Episode 2 Shop Well for Less

When it comes to shopping, us Brits can blow a fortune...

See, that's what I want, a single solitaire.

..but how can we control our spending?

-30,000 or something like that?

-Oh!

I'm a business journalist, Steph McGovern.

-7,000.

-What?!

-What?!

I want to help make our money go further.

We are bringing down your spending.

And I'm Alex Jones.

Sale!

I know only too well the traps consumers fall into.

-How many times have you used that, then?

-I haven't.

-We're challenging families...

-No!

-Oh!

-No!

-..to try money-saving alternatives.

SHE SCREAMS

So we can all learn to shop well for less.

-Ooh!

-We're talking hard cash.

-Really?

-That is amazing.

Our job here is done.

-ALL:

-Aww!

It's not bad...!

This week, a house bursting with buys...

-Two of these.

-There's three of these.

Oh, my goodness! Another pair.

..means looking good comes at one heck of a cost.

-You are uncontrollable.

-No, you've made me uncontrollable.

But can Alex and I prove feeling fab can be done...

No!

..without breaking the bank?

-We need to change that.

-We need to retrain you.

Oh, my God! How am I going to cope with this?

Come on, Bailey!

We're in north London with Kevin and Yolanda,

who became a couple seven years ago.

-What you can say is we met...

-No, I know what I need to say.

You don't need to tell them about...

That you rang me 150 times begging me to go out with you.

OK, the abridged version is that we met in a pub.

Yolanda runs an estate agents and Kevin is a sales manager.

The next step is that we're going to get married.

Then we're going to have babies.

We're definitely not going to have babies.

The last few years for Kevin and Yolanda have been life-changing,

because as well as finding each other,

they've lost a staggering 16st between them.

We both had gastric surgery.

I was the biggest I've ever been in my whole life.

I was 22st.

I was a size 28 and then, about a year later, I'd lost 10st.

Yolanda dropped seven address sizes

and Kevin's lost almost a third of his body weight.

'It's made a big difference to our lives.'

I just feel completely different.

I actually feel very glamorous...

and I feel more like a lady now.

# Glamorous... #

And the couple's new-found confidence

has kick-started a brand-new hobby.

Do you know what I really, really want is a bomber jacket?

I would say most weekends we are out shopping.

Do you like this? I want some of that.

That's amazing. Look at that.

Since I've lost all the weight, the shopping makes me go high.

This is gorgeous.

This is the cutaway collar though.

Before, I'd have to look at the size before I looked at the colour or the

style or anything like that,

but now I can go into most shops and pick off the shelf.

And Kevin picks up designer every time.

But I do like my brands.

Last night I went out, I had Kurt Geiger shoes on,

I had Calvin Klein jeans on and I had a Ralph Lauren shirt on.

But the big brand names don't stop there.

I love Bobbi Brown and I love MAC, KIKO.

'My aftershave is a really high brand.'

You've got to spend to make your hair look good.

The problem is, Yolanda never thinks before she spends.

I bought red, I bought orange, mustard...

I don't actually know how many pairs of boots and stuff that I have.

So I just go out and buy and buy and buy and buy.

Yolanda has no concept of money at all.

If I had all my salary, I'd probably spend it within the week.

Kevin takes control of that, which is, to be honest, amazing,

and it takes the worry off me.

It's not been an easy few years.

As well as dealing with her weight issues,

Yolanda also lost her mum.

I was very, very close to my mum. She was my rock.

She always wanted me to be glamorous and beautiful.

She'd be really proud of me today, do you know what I mean?

And for Kevin, all of this means extra TLC.

'I really like to treat her,

'because, yeah, it's been tough for her. She's had a tough life.'

A lot of it is my fault, because I make sure

that she's never short of money.

It's £105.93, Kevin. Thank you.

But I do feel that it's getting to a point where it's...

It's dangerously overspending.

And with their wedding to pay for,

they simply can't afford to keep feeding their shopping obsession.

We're getting married next year.

We budgeted for 80 people.

We earn good money and we should be saving a lot more.

Yeah, but it's hard to save.

It is hard, but, you know, you've got to stop spending.

'Yolanda has no idea what the consequences are'

when you keep spending.

I just don't know when to stop and I want to learn to stop,

because I never want to let go of Kevin and I think I could push his

buttons one day if I don't start being careful.

'To help Kevin and Yolanda get back on track for their big day,

'Steph and I have arrived in town.'

-Wipe your feet, Mrs.

-Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

'To show them just how severe their spending is,

'we're resorting to shock tactics.

'And whilst they're out, we're clearing their house

'to stock our very own pop-up shop.'

I mean, look how rammed this rail is, and you can't...

How can you decide what to wear like this?

STEPH GASPS

Look how far the shoes go back as well.

-Hang on a minute.

-Aha!

Brand-new. Give me the receipt.

That's a long receipt.

Oh, hang on. Good sale shopping, skirts, £4.

-But it's quantity, isn't it?

-£5... I know.

You just feel, "Come on, Yolanda, you've got enough stuff here.

"You don't need any more."

'Kevin and Yolanda's bedrooms and bathrooms...

He's got a swish shaving situation going on here.

'..are literally bursting with buys.'

And I mean, there's two of these. You know, two of these...

-There's three of these.

-I'm guilty of buying more than one, you know,

if there's a buy one, get one free.

But then, you don't use them all, do you?

You wait until one's finished.

Our guess is that the couple have no idea how much money they've spent.

If your drawers are this rammed...

-You'd never know what you've got, would you?

-Ever, ever, ever.

-'So, we are going to show them...'

-Come on, then.

..by setting up our own pop-up shop filled with their things.

Hopefully, this will shock Kevin and Yolanda into changing their

spendthrift ways.

'Now to surprise them.'

Hello!

Lovely to see you.

-You've been shopping.

-I just bought one thing.

It was actually his fault, because he just never, never says no to me.

So, there are lessons to be learned here as well, I think, Kevin.

-Definitely.

-It would seem. Shall we head down this way?

-Yeah.

-Come on then, let's go.

