A Blackburn couple appeared on Channel 4’s How to Save a Grand in 24 Hours last night (27 July) after their spending habits got out of hand.

Matt, 35, and Neil, 40, turned to the help of some ‘money-saving ninjas’ who gave them some food and cleaning tips to help slash their monthly expenditures by at least a grand.

The show’s host, Anna Richardson, met up with the couple to find out exactly why their monthly bills are sky high.

Matt and Neil confessed that they are “ten bob billionaires” and admit to having extravagant tastes; Matt also admitted that he has a penchant for “spur of the moment shopping”.

After looking at their outgoings, Anna revealed that the couple are currently spending around £1000 a month in the supermarket which is almost three times the national average for a family of three.

Lancashire Telegraph: Neil and Matt on How to Save a Grand in 24 Hours(Photo: Channel 4)Neil and Matt on How to Save a Grand in 24 Hours(Photo: Channel 4)

She also uncovered that the pair made 29 trips a month to the supermarkets; Matt joked that this was because “they can’t go anywhere else in [lockdown]”.

However, their foodie bills don’t end there as the pair spend an additional £320 a month on takeaways- despite having a loaded fridge.

On the show, the couple admitted that the increase in takeaway spends is an after-effect of lockdown after Neil lost his restaurant job.

Neil said: “Hospitality just came to a stop [in lockdown] and the anxiety really started creeping in [when I lost my job].”

Anna explained: “He lost his confidence in the kitchen- and they’ve been reaching for takeaways instead.”

However, one of the biggest and most concerning aspect of the couple’s expenditure was their credit card debt.

Due to their frivolous spending habits, the pair have racked up £9000 debt on credit cards that have 20 per cent interest.

Anna and the team calculated that they are paying an extra £1800 a year just on interest alone.

To help curb their spending habits, chef Gary Usher taught the couple how to make their food go further, showing them three ways to cook an inexpensive cut of beef.

Eve Humphreys imparted some DIY tips to help the couple save on storage.

A ‘cleanfluencer’ called Lucy Challenger, or Peachy Clean as she is known by her social media followers, taught the pair how to clean their oven using dish washer tablets, bicarbonate of soda and white wine vinegar instead of pricey cleaning chemicals.

By the end of the show, the pair had knocked a whopping £1117.31 off their bill using the tips and tricks.

They were unable to knock any interest off their credit card payments- but they were able to knock £662.15 per month off their supermarket bill, £223.96 on takeaways and £226.24 off monthly impulse purchases.

Catch up on previous episodes of How to Save a Grand in 24 Hours on All 4.