Birmingham mum pays back £19k of debt by adopting simple time rules on unwanted items and online purchases

A Birmingham mum who had £23,000 of debt has paid back £19,000 in just five months by selling unwanted household items, doing more home cooking and saving on “random purchases”.

Ellie Titmus, 32, says her debt began to "snowball" after she became a single mum in 2022 and she took out a short-term HSBC loan of £15,000 and a TSB loan of £8,000 to get by.

Over the next four years, she found herself spending on "silly things" like £230 per month on takeaways and £1,000 in one month on online shopping - using three credit cards. So despite making repayments over the years, she still had £23,114.22 of debt in April this year.

Ellie’s time rules

To begin repaying her debt, Ellie followed some time rules such as anything she hadn’t used in a month or so was listed for sale on resale platforms, as was clothes she hadn’t worn in the last six months. Also, when shopping online, she now leaves items in her basket for a week, only revisiting it if she’s still interested in the item after that time.

Ellie made £3,700 by selling off 410 household items like her kids' toys, clothing, kitchen gadgets, lampshades, jewellery and flowerpots on Vinted, Facebook Marketplace and eBay.

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.

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 pay off due to high rising interest on her debt.

Ellie, a complaints handler, said: "The first thing I did was I sat down and broke down week by week what I was spending. I felt sick, to be honest. 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. I felt really embarrassed I'd let it get to that point, I suppose, but I knew I had to deal with it regardless and worked through it.

"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 on Vinted, Facebook Marketplace, things like that. I am a bit of a collector, and there was so much stuff in the house, and I've had it all absolutely years and just got really strict and tough with it.

"I went through my wardrobe and said, 'if I haven't worn it in the past six months, weather depending, obviously, I'll put on Vinted'. It was the same with the kids' stuff they'd grown out of and their teddies. 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 says she spent more than usual buying white goods like a new fridge freezer. But she also spent £234.35 on takeaways in April alone, as well as £1,057 on online shopping.

Ellie said: "I like to do arts and crafts and so does my daughter, so I would buy stuff for a new hobby as a stress release. I was so stressed about money I was finding ways to feel less stressed that cost more money rather than focusing on the actual debt.

"It was just silly things, really, like takeaways and stuff I didn't really need from online shopping. I'd be up late at night scrolling and think 'that looks really nice' and add it to my basket, and your basket is £100 before you realise.”

When Ellie's maternity leave was approaching and she realised her pay would be dropping, she began assessing her finances.

She said: "I kind of thought, 'how am I going to afford it all and deal with anything that could come up during maternity leave’. 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.”

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, and owed a family member £1,100 to pay for her daughter’s first month at nursery.

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 in a new relationship and recently welcoming her third child with partner Lee, 36, Ellie is taking sole responsibility for the debt. She says her relationship has allowed her to contribute more to her debt as she's splitting other costs, but it's more the "emotional support" she has benefitted from.

Ellie said: "I don't feel so ashamed and don't have to hide it. If I want to spend, I can talk to him about it rather than just spending. It's having that feedback I guess.”

Currently she is paying £600 per month of her £1,900 take-home wage towards Amex repayments. So far she has put £4,205.03 of her salary towards repayments in five months.

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 getting it straight away.”

She admits she did not share the full extent of her debt with Lee, 36, until she started up her TikTok page documenting her journey.

She said: "I thought, 'it's on there, and it might pop up, and I don't want him to be taken aback by it'. 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".

You can follow Ellie's journey on TikTok @chaostocash4.

Ellie's savings so far

Vinted - £3,700

Facebook Marketplace - £125

eBay - £370.47

Salary contributions: £3,000 towards Amex her Amex + £1,205.03 to other repayments

Investments (from her wages) - £11,333.30