Time to lead them to our very special boutique.

-What's this shop called?

-I don't know... It's like a vintagy one.

Oh, my God, they've taken all my clothes.

Oh, my God, they've taken all my clothes!

Look!

They've done my whole house.

This is just an example.

That's the scary bit.

This is just a percentage.

-No way.

-How do you feel?

I'm actually really proud of it, but it's quite embarrassing.

You are proud that you've got this much stuff?

-Yeah, I think it's amazing.

-How do you feel, Kevin?

I'm actually lost for words over how much stuff there is.

When you see it like this, it's too much.

But how much is too much?

Well, they're about to find out.

Any idea, Yolanda, how many dresses you actually own?

35 dresses.

Kevin, higher or lower?

Higher. I reckon about 50 dresses.

You have...

over 120 dresses.

-Shut up! I don't believe you.

-Yes.

How much do you think all these dresses have cost you?

Probably maybe £500.

£500?!

Over £3,500.

No way. I don't believe you. 3,000...?

Over £3,000...on dresses?

'And they're just the start'

You have 70 vest tops,

30 long-sleeved tops and 60 cardigans.

-Oh, my God!

-And this is how we found most of them, right.

Just to demonstrate.

The thing is, Kevin, you're not getting away scot-free.

-Uh-uh!

-There's a lot of top brand shirts in your collection.

Yeah, I do like my shirts.

-How much money do you think you've spent on them?

-I don't know.

£300?

-1,300.

-No way!

-£1,000.

-I think you've got your figures wrong.

I don't think we have, love.

Steph doesn't get figures wrong.

'Yeah, that's right, although I did almost lose count

'of Yolanda's coats.'

Bomber jacket, bomber jacket, bomber jacket, bomber jacket.

Don't tell me you don't know about these coats.

-You're lying to them.

-No, I do know about them,

but you don't realise how many you've got.

You have 60 jackets and coats,

and you've spent just under £2,000 on coats and jackets.

-Wow.

-It's just crazy.

I'm actually gobsmacked.

£2,000?

You spend all this money, and then do you actually remember

-what you have?

-No.

-Right.

So that's the problem.

Yolanda's not the only one guilty of not wearing what she's got.

3.6 billion clothes go unworn in our country's closets.

That's an average of 57 items per person.

Although, judging by this lot,

Yolanda might have a few more than that.

Well, it's like a department store, isn't it?

I mean, I've never, ever seen somebody with as many boots.

Look how many knee-high black boots you've got,

which all look very similar.

No, they don't. Show me ones that look similar.

-There we are.

-Here we go.

Yeah, but they've got the gold bit round it.

They're not the same.

But when we're talking about saving money,

you could choose between this boot and this boot.

They go with the same outfit.

True.

-But?

-I can't accept it, because they're still gold.

I want a plain and gold.

'We've got our work cut out with this one.'

The average woman owns 17 pairs of shoes.

Yolanda has 65 pairs.

How much do you think you've spent on them?

About £2,000.

Add another grand. We're talking £3,000.

Wow.

But it's something that makes me really happy.

But I'm sure your wedding day will make you happy.

Just on 11 luxury bras, Yolanda's blown nearly 900 quid.

-You all right, Kevin?

-Not really, no.

But it's good quality.

You think that the price you're paying gets you a better quality?

Again, I don't think about the price.

-We need to change that.

-We need to retrain you.

And if Yolanda's not checking the price tags,

how is she keeping track of her spending?

My card never gets declined.

So if you're buying constantly, how does the card work?

-Are you topping it up?

-BOTH:

-Yes.

Kevin!

But that means though she's got an endless pot of money!

'The question is, do either of them have any clue

'how much Yolanda's clothes have cost?'

What would you have said before you walked in here?

Five grand.

Our estimate...

is over £16,000.

It's crazy.

-Is it crazy?

-Mm-hm.

It's crazy.

But it's not just the clothes that are out of control.

Kevin's high-priced shaving products

totted up to a not so trim 700 quid.

-No!

-Yeah!

In fact, when it came to Kevin and Yolanda's preening and pruning...

I honestly feel that I've gone through the archives of toothpaste.

Come on, Steph.

..the combination of quantity as well as shelling out on brands

means they've spent just short of £2,000.

The toothpaste is £500 on its own.

But how will they react when I tell them how much all their clothes

and bathroom buys come to?

The moment of truth.

The total for Yolanda and Kevin combined, bathroom and bedroom...

is over £26,000.

-Oh, no.

-Oh, my God.

-It's not bad.

-It's not bad?!

Yolanda! It's outrageous.

It is outrageous.

'Time to get tough with Yolanda, starting with her latest purchase.'

You've got the receipt, you could return this right now.

-Oh, my God, that's terrible.

-Do it.

(Go on.)

Oh...

I never, ever, ever bring things back.

-Right, well, here we go, we're starting now.

-I feel sick.

-In the bag.

-Off you trot.

OK, we're going now. I've never returned anything.

It's good for her though.

Too right, Yolanda and Kevin are never going to save money

for their wedding if they don't get a grip on their spending.

-That was hard work, wasn't it?

-It was.

If you just look at Yolanda, it's to do with her weight loss.

-Yeah.

-That's clearly, like, a big deal to her.

And all of that is leading to this kind of compulsive shopping.

But Kevin's not without blame,

because he's the facilitator, isn't he?

He enables her to spend all this money.

Their motivation should be very strong.

I mean, they want is to get married,

so, if we keep reminding them of that,

it should be enough to change their mind-set.

'Oh, fingers crossed!'

So whilst the happy couple were out,

we went in and overhauled their bedrooms and bathrooms...

-BOTH:

-Oh, my God!

..in a bid to help all of us shop smarter.

Which toothpaste is that?

In our experiment, we've replaced their usual branded products

with mostly cheaper substitutes.

You won't like that toilet tissue.

And to really put their product loyalty to the test...

-Aftershave.

-..some items haven't actually been swapped.

They look like they're from Lidl.

But it's all been debranded so they've no idea what they're using.

