A woman who racked up £23,000 worth of debt has revealed how she paid back £19,000 in just five months by reselling household items on Vinted and eBay.Ellie Titmus, 32, from Birmingham, said her accumulating debt began to 'snowball' after she became a single mother in 2022. To make ends meet, she took out a short-term HSBC loan of £15,000 and a TSB loan of £8,000.But over the next four years, Ellie found herself spending a growing amount of cash on 'silly things' – including £230 per month on takeaways and £1,000 in one month on online shopping across three credit cards.By April this year, she had a staggering £23,114.22 of debt, despite making repayments over the years.Desperate to make a change, Ellie looked to secondhand retail sites Vinted, Facebook Marketplace and eBay as a source of income. She earned up to £3,700 by selling 410 household items.These included her children's toys, clothes, kitchen gadgets, lampshades, jewellery and even flowerpots.Ellie estimates she has paid back £19,733.80 so far by also saving on 'random purchases' – but she still has £8,700 of debt to pay off due to the rising interest.'The first thing I did was I sat down and broke down week by week what I was spending. I felt sick and embarrassed that I'd let it get to that point, but I knew I had to deal with it regardless and worked through it,' she said. Ellie Titmus racked up £23,000 worth of debt – and has now revealed how she paid back £19,000 in just five months by reselling household items Ellie looked to secondhand retail sites Vinted, Facebook Marketplace and eBay as a source of income – and she earned up to £3,700 by selling 410 itemsEllie also purchased secondhand items off of Vinted and decorated them as birthday presents for her children to save money, such as a 'fairytale' toy kitchen'I was selling things on Vinted and clearing out the house – anything I hadn't used in a month or so went into a box, and I listed them on Vinted, Facebook Marketplace and eBay.'Ellie explained that she had to get 'really strict and tough' to decide which items in her home she needed to keep – and she listed any items in her wardrobe that she had not worn for six months.'It was the same with the children's stuff they'd grown out of, and their teddies,' she said.'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.'After moving house in April 2026, Ellie said she spent more than usual buying white goods like a new fridge freezer. However, late-night online shopping and takeaways were also seeing her accumulate costs in the hundreds.When Ellie's maternity leave was approaching and she realised her pay would be dropping, she began assessing her finances.'I kind of thought, "how am I going to afford it all and deal with anything that could come up during maternity leave" and stuff,' she said.'Then I realised I had more outgoings that I didn't have control over I guess.'When it comes to food you can budget and stuff and you can always cut back but with set payments for loans you can't change them as outgoings, they're fixed.'I realised I had more fixed outgoings I couldn't stop even if I wanted to and thought, I've got to get ahead of it now rather than just ignoring it.'Ellie explained that she had to get 'really strict and tough' with which items to keep in her home and she listed anything in her wardrobe that she had not worn for six months Ellie boxed up her household items ready to be sold, with her sales including her children's toys, clothes, kitchen gadgets, lampshades, jewellery and even flowerpots Late-night online shopping and takeaways were also seeing Ellie accumulate costs in the hundreds, alongside creating clutter in her home In April she had £8,404.78 of debt across three credit cards, £7,713.13 left to pay on her HSBC loan and £5,896.31 on her TSB loan. Ellie also owed a family member £1,100 to pay for her daughter's first month at nursery.Through her job she had the opportunity to invest in stocks and shares, and when they had matured in August 2026 she sold her £13,000 worth, putting £11,333.30 of it towards her debt.The remaining £2,000 was split equally between savings and to help pay for her daughter's nursery bills.She said: 'My first plan was to clear the Amex, as that was the one getting the most interest and the one I put all our household spending on.'I didn't want it to get to the point where I had no available balance, and I couldn't get the food shop or whatever.'I'm up to date on my Amex and have cleared that in full and need to get everything else cleared off.'Now, Ellie and her partner Lee, 36, are looking to the future after welcoming a child together. Ellie added that her new relationship has allowed her to contribute more to her debt as she's splitting other costs, but more than anything else Lee has provided her with essential 'emotional support'.'I don't feel so ashamed and don't have to hide it,' she said.'If I want to spend I can talk to him about it rather than just spending.'Despite not having a set budget, Ellie has been cutting costs where she can, by doing more home cooking and avoiding freezer or pre-prepared groceries.She said: 'In the run up to my maternity leave and having the baby we spent a whole day batch cooking four weeks' worth of meals we could pop in the oven or the slow cooker if we are tired so we're not tempted to get a takeaway – we can bung things in as we've already prepared it.'What I've been trying to do with my shopping is adding things to my basket and I'll leave it there for a week.'And if I'm still thinking about it I'll look at maybe getting it rather than as soon as I think about it getting it straight away'.She is currently paying £600 per month of her £1,900 take-home wage towards Amex repayments and has put £4,205.03 of her salary towards repayments in five months. But Ellie admitted that, initially, she did not share the full extent of her debt with Lee. However, once she started taking to TikTok to share insights into her journey, she felt compelled to be more transparent with her partner.'I thought, "it's on there, and it might pop up, and I don't want him to be taken aback by it",' she said.'He has been supportive of it all and really good. By posting online, people have shared the way they cope with curbing their spending habits and what they do to distract themselves.'I've shared that there have been moments I've really wanted to spend money recklessly with really no reason other than a bit of dopamine chasing, I guess.'It's to keep me accountable, really. It's been a really nice way of community building, in a way'.