But amid that grief, the surviving spouse is often left making high-stakes financial decisions at the worst possible time.

People can feel a lot of shame about being in credit card debt. They think it means they're bad with money. That it's something to avoid, or a burden they can never pay off. But for financial educator ...

Being financially illiterate can lead to financial disaster, as it increases the likelihood of accumulating unsustainable debt burdens due to poor spending decisions or a lack of long-term planning.