Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Singer and former EastEnders star Martine McCutcheon was this week declared bankrupt. The 36-year-old filed for insolvency at Kingston upon Thames County Court after being unable to meet debts of £187,000.
The bulk of the debt – some £149,000 – was owed to HM Revenue & Customs with another £30,000 owed to Lloyds Bank. The actress, whose last acting job was in Midsomer Murders, became the latest self-employed person to come a financial cropper because of not being up-to-date with red-tape and tax matters.
However, Ms McCutcheon is unlikely to be the last this year, a debt charity pointed out yesterday. "The self- employed are particularly vulnerable to debt problems as their personal finances are often tied up with their business finances," warned Una Farrell of the Step Change debt charity.
"This means it can be hard for them to realise that they have a personal debt problem before it is very serious and they are facing bankruptcy."
Money matters can end in disaster for the self-employed as they often resort to propping up their businesses with personal loans. That leaves them in serious personal financial difficulty if the business struggles or fails.
"It is therefore crucial that anyone who is self-employed and struggling financially, or even just worried about their finances, seeks professional advice on how to deal with their finances,"advised Ms Farrell.
StepChange offers a specialist free advice service for the self-employed.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments