27k is about 1,800 a month take home. At the high end, a one-bed in Southend is about £750 now (would have probably been cheaper back before the big COVID exodus to the coast and gentrification). I'm guessing she just absolutely spunked the money away and then put even more on credit cards, hence being able to raise 3k when times got tough.
As I've said before, Jackanomics is a weird thing. Buying a 1,400 quid jacket is an investment, because she can sell it if times get tough, but apparently even the charity shops of Southend have to mark down their designer goods to 50p. Maybe she's really, really good at sales?