Courtney and Sev are quickly becoming the team to beat on The Block 2026. But are the women spending too much, too fast?
Courtney and Sev have already burned through more than $73k in cash across their first two rooms. Their biggest blowout was Family Bathroom Week: they estimated the room would cost $20k but actually spent $53k. Their winning guest bedroom cost roughly another $20k, putting them at spending around $73k after only two completed rooms.
This is heavily chipping into The Block’s overall renovation budget of $790,000 per house. This applies to all teams: Adam and Jolene, Chantel and Wyatt, Lisa and Rosco, Rick and Tayla and the Brisbane best friends.
Host Scotty Cam has been raising concerns about their spending — and he’s not the only one. “Can I point out, the girls have blown one third of their budget?” read one Reddit post, although this percentage is not actually true — it’s closer to 10 per cent.
“Does nobody find this excessive? In no world will they have enough cash to finish this house. They have spent over 73K so far on two rooms.”
However, some could argue that Courtney and Sev have deliberately overspent to win major prizes: the bathroom victory earned them a $250,000 E&S kitchen/appliance upgrade, on top of winning first choice of houses in Week 1.
One Reddit user said this was a calculated move on the women’s behalf. “They’ve gambled that for first choice of the houses and for the $250k appliance pack,” they said. “It seems like a solid strategy to me.”
Another said the original critic wasn’t taking into consideration all the bonuses the woman had won. “They have the house they wanted and 10K. They have the kitchen they wanted and 10K… which puts them way ahead of everyone else at about the same cash spent. Smart move.”
What happens if a team on The Block blows their budget?
There’s plenty of precedent on The Block for contestants spending too aggressively early and then finding themselves in dire straits later in their build.
The most extreme recent example is Ankur and Sharon in 2022. Their finances became so bad that Scott Cam effectively took control of their budget and cut off their access to their accounts, instead allocating them controlled weekly amounts to finish the house.
Tess and Luke in 2019 are another iconic example of a team’s overspending.
Midway through the season, they had spent more than any other team and had only $77,000 left despite substantial parts of the build remaining. Scotty warned them at one stage that they had only about $30,000 remaining to finish The Block, and they were eventually put under a Scotty-controlled budget arrangement.
However, it all worked out for the best: Tess and Luke went on to win the 2019 season with a $630,000 auction profit. The big question is whether Courtney and Sev’s early prizes and house choice will compensate for their hefty spending. Stay tuned to find out.
The Block airs on Sundays at 7pm and Monday – Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.
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