-So, you're not allowed to use any of that.

-This is ridiculous.

Yolanda's horde of high-end hairstyling products

cost her around 250 quid.

We've limited her to just three items that cost just under a fiver.

Oh, my God. How am I going to cope with this?

You don't need ten hair sprays.

Yeah, but I like ten hair sprays.

Hopefully, our swaps will open their eyes to alternatives that could help

us all spend less.

I don't think that's my normal lipstick.

No, but this one is over 20 quid cheaper.

I'm quite depressed. I feel like I want to cry.

For this couple to save big, they need to cap their clothing spends.

No!

So we've ditched Kevin's designer numbers...

-Say bye-bye to your shirts.

-Bye, shirts!

..and swapped them for like-for-like high street versions.

But will he know the difference once they're out and on?

See you tomorrow!

As for Yolanda, to prove she doesn't need so many clothes,

we've pretty much put a ban on everything she owns.

So I'm not allowed to have this wardrobe

and I'm not allowed to have that one.

So, basically, there's no clothes.

I don't think it's actually that funny,

because there's not even everything for me to wear.

There's one more room yet.

Except we've vetoed most of that, too,

and reduced Yolanda's three bedrooms worth of clothes to just one rail.

So they've gone out and they've bought me all new clothes.

Yolanda thinks we've brought the shops to her...

I've four pairs of new shoes.

..but under those covers is actually a capsule wardrobe

from her existing collection.

I'm happy with this and I'm very excited to open them tomorrow.

# I'm so excited

# And I just can't hide it. #

Hmm, I've a feeling this happy bunny won't be as chuffed

in the cold light of day.

# I know I want you I want you. #

It's the first morning of the swap and the grand unveiling

of Yolanda's capsule closet.

I am a little bit disappointed because I have no new clothes.

And the skeletal selection is to last Yolanda the entire week.

Seriously, if you're saying this is all I've got

for the rest of the week, I'm not going to be happy with that.

I don't like to actually be seen in the same clothes.

I just can't live like that.

There isn't even five outfits there.

Actually, there are over 20 combinations of outfits

which should help Yolanda realise

she doesn't need to keep buying new clothes.

Four, five.

I'm struggling. I just can't do it.

I just can't do it.

Yolanda, you can do it.

Stop stressing and get dressing!

Outfit one, let's have a look.

-What do you think?

-Yeah, I like it.

-Yeah?

-It's nice for work and stuff.

-Yeah, it's perfect for work.

You've done pretty well.

There isn't much to work with, but maybe as the week goes on

I'll start to feel better when I've got more

of an idea what I can put together.

It will be a really good learning curve.

-OK, well, I'm happy to try it.

-That's the spirit!

And how's Kevin finding his new shirt?

The shirt, I have to say, is not the same cut as my current brand.

But this department store own-brand is £70 cheaper

than Kevin's usual designer number.

It just doesn't fit on the shoulders.

It just feels like I've got to keep pulling it forward

to get it comfortable.

I would definitely prefer to stick with my current brand.

So, the shirt's not gone down well.

But we're not giving up trying to save Kevin and Yolanda

cash on their clothing spend.

Yolanda's habit of making unnecessary purchases

is burning a huge hole in her pocket.

So we're visiting consumer expert Professor Avi Shankar to get tips

on how to avoid becoming a victim of our spending culture.

I want to talk to you about possession rituals.

-Now, you probably don't know what they are...

-BOTH:

-No.

-..but I bet you both do it.

-Hmm.

That's when we take something that we buy from the shop,

bring it home and make it part of our lives.

The value is when you start wearing it and using it.

That makes sense, doesn't it, because sometimes if you buy

something where you just keep it in the bag,

it never comes out of it, does it,

if you leave the tags on or whatever?

Well, we all do it. I mean, I've got stuff in the back of my wardrobe

that I bought, it's still got the price tag on

and it's left in there and that's because I haven't engaged

in a possession ritual to make it mine.

To illustrate this, Avi asked us both to bring in

one of our favourite items of clothing.

How did you make that yours? How did you bring it into your life?

So that's my very, very favourite coat in the world.

-In fact, it's probably my favourite item of clothing.

-Love it.

That was the first Christmas present

I had from my husband and the morning I opened it,

-I immediately put it on over the pyjamas...

-Yeah!

-..like you do on Christmas Day...

-Love it.

I thought, "This is lovely."

And now I do, though, limit the amount I wear it

-because I think it's going to get a little bit...

-Worn out.

Worn out, yes. So now I think, "Does the occasion..."

-"Is it good enough for the mac?"

-It's pristine.

Remember the more you wear it, OK,

the better the price per wear becomes.

So, Steph, you brought this item of clothing, I believe?

Yeah, it's my favourite ever scarf which I bought

when I was in my early 20s and it's quite a posh scarf

but I saved up for it and it's from my hometown, from Middlesbrough,

and I wear it all the time.

Like, to be honest, I've gone a bit like you with your mac and I'm

thinking, "Oh, it's starting to fray a little bit at the edges,"

I desperately want to keep it as fab as it's looking. I love it.

One of the interesting things is, when we talk about these things,

-these stories come flooding back.

-Yeah.

Now, what that means is that we have taken these products and

brought them into our lives.

Now, if you've got stuff lying around the wardrobe

that you haven't even unwrapped,

there's no story to be told about these products.

So the more that we can engage in these rituals

and bring these products into our lives and make them ours,

the more value we're going to get from them

and the less likely we are to need to constantly buy new stuff.

What you are saying, Avi, is make it mine?

-Absolutely.

-No, make it mine, not yours.

-No, make it mine.

-No, mine!

-No, mine!

-Mine. It's mine!

Right, I think we should get back to business in North London

where we're helping Kevin and Yolanda rein in their spending

so they can afford their wedding day.

We need to start saving because we've got a wedding coming up.

We are inviting a lot of people that want to be there and it's very,

very important that we have all the people that really want to be there.

Yeah.

Well, we reckon Yolanda's pile of premium hair products is worth a few

wedding guests, so what will she make of our scaled back swaps?

