I lost 8st & sold ‘fat’ clothes for £7k house deposit – school bullies who called me ‘whale’ still pay fortune on rent
Stepping off the scales, Jen Atkin let out a jubilant cheer. The admin worker from Grimsby, North Lincs., had successfully slimmed down from 18st 2lbs to a svelte 10st.
And that wasn’t all - as well as reaching her target weight, she was saving a pretty penny in the process.
“I stopped thinking about stuffing my face and focused on stuffing my bank balance,” Jen, now 30, explains.
“I vowed that for every pound I lost, I’d save or make £40 to help my husband Chris and I buy a house, as we were still renting and desperately wanted our own place.
“I called it my ‘pound-loss, pound-gain’ money-saving method - and it works, because I managed to squirrel away a whopping £7k.”
Thanks to Jen’s unique money-saving method, she and Chris, 33, an engineer, are now the proud owners of a four-bedroom £165k detached house which they are currently renovating.
Read more real life
“I was overweight as a child.
"By April 2016, I was 25 and morbidly obese thanks to a diet of pies, cream buns and Chinese, Italian and burgers takeaways,” Jen says.
“By that point, I was wearing a size 22 - much too heavy for my 5ft 6ins frame.
“I struggled to get up stairs without being out breath. I sometimes needed extension seat belts on flights.
Most read in Fabulous
"My self esteem plummeted. My twin brother was runner and super slim. I was the opposite. I always felt ashamed.
“I used to be trolled and bullied for being overweight. At school I’d be teased whenever I ate lunch. Some people called me a whale.
“I’d been big from the age of eight years old. I’d often cry from humiliation. I tried to make up for my size by being nice to everyone. The thin kids picked on me because it made them feel powerful.
“This was before plus size acceptance. Trolls loved to sneer and point. Getting onto planes people would grimace at me because I was a a size 22.
Self confidence shattered
“I tried to make up for it by dressing nicely but the jibes ruined my self confidence. I wanted to hide.
“At 25 when I was engaged to be married and I was desperate to look good. My then fiance Chris was always supportive of my size telling me he loved me.
“Then a friend told me my weight was taking years off my life and helped me sign up to a gym. Her honesty rather than trolls hate helped me find the guts to embrace a proper weight loss program. She said it with love not hate ,” she says.
“Determined to change, I swapped junk food for healthier meals including stir-fries, chicken and vegetables, pulses and grilled salmon. I began exercising five times a week. The the weight started falling off.
“At the same time, I decided to overhaul my finances, too. I’d been spending up to £100 a week on takeaways and was buying new clothes weekly from Tesco, Matalan or Simply B make me feel better about my size. I wasn't saving, I was just surviving.”
Money-making plan
Deciding to sell the old clothes that were quickly becoming too big for her, in November 2016 Jen started listing them on various platforms. Within a week, she’d sold three dresses for £40 each - more than she’d paid for them.
“I was gobsmacked. I was gaining pounds - while losing them on my body,” she says. “I already had my weight-loss goal, so it suddenly occurred to me that I could also set a financial goal to help us with our house deposit.
“The critical element for me was ensuring I didn't use the money I made from selling the clothes for frivolous purchases. I had it paid into an account I didn't use regularly. I also wrote up a strict budget and stuck to it.
“I decided that every time I was tempted to order a takeaway or cheat on my diet, I’d move £20 into the house deposit fund. I called it a takeaway penalty. Chris even got involved and we were shocked at house fast the savings added up.
Vinted and minted
Hooked on the rush of making money while losing weight, Jen researched as many clothes-selling platforms as possible to ensure she paid the least amount of commission or percentage of sales and got the highest price.
“I’d always have some items set as an auction and some at a set price. It’s important to know the value of your clothes and be prepared to wait to get the best price,” she says.
She also began renting old bridesmaid dresses through a local bridal shop, at £35 a weekend, as well as via Facebook and word of mouth.
