'I was addicted to shopping. By the time I found why I'd blown £40k'

09 March 2024 , 11:20

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Seeing the cards as free money, Maddy didn't understand the cash was credit she would have to pay back (Image: Maddy Alexander-Grout)

A woman who didn't know she had to pay back her credit card loans says she became hooked on shopping and found herself £40,000 in debt.

Maddy Alexander-Grout was just eighteen when she was offered various credit cards at her university's freshers' fair. Seeing the cards as free money, she didn't realise she would have to pay back any credit she built up on her accounts, reports Manchester Evening News.

The mum, now 40, said: "I was hooked on shopping. I didn't realise why I'd splashed out £40k. I took out credit cards and overdrafts. At one point I even got a university hardship grant, a hardship loan, store cards all sorts. I genuinely had a spending addiction," she admitted. "It was my low mood, lack of dopamine. Now I know it was because of my ADHD I got diagnosed in 2021. It was out of control," she added.

Maddy began dreading the sound of letters being pushed through her door every morning, as she feared debt collectors could turn up at any moment. As a student, she began taking out loans and spoiling herself with pricey shoes and bags, often picking up the tab for her mates' drinks when they went out.

Maddy found herself in debt worth £40,000 (Maddy Alexander-Grout)

The mum was tracked down by debt collectors (Maddy Alexander-Grout)

Maddy says she didn't notice her rising debt until she moved out of her university halls and had to handle bills herself. She couldn't cover her living expenses, which caused difficulties with those she lived with. She said: "I couldn't afford to pay any of the loan repayments. I couldn't afford to pay the minimum payments so it just got worse."

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Maddy found herself trapped in a vicious cycle, often shopping online to feel better, which only increased her debt. She eventually got a job in recruitment, but almost lost it when a credit check for a bank client revealed her money problems. She owned up to her boss, but managed to keep her job.

She said: "They basically told me I couldn't work with any banking clients. It was embarrassing. I had overdrafts with six different banks. It was horrible. It was horrendous."

Things got so bad Maddy resorted to hiding her bills under her doormat as debt collectors came after her. Her mum was also forced to bail her out with cash multiple times. By the time Maddy was 24, debt collectors tracked her down to Southampton, where she had moved with her boyfriend for a fresh start. One of them tried to force their way into her home by putting his foot in the door, preventing her from closing it.

Maddy said: "The whole thing was really stressful. I constantly lived in a state of fear that I was going to be homeless. The whole of those 10 years were really scary."

Maddy found herself trapped in a cycle of spending (Maddy Alexander-Grout)

The mum constantly lived in a state of fear that she would become homeless (Maddy Alexander-Grout)

After some time, Maddy returned to Southampton where she found a flat to rent for £400 a month. She also asked the Citizens Advice Bureau to help her create a budget - but realised even with this plan she would still owe money in 60 years.

To speed things up, the mum spent the next six years saving every penny she could. To save money on food, she ate tomatoes and toast, and bought discounted food items nearing their sell-by date. She began selling her clothes online and at car boot sales. By 2011, she managed to clear all her £40,000 debt.

She said: "I was working and being really strict. I started selling clothes online and at the car boot and things like that. I was just being really good with my spending. It was just basically six years of knuckling down." It was during this time that Maddy's new-found passion of thrifting was ignited. The mum found she could get her ADHD dopamine hits by bagging a bargain and saving money. She is now always thinking of ways she can save her precious pennies, from taking part in 'no-spend January' to buying second-hand gifts.

Keen to share her tips with others, the mum turned to TikTok to share advice and money-saving content with her 60,000 followers. She also launched a money-saving social media platform, Mad about Money, to help others with their money struggles. Maddy said: "Paying off debt when you have ADHD is really hard, but I changed it into a game - I pushed really hard and I am really proud that I managed to achieve my goals."

Zahra Khaliq