'It feels, sort of, right. OK.

'It doesn't feel bad.'

Yolanda's usual upmarket mousse costs almost 15 quid a bottle.

This chemist own-brand is nearly 90% cheaper at £1.48.

There's definitely something amazing about this.

I'd get rid of all those to keep this.

Result!

And there's even more savings to be made with her make-up.

So I'm going to start with this.

This high-street own-brand is £26 a bottle cheaper

than Yolanda's usual premium primer.

My face is becoming extremely soft, like a baby's bottom

and, actually, the brand that I use doesn't make it feel like this.

Switch and that could save almost £300 a year.

In fact, when we valued Yolanda's top branded make-up collection,

it came to around £460.

Our alternatives totalled just over £40.

I quite like this mascara.

I spend quite a lot on mascaras.

Yeah, no kidding, nearly £20 quid a time,

whereas this supermarket own-brand costs just £4.

Obviously, I need to start saving, so some of the stuff that I'm trying

seems really good enough for it to be on my face.

But it's not just women who fork out a fortune on their face.

The average British man spends a full 45 days shaving

and over his lifetime will remove over 27 feet of facial fur.

And, as these body-conscious fellas in Bristol point out,

finding the right razor isn't that easy.

I get a few problems shaving.

I get all these neck bumps.

My skin is very sensitive.

I have tried cheaper ones, expensive ones,

I still haven't found the right one.

But do boys really need to pay a premium to be fuzz-free?

To find out, we are putting four razors to the test.

The cheapest is an own-brand by Boots.

Next on the price ladder is by big brand Wilkinson.

The most expensive shaver is from deluxe brand Bolin Webb.

And last up is an online only razor by Cornerstone.

It's the second priciest but comes with six heads,

whilst all the others come with just one.

First to shave, big man James with a Cornerstone razor.

It's a little bit bulky actually for doing the final bits of the beard,

but, yeah, I think it's been quite good really.

Next, sensitive-skinned Waz with the second cheapest by Wilkinson Sword.

I'm not sure if this is an expensive razor

because it has cut me a few times.

The way it looks, I thought it is going to be a good razor.

Very disappointed.

Perhaps firefighter Tom will have a smoother experience.

He got the pricey Bolin Webb razor.

I think it looks pretty sleek for a razor.

At £70 quid you'd hope so!

Glides very nicely. So, yeah, all going quite well at the moment.

No cuts!

Last up, designer bearded Martin, with a Boots own-brand blade

and cheapest razor in our test.

It's given me a stubble rash already.

I'm definitely annoyed that I've got to use this

for the rest of the week.

So to give the test razors a fair go,

we've asked our gym buddies to use the same razor and blade

for the next few days.

And for their final shave, they've come to a barber

for a professional opinion.

It doesn't feel like it's taking much of the hair off.

I've felt smoother before.

It does seem to be taking the hair off quite nicely.

So which razor did the barber and the boys rate the best?

So the winner is... The Cornerstone.

-This was yours, James.

-Well deserved.

-Good.

Now, first placed Cornerstone

may be the second priciest but

as it comes with six heads for £14,

you do get a lot for your money,

out-shaving the luxury brand and

the cheaper choices in the third

and fourth place.

This one kid be the cleanest and sharpest shave.

Yeah, it's a good razor, to be honest. Worth every penny.

Back in North London, we've swapped Kevin's shaving products

for cheaper alternatives.

It's actually producing a really good lather.

-Easier, actually.

-Great news, as it costs just 50p.

That's £2.49 cheaper than his usual brand.

I have absolutely no idea what these blades are.

Well, they're a high-street own-brand

and could save Kevin £35 a year.

A good a shave as I've had in a while.

Oh, fantastic, as this post-shave lotion on its own

would slash £110 of Kevin's annual beauty bill.

Unfortunately, though, not all of our bathroom trades got a tick.

This definitely, definitely isn't our toothpaste.

This is more watery. I wouldn't use it.

I wouldn't swap this either.

I wouldn't swap this either.

How about the aftershave?

Would I wear it? Probably not.

-The bubble bath?

-I really don't like the smell.

You'd save 11 quid a bottle!

It's not my cup of tea.

Maybe we'll get better luck with the shower gel.

There's a sour smell coming from it.

-Really?!

-Just let me check it one more time.

Sour?

No, it's definitely not my brand.

It's not my brand.

Ah, it is your brand.

It's not my brand. I know the difference...

Well, it looks like you don't.

..and I'm 100% sure this is not my brand.

Yolanda, it definitely is your brand

and it seems you don't know your shower gel

as well as you think you do.

In a bid to save the couple cash for the big day,

Steph and I want Kevin and Yolanda to break the cycle

of always buying the same brands.

So we've come back to North London and I'm challenging Yolanda with the

first of our blind tests.

So welcome to the washing up challenge.

Now, what we want to do is test different brands

of washing up liquid.

Now, you fall for the little brand with the little baby on...

Yeah. I know no different. I've been brought up on that.

'But we want to get Yolanda's opinion of what performs the best

'in our not so scientific experiment.

'So, I've got five plates covered in cold, cooked egg...'

Minging, I know.

'..and five lemony liquids.'

First up, the lowest priced, by Tesco.

So that is 41 Celsius.

'Each detergent will be tried and tested in exactly the same way,

'with ten seconds of splashing to disperse the liquid.'

Just give it a shake.

'One minute soaking...'

-Remember, I'm very impatient.

-Yeah, I know you are, love.

'..and ten seconds scrubbing.'

I thought you'd be a better scrubber than that! Come on.

'So, how's it done?'

-Ah...

-Oh, that's no good, is it?

-No.

Will the Co-op's do any better?

-What are your thoughts so far, then?

-Hurry up.

'And after ten seconds of elbow grease...'

That looks worse than that.

Next, it's Fairy.

-In it goes.

-Yeah.

'And after a shake and a soak and an Irish jig...'

SHE HUMS IRISH JIG

'..it's scrub time.'

It's still quite difficult to get off.

