I survive on £147 a week as a single mum – I had so many debts & a HOLE in my ceiling, until a millionaire helped me
A SINGLE mum who survives on just £147 a week was left in tears when a millionaire stepped in to make her dreams come true.
Michelle lives with her two children – three-year-old Toby and two-year-old Nellie – and her mother-in-law Sue in a three-bedroom, semi-detached house in Worcester.
But in Channel 5 show Rich House Poor House, Michelle and her family swapped homes with property tycoons Rick and Lorraine Gannon.
In the episode, airing this Sunday, Michelle, her kids and Sue swapped their home for the £1.5 million mansion Rick and Lorraine share with their two children, for five days
While Rick and Lorraine, alongside their kids Ben, 20, and 15-year-old Charlotte, temporarily relocated to Michelle’s home – and were also given her £147 weekly budget to stretch over the house swap.
And it will be even more challenging considering their six-bed mansion – complete with a gym and snooker room – has been specially adapted for Ben, who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, meaning he can’t walk and has limited use of his arms.
“That’s not a huge amount for a family of four to survive on,” Rick said.
“Especially if a child has special needs.”
Faced with the challenge of living on the meagre budget, and in a house that hadn’t been adapted for his needs, Ben added: “I’m going to be totally honest with you, we’re going to struggle.
“We do live an expensive lifestyle.”
The problems began when Rick and Lorraine had to help Ben out of his powered wheelchair and into a standard alternative because he couldn’t fit through the door.
He was also forced to sleep on a mattress on the floor downstairs, which he called “different”, and admitted it was hard as it “kept slipping”.
Michelle, who had left the family a note to welcome them to her home before their house swap, also used the letter to apologise for the “hole in the ceiling” – which had occurred because of a leak in the bathroom.
Later in the episode, Ben – who will soon be going to college – and his sister were tasked with doing a grocery shop by themselves.
Giving them a £40 budget, mum Lorraine said: “Ben has never looked at a price tag before!”
The pair spent an hour getting around the supermarket, and were baffled by the easiest of tasks – such as searching through the chicken shelves for a breast fillet, or choosing just “how big” their potatoes should be.
They finished off by putting a bag of chocolates in the trolley, with Charlotte insisting they “deserved a treat”.
Somewhat astonishingly, the pair came in on budget, and Ben admitted the experience had helped him think differently about going grocery shopping.
How to save money on your food shop
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save hundreds of pounds a year:
Odd boxes – plenty of retailers offer slightly misshapen fruit and veg or surplus food at a discounted price.
Lidl sells five kilos of fruit and veg for just £1.50 through its Waste Not scheme while Aldi shoppers can get Too Good to Go bags which contain £10 worth of all kinds of products for £3.30.
Sainsbury’s also sells £2 “Taste Me, Don’t Waste Me” fruit and veg boxes to help shoppers reduced food waste and save cash.
Food waste apps – food waste apps work by helping shops, cafes, restaurants and other businesses shift stock that is due to go out of date and passing it on to members of the public.
Some of the most notable ones include Too Good to Go and Olio.
Too Good to Go’s app is free to sign up to and is used by millions of people across the UK, letting users buy food at a discount.
Olio works similarly, except users can collect both food and other household items for free from neighbours and businesses.
Yellow sticker bargains – yellow sticker bargains, sometimes orange and red in certain supermarkets, are a great way of getting food on the cheap.
But what time to head out to get the best deals varies depending on the retailer. You can see the best times for each supermarket here.
Super cheap bargains – sign up to bargain hunter Facebook groups like Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK where shoppers regularly post hauls they’ve found on the cheap, including food finds.
“Downshift” – you will almost always save money going for a supermarket’s own-brand economy lines rather than premium brands.
The move to lower-tier ranges, also known as “downshifting” and hailed by consumer expert Martin Lewis, could save you hundreds of pounds a year on your food shop.
Meanwhile, as the Gannons tried to get used to their new lifestyle, Michelle and Sue were more than comfortable with theirs.
Michelle admitted she felt “relaxed” as soon as she entered the six-bedroom, six-bathroom house, and saw Ben’s adapted bedroom.
As, having an autistic, non-verbal child herself in son Toby, she felt confident that Rick and Lorraine – who also own £8.5 million in property – “knew what we’re going through”.
Michelle and Sue were also given a hefty budget of £2,000 a week, and were even able to treat the kids to some treats – such as a trip to the safari park.
“I wish we had a bit more money because I did enjoy taking them and seeing the smiles on their faces,” Sue said.
“And I would like to do it a lot more often!”
During their house swap, both Michelle and Rick were inspired by each other’s charitable pursuits.
While Rick helped raise £20,000 to start Worcester’s first-ever power wheelchair football club for his son to play in, Michelle opened up about her dream of setting up a foundation for children with special needs – in memory of her late father-in-law Nigel Prosser.
“Ben had a dream and Rick made it happen,” she said.
“I have a dream and I’ve got to believe I can make it happen.”
And her dream started to come true sooner than she thought, as she discovered when she met up with Rick and Lorraine at the end of the experience.
It was at this point that they told her they wanted to “supercharge” The Nigel Prosser Foundation – helping her from a legal and social media standpoint.
Bursting into tears of gratitude, Michelle promised she would “work my socks off” to make the foundation a success.
Rick also promised to clear Michelle’s numerous debts, hoping that it would help ease the “pressure” the family had been under.
Tune in to watch the latest episode of Rich House Poor House this Sunday at 9pm on Channel 5.