I cleared my £40,000 gambling debt after I started re-selling clothes online

For four years, Rachel Grady hid her shopping and gambling addiction from everyone, including her husband and two children.

She said her breaking point came while on a holiday she could "barely afford" in 2024, when she admitted to those closest to her she had "nothing to her name" and was in £40,000 of debt.

"I was just completely broken as a person," said Rachel, 41, who had maxed out several credit cards and was earning a wage that just about covered her minimum repayments.

Yet her admission led her to teach herself how to re-sell clothes online, clearing that massive debt in just over a year and completely turning her life around.

"Sometimes I sit here and I think 'I don't know if I'm still dreaming', like maybe I'll wake up, because I can't believe this is what I've managed to do," said Rachel.

"I don't think I've ever been proud of myself in my lifetime but I'm extremely proud of what I've achieved."

Despite past attempts to share, Rachel kept her addiction secret from 2020 until a holiday with her friend and family in August 2024.

Her friend was speaking of moving into her own house and "doing really well", recalled Rachel, and while she was proud of her, the stark contrast between them struck a chord.

"I was just like 'I am not happy. I am in a serious bad place right now'," said Rachel, from Merthyr Tydfil.

"I kind of just broke down. It's like I completely released everything... I just couldn't stop.

"I've got no money to literally do anything with and I was just completely broken as a person.

"I admitted some of the most awful things... I didn't want to spend this because I wanted to spend that.

"My children were there and they listened to it and they were like 'you can do this mam'. I think that's what gave me more fire in the belly to know that these children are literally backing me now."

After almost 24 years in the Army, Rachel described her career as the "most amazing part" of her life, but admitted it affected her mental health.

"I think it took its toll on me... just all the things that maybe I've endured my whole life, you know, within the Army.

"You kind of like pretend that there's nothing wrong with you when you just crack on. But inside, there is so much going on."

Rachel described her mental health as being a "sliding scale" throughout her life, as she received support through the Army via therapy and medication.

The Ministry of Defence said it took problem gambling seriously and recognised the "significant impact" it could have on the health and wellbeing of service personnel.

It said it had a "comprehensive gambling clinical pathway", including assessment, support and referral to specialist NHS services, as well as welfare and pastoral support.

Despite this, Rachel said she found herself increasingly turning to gambling sites and hobbies during Covid because she "wasn't happy at all".

She said a lot of her addiction was easy to hide through online betting apps on her mobile.

"We're always on our phones", she said, adding that if she was ever asked, she would say she was texting when she was "putting money into the bingo sites".

"I made sure I hid it from everybody... that's how I knew it was wrong because I was hiding it.

Rachel was re-selling clothes on apps such as Vinted and eBay to fund her gambling addiction, but was "completely addicted" to buying clothing too and maxed out three credit cards in the process.

"I was just buying clothing and putting it in the cupboard because it gives me that hit as well," she said.

"I don't really go anywhere, so I was selling clothes and I was getting good money for them. It was like literally funding that addiction, the gambling, and then I'd buy again and then sell.

"It's just like this complete vicious circle."

In a bid to convince herself "there's nothing wrong with me" Rachel rationalised her gambling and shopping to be "totally normal".

"And I knew it wasn't, but I was telling myself it was. But I hid everything.

"You don't realise you've become so addicted until you're in it and you always try to convince yourself that you're not.

"But it's a lie. Because, you know, it's an addiction, isn't it... you never win against the addiction."

In a bid to break the cycle and move forward, Rachel decided to use her skills of re-selling, and researched other resellers on TikTok who were buying clothes bundles and selling them at a profit.

She made £500 from a £30 bundle and thought "OK, I can do this - I think".

"And before I knew it, I was making like £2,000 a month just on Vinted."

With a large community of re-sellers sharing tips on TikTok, Rachel launched her own account in October 2025 to document her journey and keep her on the "straight and narrow".

She worried her TikTok might have a backlash for her two children, Archie, 14 and Megan, 21, but said they were "so proud" of her, as she amassed 20,000 followers.

"Their friends were proud of the story and what I've created. And they were like, 'your mum's amazing. Your mum's proper mint like, look at her on TikTok'.

"I'm so glad that a positive came out of this situation... especially for my children as well."

From TikTok, Rachel discovered live auction sites and has built her own company as a result and said she takes in as much as £10,000 - £15,000 a month.

"I wouldn't say I'm ever recovered because I'm not. But I always think to myself, 'remember your story, remember what you've done'."

Though Rachel has restricted her own access to any sort of gambling sites, she does sometimes have the "pang" to go to the slot machine, but then remembers how far she has come.

"That feeling of remembering what I've achieved always outweighs the gambling and it's like that special power that I feel like I've created within my mind to outweigh that negativeness.

"I'm getting my hit really, you know, through reselling. And that is much more powerful than losing money."

As well as being on medication to help her mental health, Rachel has put on free reseller workshops to pass on what she knows to others to help them overcome addiction.

"There's one lady who's literally going to buy her house now and she's moving out of a shared flat because of everything they've implemented that I've told them to do.

"I don't want to gate-keep what I've realised and worked out. I want to pass that on to people because I believe that we should be kind enough to do that.

"People shouldn't feel ashamed and there's always a way out.

"People do have a happy ending now and again and, you know, I'm lucky I got mine, really."

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article, support resources can be found via BBC Action Line.