Even when we have more than one of us, we split the bills equally

Last year, when Max was out of work and relying on Hannah for his £40,000 to £60,000 salary, the couple’s money-sharing arrangements remained the same.

“It was shock and awe at first,” says Hannah, who did not want to reveal her exact salary. But we sat down and really looked at where we could cut things.

They canceled gym memberships and Sky TV and went into bankruptcy to make sure they could cover their mortgage and bills on less income.

Instead of doing A-levels and university, Max trained at cookery school, but turned away from hospitality because he thought it wouldn’t pay enough.

He wanted to take the opportunity to create his own business in what he loved so much when he was busy – but Hannah had nothing to spare.

“At first I told him to set this up alongside getting another job, but we quickly realized that the business would take up a lot of time and energy,” she says.

“We ran the numbers and decided it was the right time to take the risk since we don’t have kids and no one is depending on us.”

Max bought a £20,000 horse box trailer and converted it into a pizza truck, which now caters for weddings, parties and pop-ups.

He says that the money he invested is the limit they agreed to run the business and if it fails, he will find another job instead of putting in more work.

The business now generates between £4,000 and £6,000 a month and Max pays a salary that covers his own mortgage.