Steve works in a residential care home and is in debt through a payday loan. She says, “I know I’m not a stupid person. I’m not reckless and I’m not lacking in willpower. I made one 30-second bad decision, when a friend called me from abroad and said he didn’t have the money to get home. I offered to help before I thought it through, never considering that I wouldn’t have the money the next month, or the month after that. Now, at the beginning of the month, paying back my loan has taken such a chunk out of my wages that I will have to take out another loan before the end. I am washing my hair in soap and skipping meals, so I can claw my way out of debt without anyone knowing.”