The couple’s system of sharing money remained the same even when Max was made redundant last year and they had to rely on Hannah’s salary of between £40,000 and £60,000.
“There was shock and panic initially,” Hannah, who did not want to disclose her precise salary, says. “But we sat down and really looked through where we could cut things out.”
They cancelled gym memberships and Sky TV and went through their finances to make sure they could cover their mortgage and bills on a lower income.
Max had trained at culinary school instead of doing A-levels and university, but had moved away from hospitality because he felt it would not pay enough.
When he was made redundant he wanted to use the opportunity to create his own business in something he genuinely enjoyed – but Hannah had reservations.
“At first I told him to set this up alongside getting another job but we quickly realised the business would take a lot of time and energy,” she says.
“We ran the numbers and decided that this was the right moment to take the risk given we don’t have kids and no one else is depending on us.”
Max spent £20,000 from his redundancy package buying and converting a horsebox trailer into a pizza truck, which now caters for weddings, parties and pop-ups.
He says the money he invested was their agreed limit to make the business work and if it failed he would find another job rather than putting in more.
The business now brings in between £4,000 and £6,000 a month in revenue and Max pays himself a salary that covers the mortgage.