Number of bankrupt women soars as lifestyles outstrip pay

AN increasing number of women are becoming bank-rupt as a result of credit card debts and soaring household bills. Experts said women's living costs and financial independence had outstripped their rise in salaries.

The proportion of people applying for bankruptcy who are women rose from 42 per cent to 44 per cent over the past year, according to accountants Wilkins Kennedy.

Since 2002, that figure has increased from 32 per cent to 42 per cent.

Keith Stevens, insolvency partner at the firm, said that if the trend continued, by the end of the decade half of all the people going through bankruptcy would be women.

"It's difficult to see the situation getting any better because so many people are already teetering on the brink of the precipice," he said.

"A modest rise in interest rates or a fall in income could be enough to tip them over the edge.

"Young women are increasingly choosing the 'WAGs' lifestyle, but it can't be sustained."

Research by Halifax shows the proportion of new mortgages taken out by single women has more than doubled in the last 20 years.

"Women are taking on a much greater debt burden than they used to but their income still lags behind," Mr Stevens said.