At the beginning, I didn't rate that

but these two are not taking off as much as the other one did.

So, after an eggy start, it looks like the first detergent's

edged into pole position.

Although Morrison's own-brand is on its tail.

Look at that. It's pretty like number one.

Last up, the most expensive liquid by eco-brand, Method.

I actually think it's just OK.

So, which one does Yolanda think performed the best.

I actually think that's number one.

So, Yolanda's given the cheapest,

by Tesco, the top spot and placed

her lifelong favourite

and market leader in third place.

-It's your beloved Fairy.

-No way.

What, that is Fairy?

I don't believe that.

So, that means, my love, your top one was the cheapest!

In fact, it's more than half the price

of Yolanda's usual lemony liquid.

Unbelievable. I can't believe it's not my brand.

I would definitely go out and buy it.

I am mega-chuffed about that.

Right, come on, let's get out of here.

-Leave someone to clean it up.

-All right.

-Where's Kevin? Kevin!

THEY LAUGH

'He's with me.'

Come on, Kevin.

Over 3 million households in the UK own a coffee machine.

But do we have to take a financial hit for our caffeine fix?

Through my blind test, I'm hoping Kevin can tell me.

So, how much would you intend to spend then on a machine like this?

I would think you'd need to spend about £150 minimum

to get a decent coffee machine.

'Well, to put Kevin's theory to the test,'

I've lined up six machines raging from £75 to over £300.

I've hidden the brands and want Kevin to judge each one

purely on looks, speed, usability and temperature.

Three, two, one, go, Kevin!

First up, a manual machine by Krups,

'the second cheapest in our test at just under 80 quid.'

First impressions, then. Did you like it?

Two things - I think it's quite a basic machine,

because you have the manually start it and manually stop it.

-Mm-hm.

-And it's quite rattly.

Maybe the automatic De'Longhi will be more to Kevin's liking.

-This looks really old-fashioned.

-How is it doing, temperature wise?

No, it's definitely not as hot as the first one, to be honest.

OK, interesting.

Next, the cheapest coffee maker in our test - by Lavazza.

-Smaller container.

-Mm-hm.

-Is that a good thing?

If you are entertaining, you'd have to keep filling it up.

Well, that's a trickle.

Probably the right temperature.

-Good.

-But it's really fiddly.

Will the mid-priced AEG machine fare any better?

Well, this one's taking an awful long time.

That's 1 minute 41.

I like the look of it. It's automatic.

-The coffee tastes nice.

-OK.

So it's got a lot of positives.

Next up is one of the cheaper ones on the table by Magimix.

Oh, I like that! It's quite swish, isn't it?

This looks hot, look at the steam rising from it.

-Proof's in the pudding.

-It's the right temperature.

Yeah, it's nice.

Last to try is the priciest coffee-maker

by premium brand, KitchenAid.

-Oh, I love a handle.

-It looks the part, doesn't it?

It does look the part. It's like we're in Italy.

-I know.

-Ciao, Bella.

-58 seconds.

-I think that's the fastest, isn't it?

It is the fastest.

'So cute and quick. But how's the temperature?'

Yeah, perfect.

Definitely the winner.

Kevin's ranking the machines from one to six.

-So, number one. £309, Kevin.

-Mmm.

'But now I've told him how much they all cost,

'which does Kevin think is the best value for money?'

So my choice would be this one.

So, your third favourite? Yeah.

Instead of spending £300, because it is a lot of money,

but it does actually do the same thing.

He may have liked the appearance a tad less,

but as there was little difference in usability or temperature

to his top two, and Kev's concluded you don't always have to pay

top price to get a quality product.

High five, Kevin.

Throughout the swap week,

we're hoping to convince Kevin and Yolanda to cut the cost of their

bathroom and bedroom buys...

What have we got in here?

..to help them save some much needed money for their wedding day.

I like the jeans. They're really soft.

They fit really nicely.

This shirt feels really nice.

The shoes are absolutely lovely.

I definitely would go and buy these.

Kevin would usually splurge around £300 on a designer outfit.

The clothes we've given him are all high-street brands

and cost just over 70.

Overall, really, really like the whole outfit.

Definitely, this is me.

A huge turnaround for Kevin.

Be he's not the only one experimenting.

Over this swap week, Yolanda's been putting together outfits from the

capsule wardrobe we gave her.

-Yeah, I like it.

-Now, a few days in, how is she getting on?

So, today, I have a real problem with it.

I've worn this...

and I've worn this...

..and I've worn this.

I don't like wearing the same clothes from the day before.

So I like to look different.

But I'm going to have to wear this again.

Yolanda buys clothes on an almost daily basis

but instead, we're hoping the capsule wardrobe

will push her into trying new combinations

from the clothes she already owns.

I would never have dreamt of putting this scarf with this jacket.

The belt looks really nice with this.

I feel really, really good.

It's a surprise, because I do feel like it's something new.

So, Yolanda's getting that new feeling without spending a penny.

-Result!

-I must say myself, I look nice.

With Yolanda doing so well with the capsule wardrobe,

I want to apply the same principle to the rest of her clothes.

But first, she needs to be able to see what she's got,

so I'm back to persuade this clothing queen to declutter.

So, let's look at why you buy so many clothes then.

-How much weight did you lose, Yolanda?

-10st.

-10st?

-Yeah.

And I just went into a shopping...

-Frenzy.

-Basically.

Every shop was like, "Oh, I fit into that. I'll take that."

I was so excited that I actually could fit into normal sized clothes.

-The thrill of going shopping...

-Yeah.

-..with a different body, nearly, is huge, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-And it's what you dreamed of.

-It makes you feel good.

-Yes.

'And Yolanda's spectacular weight loss coincided with another dramatic

'change in her life.'

-You lost your mum?

-My mum was a very glamorous person.

So she dressed very beautifully

and she used to have loads and loads of clothes.

And then we she passed away, I actually had the gastric bypass

and I sort of just went out and just bought and bought and bought.

-So, your mum is obviously a very big influence on you.

-Yeah.

