I used my home to clear debt

Dad Anthony Martyn knows how stressful debt in retirement can be. He ended up struggling, owing around £40,000, and shelling out huge sums of expensive interest each month. Anthony, 75, from Peterborough, Cambs, explains: “It wasn’t from overspending. I had a bit of a difficult time and that hit my finances hard. My wife died young, and I was left trying to get by on one income. “I helped fund one of my children through medical school. Then I got mugged and had to give up work. This all left me struggling. “I ended up using all my savings and turning to credit cards to get by. “I realised that I didn’t have any money but was sitting with a valuable house around me. I took out an equity release plan and I got my life back. I’ve got my pension now and no big debts to pay out of it which is much less stressful. “There’s still a bit of value left in my bungalow to give the kids some inheritance.”