“I started telling friends I had clothes to rent and charged £20-£40 a weekend, depending on the outfit.” she says. “It was great seeing the scales decrease, because it inspired me to work harder at selling clothes and seeing my bank balance rise. It was the best motivation to keep going.”
Beauty queen dream
Meanwhile, rather than buying new clothes for her rapidly shrinking body, Jen began having some of her existing items altered or buying second-hand.
By the time Jen hit size 16 she was 14st 4lb in March 2017, she’d already saved £2.9k - and a friend suggested she enter the Miss Grimsby beauty pageant. It would turn out to be key to her pound-loss, pound-gain money saving scheme.
“I bought second-hand pageant gowns and with the help of a seamstress friend gave them a face lift,” she explains. “People were always asking where I got them, so I identified a niche in a pageant market and started renting them out, along with shoes and other pageant accessories. I was always looking for ways to make money.”
Jen went on to win Miss Yorkshire in 2018 before being crowned Miss Great Britain in February 2020.
“By that point, I’d dropped 8st and reached my target weight. I was a slim size 10 - and my bank balance was healthier than ever,” she says.
“I had pageant pals in the USA and whenever I went there, I’d offer to buy second-hand pageant gowns I knew I could alter and rent, or sell, to help with our house deposit. I’d haggle down the price and only bought items I knew I could easily rent or give a mini makeover with extra crystals and bling.
Takeaway penalty
“The pounds I had lost translated into more than £4k of sales from my old clothes, and I’d made another £2.4k from my second side-hustle of renting gowns and outfits. My take away penalty amount was £550. That surprised me the most. I realised I’d been eating my savings in the past.
Jen also used her skills to run pageant classes for newcomers.
“I’d coach people on how to walk, how to plan for a pageant, do their hair and makeup and plan their wardrobe. I would fit it around my work and charge an hourly rate of £25- £45 an hour. That earnt me another £450,” she says.
Perfect Grimsby home
By September 2020, the couple finally had enough for the deposit on their new home.
“Even though it was very dilapidated, Chris and I fell in love with the house as soon as we saw it. I had by now saved £7450 and Christ £8k.
“It needed a lot of work, but I’d renovated my own body and lost 112 pounds - I knew we could do it. When we finally got the keys in December 2020, it was a real celebration.”
Now, Jen is still renting out pageant outfits and regularly sells clothes she doesn't like to fund their renovation.
“I found a website which buys clothes by the kilo. So, items that were stained or ripped or just didn't sell I could put into a bag and every month sell for 50p a kilo. I found similar sites that buy old shoe pairs, books and CDs, and scoured the loft and garage, as well as asking my relatives for unwanted items and flogging those.”
She has also done courses in DIY including tile-laying to help cut the costs.
“I've learnt that having a goal is critical to fast tracking your savings. You need to get inventive,” she explains.
New home - new clothes
“Now I buy my clothes on second hand sites. I’m competing in Mrs Galaxy UK in March and found my dream dress for £100 brand new with tags on Vinted instead of paying £800 in the shops. The money I save is going to our hose renovation fund.
“It’s easy to get distracted and lose your drive, but I’ve learned that a double goal - and a double reward - is the best way to maintain your focus. Saving for a house deposit may seem insurmountable especially in a cost-of-living crisis. If you feel that way, then set a smaller goal like paying off a credit card or buying a car.
“Now I know I have beaten the fat-hating trolls. Many don’t recognise me now. They see me as a thin pageant queen and they’re shocked when I remind them I used to be their target
“Trolling didn’t empower me to lose weight and buy a house. My mate's concern for my health did. I know many of the trolls who targeted me when I was younger are now twice my size and renting.
“I lost weight, have a house and pageant crowns. Trolls should focus on self improvement not on selfish attacks..
READ MORE SUN STORIES
“I don't think I’d have lost almost half my body weight and dropped so many dress sizes if I hadn’t worked out how to make money every time I dropped a pound. That inspired me to keep losing weight and keep saving. It got us our dream home.
“Sometimes inspiration can come from the most unusual life events. You can do it, too.”