I want to be like, so I just feel...

All this is making me feel like she's part of me, so...

It's the culmination really, isn't it?

It's the loss of your mother, it's the losing the weight

and maybe trying to fill a gap or fill a void

-that your mum used to fill.

-Yes.

And I really, really don't want to be like this any more.

My clothes are taking over my house.

-Shall we have a look at the clothes then?

-Yeah.

And see what we can do about it.

'It's understandable how this has got out of control,

'but Yolanda's ready to let go.'

Let's have a look at these cardigans, OK?

All in different colours.

Could we keep three or four that will go with more than one outfit

-and then we get rid of the rest?

-OK, so I can get rid of one navy one.

Right, so, come on, then, which one is going?

-That one's going.

-Good start.

'Because no-one needs this many cardigans...'

So, brilliant.

Done.

'..or jackets.'

-Say goodbye.

-Bye.

-Bye! Right, excellent.

Now, suddenly, you know, right, if I need a brown, cream jacket

it's there and I've got three basic colours in cardigans.

And the rest of the stuff, you could either give them to charity...

You know, if you sold something and made a tenner...

You're better off having that tenner your in account than sitting

-on a rail where you can't see anything.

-I don't wear them.

Exactly.

'And there are plenty of places online

'where you can sell your unwanted clothes.

'Some high-street shops will even swap your old clothes for

'vouchers, regardless of their condition.

'Which is good news, looking at this lot.'

-You can't wear that, so that's great.

-That's gone.

OK, they're a but grubby now. They can go.

'And there's lots more where that came from.'

Oh, my goodness! Another pair.

'In fact, six pairs of what were once white jeans.'

They are wrecked. OK, I'm going to help you out here

and we're doing that.

'Up until today, Yolanda has only ever added

'to her colossal collection. But now, she's on a roll.'

YOLANDA LAUGHS

-OK, it can be chucked.

-OK.

'And six skirts bite the dust.'

-Yay!

-Yay!

We have cleared two shelves in that wardrobe.

-Pretty good going, right?

-Pretty good going.

I never thought I'd get as far as this.

So why don't we say that every week you tackle a shelf

until you get to the point where you can actually see

-and edit what you've got?

-I'm very happy doing that.

-You've done so well.

-Thank you very much.

I'm really, really proud of you.

-Oh, thank you so much, Alex.

-Thank you.

'I've got rubbish that does not need to be in my wardrobe.'

So this is the start of a very big job,

because I've got four rooms to clear out,

and that's a promise.

So that's Yolanda's clothes taken care of.

But with the couple struggling to save for their big day,

I want to help them manage their money better.

You ready for this, Kevin?

'Starting with Kevin.'

Do you actually keep an eye on how much money you're spending?

I control all the money. Yolanda's no control on the money.

It's not because she doesn't want it, she can't control her money.

So I just make sure she doesn't go over her limits.

-Yeah, but she does go over her limits though, doesn't she?

-Yes.

So the control doesn't seem to be going very well.

No, you're right, you're right.

The key thing for anyone who's overspending,

it's because they don't really know what's coming in and out.

'But, by keeping and logging every receipt,

'you can keep track of your expenses and online,

'there's a choice of apps that will analyse your receipts for you

'just buy the press of a button.'

So, basically, with your camera phone,

snap a picture of it,

it will then take all of that detail from the receipt and work out how

much was spent on maybe toiletries, how much was spent on food,

-how much was spent on clothes.

-OK, that's good. I like that.

-Yeah.

And so you don't have to laboriously type everything in.

But, if you want to bring your spending down,

you have to bring Yolanda into this.

'I've taken photos of a month's worth

'of Kevin and Yolanda's receipts, so they can see exactly how much

'they've spent and what on.'

-Do you realise how much you are spending?

-Not really, no.

-No.

I want to show you a pie chart, because there are these brilliant

apps which will work out what proportion you're

spending on different areas.

So out of that month's spend, that is clothes.

So you're spending more on clothes than food.

-Wow.

-A month?

-Yeah, that was one month.

But I buy cheap clothes and you don't realise...

-Yeah, but it adds up.

-Even though it's 17 quid here, 25 quid there,

but that is a big number that you're getting to.

-It's 540 quid.

-OK, that's a lot.

'All these smaller purchases are adding up.

'They need to think wedding guests.'

I feel a bit sick about it, to be honest.

But, we're not trying to have a go at you,

because I'm trying to help you with saving money.

So, it's been like that, but this can change.

You've got to take responsibility yourself.

Listen, before I met Kevin, I used to be very independent...

-Yeah.

-..but he's taken over.

-Do I?

-You do, Kevin.

-You're uncontrollable.

-No, you've made me uncontrollable.

From now, you're not waiting for a yes or no from Kevin,

you are independently thinking,

"Is it right that we are spending this money on this?"

If it's not, if you can see that it's going past your food, say no,

don't wait for Kevin to tell you no,

because you know that that no's not coming.

And, Kevin, please agree that you won't babysit the money.

You can have a set amount each month and you will be in control of it.

'So, no more limitless top ups.

'Instead, a separate spending account

'with a fixed allowance for the month.'

You spend it how you want.

But when it gets to the end, you don't spend any more.

'And most high-street banks offer free text alerts, too.'

The banks will actually tell you when you are near the limit.

-Can the bank do that, though?

-Yeah.

You've got to change the way you spend together

-and budget together.

-I'm happy with that.

-Right.

-Done.

-Yeah. It's day one, it starts now.

'When we first met Kevin and Yolanda,

'we discovered that Yolanda had spent almost £900

-'on 11 luxury bras.'

-But it's good quality.

You think that the price you're paying gets you a better quality?

I don't think about the price.

But does spending more guarantee the perfect bra, or is there more to it?

I'm on a mission to find out.

Now, shopping for a bra is a minefield.

There's such a variety on offer,

from the supermarkets where bras are relatively cheap,

to the high-end stores where they're very, very expensive.

But how much should we be paying to keep our bosoms happy?

