British mom pays back £19,000 in 5 months by selling 410 household items

A British mom who racked up £23,000 in debt has paid back £19,000 in just five months by decluttering and selling 410 household items online.

Ellie Titmus, 32, says her debt began to “snowball” after she became a single mom in 2022. She took out a short-term loan of £15,000 and another loan of £8,000 to get by.

Over the next four years she found herself spending on “silly things” like take-out food and online shopping — £1,000 in one month using three credit cards.

By April this year, despite making payments, she still had £23,000 in debt.”I felt sick, to be honest — and embarrassed that I’d let it get to that point,” she told SWNS.”I work for a bank, so financially I’m very literate, and I understand how credit cards work, how loans work, and all of that. But I knew I had to deal with it regardless.”Ellie began by breaking down week-by-week what she was spending.”

I am a bit of a collector, and there was so much stuff in the house. I went through my wardrobe and said, ‘If I haven’t worn it in the past six months — weather depending — I’ll put on Vinted’. I got brutal and thought I don’t need all this stuff; I need the money more than I need a house full of things.

“She combed through her house and sold 410 items including toys, clothing, jewelry, kitchen gadgets and room decor on Vinted, eBay and Facebook Marketplace.

Through her job she had also invested in stocks and bonds. When they matured last month, she cashed in £13,000 worth and put £11,333 towards her debt.

Combined with savings from cutting “random purchases,” she estimates she has paid back £19,733 ($26K) so far. She still has £8,700 of interest to pay off.

Now in a new relationship and having recently welcomed her third child with partner Lee, Ellie says emotional support has helped.”If I want to spend I can talk to him about it, rather than just spending.”She cuts costs by cooking at home and batch-cooking four weeks’ worth of meals before her baby arrived to avoid takeaways.

She has documented her journey on TikTok.”By posting online, people have shared the way they cope with curbing their spending habits. It’s been a really nice way of community building, and it keeps me accountable,” she said.