I was living off £12 a day in a tiny house…then swapped lives and had £1.2k to spend in a week on Rich House Poor House

Dec 21, 2023

IN tonight's episode of Rich House Poor House, we saw two families living at the opposite end of the wealth divide swap lives.

In the Channel 5 series, two families swapped not only homes, but finances and lifestyles too.

When it comes to money, Britain is a divided nation, with the cost-of-living crisis hitting the poor a lot harder than the rich.

In this episode of Rich House Poor House, 24-year-old mum Heather and 22-year-old dad Brad, along with their two-year-old daughter Lois, opened up about financial struggles.

With the rising cost of childcare and £12,000 debt over their heads, times are certainly tough.

Brad explained: "Childcare is so expensive, it's more than our rent each month."

The couple both work full-time but on low wages, and never have any spare money. They even had to sell their car to keep up with their bills.

And after setting up their home together, the pair soon got into money trouble.

Brad added: "We live in a two-bedroom house with our daughter Lois who is two-years-old.

"We were very naive at the start, we didn't really know how to set bills up so they slowly accumulated over time until it got slightly overwhelming.

"We know where we want to be but at the moment it feels like we will never struggle."

Heather then added: "When the debt was at its highest, it was coming in at around £12,000.

"We’d love to buy a house but we don't see it happening any time soon."

As a result, the pair decided to swap lives for a week with divorced mum-of-two Abi Hookway and her two children.

Just five years ago, Abi was also struggling and was in £24,000 of debt, but now, is a successful entrepreneur selling homes and she now has a company with assets of £7 million.

Single mum Abi said: "I was in £24,000 worth of debt because I hadn't been very good with money."

But when she landed her job and then met partner Gordie, she revealed: "It was a game changer for me and my children."

Abi Hookway recently moved into a four-bed luxury house with her children, Thomas and Ellie and can spend up to £5,000 on one shopping trip.

For one week, the families swapped homes and lives, to discover whether money really does buy happiness.

The two homes are less than an hour apart and Heather, Brad and Louis headed 40 miles north of their home in Mansfield, to stay at Abi's, in Doncaster.

Once they had arrived at each other's homes, it was time to swap budgets.

With Abi spending a whopping £1,206.17 in a week, Heather beamed: "That is nearly my full wage for one month. The things you’d be able to do with that."

But for Abi and her family, it was a bit of a shock to see that they would have just £84 to spend.

Abi noted: "We’re going to have to be really careful and budget everything."

Whilst Abi and her brood were going to be budgeting for £12 a day, Heather, Brad and Louis were able to splash out on £172.31 a day.

Heather and Brad got to enjoy personal shopping and a trip to a theme park and spa, whilst the others got stuck in with food shopping, family lunches and DIY.

Reflecting on Abi's success, Brad noted: "To see that she's made this for herself from nothing, paid off all her debts and worked really hard, it's inspired me to do the same."

When looking at Heather and Brad's bills, Abi and Gordie noticed that the couple were spending £695 on rent, £764 on childcare and £640 utilities, with 86% of their money going towards outgoings.

Gordie remarked: "Think of the pressure they’ll be under" whilst Abi added: "They must not have any choice."

After swapping lives for a week, the two couples met to talk the week over.

Gordie explained: "It was tight. The biggest shock for me was your childcare costs. It's more than your rent."

Abi then chimed in: "What shocked me was the price of eggs, milk and bread, because we don't look at the price of things."

Brad revealed: "We make do with our budget but these sorts of luxuries that we’ve experienced, that's what it doesn't leave room for.

"We do work hard but we don't really reap the rewards."

Abi and Gordie then came up with a plan, but it would mean big changes for Heather and Brad.

The savvy business woman explained: "It doesn't take long to change your circumstances, you’ve just got to do the right thing.

"We’d love to help you guys. We would love you to move to Doncaster, we will pay a relocation package, and we’d love you to come and work for us."

Heather and Brad quickly broke down in tears, as Abi continued: "Heather we know you do a bit of HR and we’ve got a vacancy for HR within the office and Brad, we do have sales positions."

Gordie then added: "I know what [salary] you’re on now, the sales guys earn four times what you’re on now. The potential to earn a significant amount of money is there."

Thrilled at the opportunity, Brad beamed: "This is life changing and we are so grateful."

Heather then said: "We’ve been in this position for so long, it's been hard to see a way out of it, so thank you.

"We’ve just been offered the most life changing opportunity that we will ever get in our lives."

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