I've come to a luxury lingerie retailer

who've been making and fitting women with their bras

for the last 75 years.

'As their chief stylist, I'm hoping Kelly can tell me

'how best to invest in a bra.'

How much is your cheapest bra here

and how much is your most expensive?

So, our price points start from around £50 for a bra

and then we offer a bespoke service starting from 305

to as many as you want to spend.

'OK, so I'd say spending 300 plus for a bespoke bra

'is beyond most of our budgets.

'But what prompts the cost of their off-the-shelf bras?'

Say they started at about £50, it's still expensive for a bra.

-Yes.

-So what do you get for your money?

All of the components that you see here make up one bra.

-It has over 45 components.

-Wow.

'Some high-street bras can consist of around 16 components

'in comparison, and more sections means more detailed design.'

You have an inner power mesh,

which is what pushes your bust in a position and the...

-To stop them from being...?

-This way, yes!

'We're not shy when it comes to shelling out on bust support.

'Last year, one million of us spent around £75 on bras.

'That's a lot of money.

'So, how can we ensure longevity in our investment?'

What's the best way to look after your bras?

-So, all bras should really be hand washed.

-Really?

Because I thought that you pop them in one of those laundry bags,

in the washing machine, job done. That's not right?

Lycra in the bra is there to do a job.

It supports you, it's the activity in the drum that destroys that,

and it also damages the wires and puts them out of shape.

'And washing our bras incorrectly isn't the only way

'we're wasting our cash.

'Apparently, up to 80% of us are actually wearing the wrong size.

'So it's important we know how our bras should fit.'

There is five scientific facts that we follow.

'Number one is the back band.'

80% of your support from your bra will come from your back band.

-80%?!

-Yes.

Because most people think it comes from the straps.

It wants to feel firm, but not tight.

You also want it to be parallel with the front of the cup.

'And if you're back band's riding up,

'it could mean your bra's too big.'

Which is then why women think they need to lift the straps

to lift the front up.

'The second spot check is the wires.'

I often say to ladies, if you can push on your wire

and it's bouncy, so, just here,

then it can be an indication that the cup is too small.

-'Talking of cups...'

-You want all of your bust tissue inside the cup.

Nothing coming out underneath from the sides or from the top.

-Oh, a double boob!

-It's never a good look.

-No.

'Test number four is the bridge.'

-In an ideal world, we'd like to sit flat to the sternum.

-Right.

If you are very close busted, it doesn't always sit flat.

It is the least important of the five.

What about the straps, then?

So you really want to be able to have your straps

so you can get two fingers underneath.

It's not here that you take the support.

-It just keeps the bra to the body.

-Ah.

'It's also important these straps have room for manoeuvre.'

So a half and half ratio is a good place to be.

A good fitting bra is actually the key to looking good

-in your clothes, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

If the undergarment is a good foundation,

the outer garment is going to sit a lot better.

'It's clear you do get more for your money.

'But, fundamentally, whether your bra budget is £8 or £80,

'for money well spent, make sure it fits.'

Well, do you know what? I feel enlightened.

It's been like a masterclass in bosoms.

Over the course of the week,

Kevin and Yolanda have been trying a whole host of new products...

THEY GURGLE

..and new looks.

-You look nice.

-So do you. Wow, look at you!

But before deciding which of the swaps they're going to keep...

I'm actually excited, the same as you,

-to what she's going to be wearing.

-Yeah.

..they've invited over their closest friends

to give their honest opinion.

-Do you like my perfume?

-It's very nice.

-Your hair's a bit flatter.

-I quite like it like that.

-Really?

-Yeah. It doesn't look as mad.

Your make-up's beautiful. Very natural.

Yeah, you've got a softer look to your face now with the make-up.

I have to say, Yolanda, you look very feminine

and very pretty and very natural.

So, what do you think of my outfit?

Do you think they look cheap?

I don't think those clothes look cheap at all.

I think you've got a good image going there.

It's like looking at myself.

Well, that's a mate's seal of approval

and it's time for us to head back to North London.

'Time to find out if Mr and Mrs to be

'are prepared to pay less to look and feel fantastic.'

Well, I think we've done really well,

because we've come up with loads of cost-cutting alternatives to try

and get Kevin and Yolanda to just change the way they spend money.

'We definitely, definitely need to save.'

And I've learnt a lot in the last couple of weeks.

It's been an eye-opener.

Do you think, though, that they will accept the swaps?

I mean, capsule wardrobe woman she is not, is she?

Definitely. But, I mean, unless they do, they are not going to have

-the people at their wedding that they want.

-Yeah, true.

They might come round now.

If we can save money and it does the same job,

then I'm happy to look at it.

There is certain things that I won't change, even if it was cheaper.

And that's the end of it.

Well, all is about to be revealed.

-We're at the end of your Shop Well experience.

-Yay!

Hopefully, we've helped you and changed your ways.

Especially you, Mrs!

What do you reckon, Yolanda, what's it been like?

I have learnt loads of things this week, so...

And especially, like, mixing and matching five items.

-You've managed for a week and mixed and matched...

-Yes.

..and now you can mix and match

with the entire contents of your wardrobe. You're going to be fine...

-I know, I'm going to be fine.

-..for the next 15 years!

-So, shall we have a look at some of the products?

-BOTH:

-Yeah.

-You love your hair products, don't you?

-I love my hair.

So, what did you make of the mousse we gave you?

-I loved it.

-Did you?

-It was my all-in-one.

Does that mean you felt you could have used that

-and not used other products?

-Yeah, I didn't need to use other products.

It actually kept my hair in place all day long and longer.

I woke up the next morning looking like Rod Stewart.

And is that the look we're going for?

-That's the look I'm going for!

-Excellent.

-The mousse we gave you was an own-brand.

-No way.

This would save you £13.01 per bottle.

I'm absolutely shocked.

'Swapping to this own-brand could save Yolanda over £145 a year

'just on mousse, plus, she wouldn't need to buy any more products.'

That is nearly two wedding guests.

'And there's more guests up for grabs.'

Now, you're a bit like Steph and I, you like a bit of make-up.

