A mother from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, who secretly accumulated £40,000 in debt through gambling and shopping addictions, has cleared the entire sum in just one year by selling second-hand clothes. Rachel Grady, 41, now earns £10,000 a month as a full-time reseller on the live-selling platform Tilt.
Grady's troubles began in 2020 when she started gambling online after a bout of depression. What began as curiosity quickly escalated into a daily habit, leading to losses of £15,000. She also ran up £25,000 on five credit cards through compulsive shopping, all hidden from her husband. She would even refuse to buy necessities for her children, aged 14 and 21, prioritising her addictions instead.
In 2023, Grady suffered a nervous breakdown and confessed her debt to a friend. Realising she had a talent for selling—describing herself as 'a bit of Del Boy'—she began buying bundles of clothes on eBay and reselling them for profit. Initially earning £2,000 a month, she paid off her smallest debts before joining Tilt in 2024, where her income soared to £10,000 monthly. She cleared the final portion of her debt in October 2025, one year after starting on the platform.
Grady now describes herself as 'so frugal' and has implemented measures to block gambling sites. She said: 'Addiction thrives in secrecy, and I became very good at masking what I was going through. My attitude to money has now changed completely.' Her story highlights the devastating impact of hidden debt and the potential for recovery through entrepreneurial ventures.
