64% of those who sought help from StepChange were women. “We know that there are certain factors that make women more vulnerable to problem debt, including high childcare costs, caregiving responsibilities and the gender pay gap,” says Simon.
For Charlie Taylor-Castanheira, 27, the cost of childcare means that she’s having to take on £15,000 of debt to afford her daughter’s nursery fees while she attends university to pursue her dream of becoming a barrister.
“It’s horrible. We could have waited [to send her to nursery] until we got 30 hours of free childcare but because I’m at uni, I don’t qualify for those 30 hours,” says Charlie. “I feel bad saying it’s a struggle because we’ve made it work, but it is a struggle, and we shouldn’t have to do that. Childcare should be accessible and affordable.”
As a result, Charlie admits that this debt has had a negative effect on her relationship with her partner as she failed to talk about the stress the financial situation was putting her under.
“For the longest time, it had a really big impact on me and my partner George. It got to the point where we weren’t talking to each other
