When Hannah and Max got married, Max was earning £70,000 a year in the tech industry, while Hannah earned much less working for a charity. Despite the large difference in their incomes, the couple decided to share all their money equally.
They put both of their salaries into a single joint account. From this account, they pay for their mortgage, household bills, food, and petrol. Every month, they each take the same amount of personal spending money. This allows both of them to buy things like clothes or go out with friends without feeling monitored by the other person.
Their financial system faced a major test when Max was made redundant last year. Suddenly, the couple had to rely entirely on Hannah's income of between £40,000 and £60,000. To manage the situation, they carefully reviewed their expenses and cut back on non-essential spending, such as gym memberships and TV subscriptions.
Instead of immediately looking for another tech job, Max wanted to turn his early passion for cooking into a business. Before entering tech, he had attended culinary school. With Hannah's agreement, Max used £20,000 from his redundancy package to buy and convert a horsebox trailer into a mobile pizza truck catering for weddings and events.
The risk paid off. The pizza business now brings in between £4,000 and £6,000 a month in revenue, allowing Max to pay himself a salary that covers their mortgage payments. The couple's shared commitment to equal financial responsibility helped them navigate job loss and build a new business together.