Isabella Blackhall has worked in the travel industry since she was a teenager.
The mum-of-two from Stockport operated the check-in desks at Manchester Airport, before landing her dream job as a travel agent for Thomas Cook 10 months-ago.
When she left work on Friday evening to return home to her two young daughters, the single mum had no idea that by the end of the weekend, she'd be left struggling to pay her mortgage.
She believed she'd found her job for life, but on Monday morning, Isabella woke up to the devastating news that the tour operator had gone into liquidation.
The 24-year-old claims she only found out about the company's collapse after reading it on social media.
While taking her children to school, trying to pretend that everything was okay, Isabella received the call that any mother would dread; that she wouldn't be getting paid this month.
"I just broke down at the side of the road crying," Isabella said, speaking to the Manchester Evening News.
"My heart literally felt like I was breaking, I was in bits. All that overtime I worked in August and September is all for nothing - my livelihood is now completely gone."
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Isabella says she didn't know what to do other than visit her local job centre, after hearing that she would be out of a job and without nearly two months' pay.
It was the first time she had ever found herself in such a position, having worked since the age of 15.

"I was sat there filling out these forms on a computer, and I was just thinking how quickly things had changed for me," Isabella said.
"As soon as I found out I was on the phone to my mortgage advisor, desperately trying to see if there was any way I could get an extension."
Isabella has now found herself with no option to apply for Universal Credit, but even that could take another five weeks to process.
She says if it wasn't for the help of kind strangers in the local Stockport community, she would be left in very real trouble.
"It is actually incredible the support that everyone has given me," she said.
After posting a status on Facebook, Isabella received a message from the manager of her local hairdresser.
She says the manager of Hair and Beauty Lounge in Edgeley asked her for her bank details, and transferred Isabella enough money to cover her mortgage for the month.
"It was unbelievable I didn't expect that what so ever," she said.

"You just don't prepare your savings for these kind of things."
Isabella has now been offered a cleaning job Monday to Friday, after a local woman reached out having seen her Facebook post.
"It's not the job that I know and love but it's hopefully going to pay some of the bills for now," she said.
"I feel scared to go back to working in a travel agents now. Thomas Cook is a huge company that's been going for over 100 years and look what's happened.
"I hope we will always have a busy retail street but this hasn't filled me with much confidence."
The Civil Aviation Authority began the largest peacetime repatriation to ensure the safe return of 150,000 Brits stranded abroad.
Around 70 flights are expected to operate on Wednesday bringing back around 16,500 holidaymakers.