Mum Rachel Grady was in £40,000 of debt, but what started off as a side hustle not only got her out of debt but has now seen her earning a handsome sum of money
21:15, 10 Mar 2026Updated 21:20, 10 Mar 2026
It has been nearly five months since Rachel completely cleared her gambling debt
A mum from south Wales who squandered money meant for her children on a gambling and shopping addiction has revealed how she cleared a £40,000 debt in just a year by selling second-hand clothes – and now earns £10,000 a month.
Rachel Grady, from Merthyr Tydfil, fell into online gambling in 2020 during a period of depression, turning to betting apps for a temporary lift while quietly spiralling into debt.
“I was in a pretty dark place for quite a few years,” Rachel said. “The only thing that made me happy at the time was spending money I didn’t have.”
What began as curiosity soon became a daily ritual. After trying gambling apps once, Rachel found herself drawn back by the rush and early wins.
“I would gamble on mobile apps. I tried it once out of curiosity and before I knew it I was visiting gambling sites daily. It became part of my routine,” she said, speaking about her experience in the hope she can help others.
“Looking back it happened much quicker than I understood at the time. Within a few months it had shifted from occasional use to something I felt compelled to do. I won a few times at gambling so then I just carried on, but I ended up losing about £15,000. It was an addiction.”
Rachel has spoken out about her gambling addiction – and how she turned her life around
Rachel hid the habit from her husband by gambling late at night on her phone, keeping up the appearance that everything in their household was normal while thousands quietly disappeared. “Addiction thrives in secrecy and I became very good at masking what I was going through,” she said.
Over the next five years she lost around £15,000 through online gambling. At the same time she developed a compulsive shopping habit, buying clothes and other items she didn’t need, she said.
“I was also constantly buying clothes and anything I could get my hands on. I had five credit cards and two loans and ended up £40,000 in debt.”
At the height of her addiction Rachel was juggling five credit cards and two loans, all while keeping the true scale of the situation from her husband. The pressure eventually began affecting her children, aged 14 and 21.
“The kids would ask for things and I’d say no but then I’d spend money on things I didn’t need,” Rachel recalled. “It was so selfish.”
The strain finally came to a head in 2023 while Rachel was on a trip with family and friends. Overwhelmed by the reality of her situation, she broke down while confiding in a friend.
Rachel now has her own vintage clothing shop, Rachel’s Vintage Moonstone
“In 2023 I had a nervous breakdown,” she remembered. “My friend was telling me how great her life is and I just broke down and said: ‘I’m in massive amounts of debt and can’t pay for anything for my kids.’
“It was a massive strain on my relationship with my husband. I kept borrowing money off him but I was too ashamed to tell him how much debt I was in.”
After returning home Rachel decided she had to confront the situation. She wrote down every debt she owed and began thinking about how she could earn money to pay it off. That was when she realised she had always had a natural flair for selling.
“I realised I’ve always been good at selling things, I’m a bit of Del Boy, so I started buying bundles of clothes off eBay and then reselling them for profit,” she explained.
She began purchasing bundles of clothing cheaply on eBay and reselling them on Vinted. What started as a small side hustle quickly began to grow. “It started off slow, I was making around £2k a month, and I paid off my smallest amount of debt.”
The turning point came in October 2024 when she joined Tilt, a live-selling platform where sellers auction items in real time. “Then I joined the live selling platform Tilt, I was making £10k a month, it was crazy,” she said.
Rachel is now a full time reseller
Within months Rachel was generating around £1,000 per auction and bringing in roughly £10,000 each month through her vintage clothing business, Rachel’s Vintage Moonstone. The income allowed her to attack the mountain of debt she had built up during her addiction. “I paid off my last bit of debt in October 2025, one year after I started Tilt,” she said.
Only after clearing the entire £40,000 did Rachel finally reveal the truth to her husband. “He was really shocked when he found out, but he’d noticed such a difference in me in that year, and I’d paid if off, so he took it quite well”, she said.
Now working as a full-time reseller, Rachel says the experience has completely transformed her relationship with money. “My attitude to money has now changed completely. I’m so frugal, and only buy things if I really need them, and I’ve put measures in place to stop myself from being able to access gambling sites.”
She now shares her reselling journey online under the name @rachel_vintagemoonstone.