According to new research from Fool.co.uk, earning potential drops after 40, meaning people heading into middle age with debt problems will find it hardest to get themselves out of the red.
The group say that during your 20s and 30s you have the ability to continually increase your income every year but after forty this stops before eventually decreasing in your later working years.
David Kuo from Fool commented, "With average consumer debt of £21,450 and potential mortgage debt of much more, it seems those of us indelicately referred to as middle-aged should show some of the conservatism the term implies."