-I do.

-Your primer then, Yolanda.

-Yes.

-What did you think of the new one?

-Loved it.

'Yolanda usually buys a high-end primer,

'but we gave her a high-street own brand.'

My face is becoming extremely soft.

This was it, here.

It's from a high street store and the saving would be...

£26.50!

I'll definitely use it. I loved it.

So what did you think of the foundation, Yolanda?

As the day went on, it was staying on my face

and I didn't actually need to reapply it,

but I think it is cheaper.

It's actually £2 more expensive than yours.

'Unlike Yolanda's cheaper foundation,

'the one we gave her lasted all day,

'proving sometimes, it's worth spending that little bit more.'

Even though this foundation is more expensive initially,

you will be saving money, because you're not using it as much.

So, therefore, in the long run, it's actually cheaper.

-Good swap? BOTH:

-Good swap.

'And they didn't stop there, as a Yolanda decided to keep 80%

'of our make-up substitutes, saving our bride-to-be

'just over £700 a year.'

-That's a keeper?

-Absolutely.

-Amazing.

'And Yolanda isn't the only one who could save money

'on their beauty regime.'

Well, now we're moving to you, Kevin.

What did you think of the razors we gave you?

I actually think they were more expensive.

-So we gave you...

-Really?

-Oh, my God!

And would you not consider these in the past then?

-No.

-Why?

-They're not a brand.

'But Kevin's converted and agrees to swap all three

'of his shaving products...'

The saving...£36 a bottle.

'..trimming his beauty bill by over 160 quid.'

-That's a huge, huge saving.

-Oh, yay!

-Well done!

'But our cheaper choice of cologne wasn't so popular.'

-Look at that.

-Look at that face.

'Not only would this save Kevin £35 a bottle,

'he'd get twice as much.'

-Can I smell it...?

-I was just thinking that.

-..because I'm intrigued.

-I like that.

-I like it for, like, a car freshener.

-Yeah!

'Alex, you're not helping!'

-Annually, though...

-It doesn't matter.

OK, what about if we're talking hard cash, £85?

-No.

-But... OK, right...

We'd rather have one less friend at the wedding.

'And it wasn't just Kevin's aftershave they refused to swap.'

-It tasted like a 59p toothpaste.

-BOTH:

-Ooh!

-Can I just have a look at this?

-You can.

That looks like a denture toothpaste.

'And just like good denture paste, they stick firmly with two more

'of their bathroom favourites.'

This is a saving of £11.70 a bottle.

Sorry, I'm not letting go of my bubble bath.

What about the shower gel, then?

It's a definite no-no with the shower gel.

Sour smell coming from it,

and I'm 100% sure this is not my brand.

What did you not like about it so much?

The texture was incorrect and I knew it wasn't mine.

-Are you sure?

-I'm 100% sure.

'Yolanda, you're 100% wrong!'

-Well, da-da-da!

-Oh, my God! How embarrassing!

It's not yours, you don't want it any more?

-No, I love it!

-No, you said you don't like it.

I cannot believe I said I didn't like it.

Just goes to show others that it's all about the packaging,

-really, isn't it?

-It is about packaging.

It's brands that you associate with brands you like but, actually,

if you don't see the bottle,

you don't actually know what you're using.

-I'm speechless.

-And it doesn't happen often!

'Debranding Kevin and Yolanda's products

'has certainly had the desired effect...'

And it could save you...

-£17.11.

-Wow!

..as they keep three quarters of our swaps.

Yeah, I did like it and I would swap it.

'But have we convinced label-loyal Kevin

'to look past the big names when it comes to his clothes?'

I really like them. They were really nice.

They were, in fact, £8.

-No way.

-£91 cheaper than the average.

-Eight quid!

-That's unbelievable.

Wow. They're amazing.

I'm shocked, really.

'On these three outfits, we spent over £400 less

'than Kevin would usually spend on similar getups.'

-What did you think of these?

-I loved them.

'In fact, he liked 90% of our low-cost options

'and similar smart money choices in the future could cost our Kev

'around 1,200 quid less a year.'

'But the really big savings lie with Yolanda

'and her promise to utilise her existing wardrobe

'and stop shopping.'

So we've had a look at three months' worth of receipts and statements

and we've worked out that on average,

you're up to £700 per month on clothes.

-700?

-Yeah.

-A month.

-A month?

-Yeah.

-Oh, my gosh.

Now, we've had a chat about clothes and we decided

that you definitely didn't need any more, didn't we?

-Yes.

-If you didn't buy any for a year,

that's 8,500 you'd save in a year.

Eight and a half grand is 100 wedding guests at £85 per head.

That's all your guests, basically, isn't it, I'm guessing?

-Yes.

-Somewhere around there.

-It is exactly right.

'This is a huge step forward for Yolanda

'and with a saving on clothes along with all the other tips,

'tricks and swaps they've liked,

'Steph's worked out how much Kevin and Yolanda

'could save over 12 months.'

You could save...

-..over £11,000 a year.

-Wow.

It's crazy. It's so much money.

So, hopefully, you will take this on board

and change and have a fantastic wedding.

We want to do it and we will do it.

-We will.

-Definitely.

-As from today.

-Just thank you, girls.

-Come on!

-Well done.

-ALL:

-Awww!

Who's got that dodgy aftershave on?! Have you got that?

Well, I am made up about that.

I know, I didn't think we were going to do it.

-I know, like, their whole mind-set has completely changed...

-Yeah.

..which is amazing, when you think about when we first met them.

(It's brilliant.)

I'm actually quite shocked that...

How much we can potentially save over the year.

Yeah, it's been unbelievable.

I've loved every minute of spending money,

but now's the time to change.

All we need now is hats for the wedding.

-Brilliant.

-Job done.

Next time, a family's love of labels...

I just think, spend, spend, spend, spend.

..is devouring their hard-earned cash.

We need to help them break this vicious cycle.

We want to show them a celebrity lifestyle...

-Is it meant to be orange?

-..can come cheap. Woohoo!

No!