A couple who were left with just £71 a week of spending money were left in tears after being offered a package worth £30,000 by a Cardiff couple on the latest episode of Rich House, Poor House. The episode saw wealthy Cardiff couple Matt and Andrea Callanan swap lives, houses and budgets with the Bristolian Burrows for a week.
We met Ant, a delivery driver with a passion for podcasting, and Tash, who had just started a pole dancing business, and said they were “barely making enough to cover the bills” in Sunday's episode. They lived in a three-bedroom former council house in Bristol with their two children.
Despite Ant putting in 12-hour shifts on the job, the family are left with just £71 a week after all the bills are paid, with Tash saying on the Channel 5 show that Ant was suffering “a lot of sleepless nights.” Attempting to get the family out of debt, Tash had set up a pole dancing school - but her studio was “barely breaking even.” For some extra money, she was also upcycling glassware.
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The family swapped lives with Matt and Andrea from Cardiff. Both motivational business coaches, the couple live in a five-bedroom Victorian house in Cardiff with their two sons - one of whom was away at university - and had £1,200 left to spend on food and luxuries.
Andrea, originally from Barry, said she came from “a very, very salt-of-the-earth, working class background” and was a single mum in therapy when she met Matt, who used to be an international DJ. She now coaches high-achieving women from all across the world. The Callanans wanted to be able to use their skills to help the other family on the show, with Tash also hoping that they could help her with her business.
With Andrea’s experience coaching women in business and Matt having his own podcast, they seemed like a great match to help the Burrows with their goals. Despite the dramatic swap in lifestyles, the families lived just a 40-minute drive apart. The Burrows were bowled over by the Callanan’s Cardiff home, saying it was “absolutely gorgeous” when they walked through the bright red door, with a basket of Welsh goodies having been left for them in the fridge.
With their swapped budgets - the Callanans now on just £71 for the week and the Burrows on £1,200 - the families were left with the predicament of how they were going to spend their money. But it wasn’t just budgets the families were swapping. The Bristol family had been left the Cardiff family’s morning routine, which involved of a ‘power smoothie’ made with spirulina powder costing over £10 - which Ant described as “kitchen sink washing-up liquid”.
The Callanans in Bristol, however, were struggling to keep up with a diet consisting of fresh food with their stripped-back budget, spending £16.78 on a food shop for themselves and their son - a quarter of their budget for the week. The families spent a week in each other’s lives, with the Burrows doing yoga, visiting Andrea’s coaching offices while the Callanans tried their hand at pole dancing, mucked out the chinchillas, attempted to fix the bath panel and went out on Ant’s usual delivery jobs.
The episode even saw the Burrows out on the streets of Cardiff handing out ‘tenners for good’ - something the Callanans usually do. The rules were that, by accepting the £10 note, the people of Cardiff would agree to do something good with it and not spend it on themselves.
At the end of the episode, Matt and Andrea revealed a plan they had put together to help the Burrows succeed. Meeting at a hotel between Cardiff and Bristol, Andrea told the Burrows: "What I'd like to do, I'd like to help you with your business and then I'd really like to help you with your mindsets. That package is for the two of you and is worth £30,000."
The gesture reduced Tash to tears, with Ant also becoming emotional. “It’s our honour to help you,” Andrea told the couple. “This is the start of a big journey.” Tash later said that she was "blown away" by the gesture, with Ant adding that this was a "turning point" for the family.
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