How debt is affecting more women later on in life: a Granada Reports investigation
Research from the University of Manchester has found women aged 55 and over are more likely to have financial problems than older men.
The worst affected are those living on low incomes who are separated or divorced.
Women like Lydia who was forced to deal with her debt after a family tragedy.
Anna Youssef has been speaking to her as part of Debt Awareness Week:
Blog by Anna Youssef
As part of our series looking at debt we spoke to Lydia, a mother of three from Oldham. For Lydia, money or the lack of it, had always been an issue.
Lydia had brought up her children by herself while working as a nurse.
When her own health started to fail she retrained as a church minister with others turning to her for guidance. For years she kept her debts a secret - alone, ashamed and embarrassed.
She finally sought help for her debts after her son died and she was unable to pay for his funeral.
Lydia's story tallies with research from the University of Manchester which found women aged 55 and over are more likely to have financial problems than older men.
The worst affected are those living on low incomes who are separated or divorced.
Dr Kingsley Purdam, who co-authored Mothers in Debt, with Dr Jennifer Prattley, says the burden of debt is often weighed down further by guilt, shame and secrecy.
Charlene's a single mum from Oldham, who works part-time in a supermarket and has a four year old son.
Her debt problems escalated after her universal credit was suspended and she racked up council tax and rent arrears.
At one point things got so bad she thought her son would be better off without her.
Charlene and Lydia both say it was help from their Housing Association that pulled them back from the brink. First Choice Homes referred them to their community impact team who helped them contact creditors and deal with their debts.
Charlene's also been able to bring down the cost of her food shop by using a community hub run by The Bread and Butter Thing Charity.
After years of skipping meals she's now able to feed herself as well as her son and she's slowly but steadily getting out of debt.
READ MORE: Life after debt - a Granada Reports' investigation