Episode 6 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?

-Uh...

I'm business journalist Steph McGovern.

-7,000. GASPING:

-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.

LAUGHTER

-We're challenging families...

-No!

No!

..to try money-saving alternatives...

SCREAMING

..so we can all learn how to shop well for less.

Ooh!

-We're talking hard cash.

-Really?

That is amazing.

Our job here is done.

ALL: Aww!

Whoa! Look at all the paint.

-This week...

-Look at all the toys!

..a family whose click-click shopping is out of control.

How many parcels do you get delivered?

-Daily?

-Daily?!

But can Alex and I crack their compulsive spending habits...

Oh, my life!

..before it's too late?

First things first - give us your mobile phone.

Oh, that's nice, Esmae.

We're in the West Midlands...

SCREAMING

..with a family who need to snap out of their shopping habits.

-ALL:

-We're the Murphys!

Dad Jason is a CCTV fitter

and mum Kerry is a teaching assistant.

-Does mine live on a farm?

-Yes.

And they have three daughters - Sophie, 11,

Gracie, eight, and Esmae, three.

-ALL:

-Three, two, one...

-Kerry's the boss.

-He's always got to have the last say, though.

I never get to have to have the last say!

You've always got to walk off and as you walk off,

you'll mutter the last say and I'll go, "I heard that!"

"I heard that." "No, I can't have it."

Because Kerry does like to shop...

I am definitely the biggest spender in this household.

My spending is majoritively online.

Which means every item is just one click away.

12-foot pink cover.

There we go.

I would order two or three items per evening.

And Kerry isn't picky. She buys all sorts,

from gym gear to colouring books.

I will spend my money on anything.

I absolutely fall for every advertising gimmick.

I will just buy anything that I think is great.

She's forever buying stuff for the kitchen.

This little gadget, you put the large tomato in there.

This is a courgetti spaghetti thing.

In fact, I don't even like courgettes.

I'm like, "Mum, you don't need it!"

-We use it on Pancake Day.

-We use it once a year.

THEY LAUGH

They may not be expensive purchases, but Kerry clicks a lot.

She buys us lots of teddies. I can't count cos we've got so much.

-You spent 100 quid this week.

-Have I?

-Yeah.

To help Kerry limit her one-click spending,

£200 a month is put into a separate account just for her.

But then we still have, like, the other cards on,

like, PayPal and Amazon.

When I'm clicking away at night, nothing enters my head

about the fact that I've actually got to pay, because it's not money.

It's not money in my hand, and you're just clicking away.

Kerry also puts her creative talents to good use around the house.

It was a peach before.

It wasn't peach. I don't buy peach against red.

It was a different colour.

My parents decorate the house a lot.

I like the house to look nice. I like everything to be perfect.

Which means decorating for the Murphys

is more than just a lick of paint.

Now we need a new sofa.

Now we need a new telly.

Now we need some more furniture.

And everything has to match.

Wallpaper's all new, and we matched it with the green curtains.

New lamps, matching flowers. Wardrobes were all new.

We don't budget for the decorating. We just literally go for it.

It's got to be the kitchen after this one.

The kitchen, yeah, cos I've gone off the purple.

Between the endless decorating and one-click shopping,

Jason and Kerry certainly know how to spend.

But there is one saver in the family.

On my door, I have a Florida fund so we can save to go to Florida.

My mum and dad basically put all the loose change,

put it in this little bag

and then I'll put it in the main Florida fund.

There's £40. Yep, £40.

The driving force for our change at the minute

is this Florida holiday,

so we are trying to desperately save.

We want to make the change now because I am out of hand

and I will spend ridiculously on stuff that I just don't need.

So, Steph and I have arrived in Walsall

to help the Murphys make some big changes.

Oh! Fab photos.

And we're starting with shock tactics.

Before they can save for that Florida holiday,

they need to see exactly where they overspend.

So, with the Murphys out, we're raiding their house...

I love going through people's cupboards.

..to gather evidence for our surprise pop-up shop.

-Ah! Nutribullet.

-Yeah, classic.

They are really expensive.

Inside every cupboard is a gadget of some sort.

-Ah, here we go.

-What's in there?

Just loads more gadgets.

-What's this?

-This is a spiralizer.

-Oh, yeah, yeah.

-To make courgetti spaghetti.

Right, here we go.

What is that?

That is to cut tomatoes.

What is it?

I think it's to get juice out of fruit.

How do you know all this?!

Like, how do you actually know all this?

Cos I watch the shopping channels when I'm bored

and they sell things like this.

And I must admit, I've been tempted a few times.

-Everything matches, though, doesn't it?

-I know!

But does it mean that when she paints the wall

that she has to buy all the gadgets...

-To match?

-..again, to match?

Ah, look. They've got one of those posh bins

and you end up having to buy the bin bags,

they're a special make of bin bags.

They look like one of those families who basically falls for adverts.

There's loads of ways we can save them money just in this room.

And pretty much everywhere else too.

-Look how many DVDs they have.

-Yeah.

-Look at all the toys!

-I know.

Are they the type of family

who just buys loads and loads of toys for the girls

-without kind of thinking what they've already got?

-Yeah.

Although there does appear to be one thinker in the family.

"Hi, please donate to the Florida fund."

There's some little coins in there.

What have we got in here?

Oh, it's a little savings box!

Oh, she's like a little version of me.

And the similarities don't stop there.

-Look at this.

-Aww!

Do you know, they're pricey, these.

I remember when I did dancing when I was a kid.

-What sort of dancing?

-Irish dancing.

What you laughing at?

Well, I wasn't expecting that.

Or this...

Whoa!

Look at all the paint.

What do you think they're digging for with all them spades?

Oh, my goodness.

Do you think they buy everything en masse?

-Balls, paint, spades...

-Kitchen gadgets.

What's this?

STEPH LAUGHS

"Please don't take to the neighbours.

"I think they're sick of me now. Leave it behind the gate."

That says a lot about their shopping habits.

It certainly does.

So we'd better get cracking

by moving stuff out of the Murphys'...

-Well, this is good practice for me, isn't it?

-It is, yeah.

..into our very own pop-up shop.

Our guess is that Jason and Kerry

have no idea how much they've spent on all of this.

So we have to track them down and tell them.

Hello, Jason and Kerry.

-Hello!

-You ordered a latte, I believe.

-Yeah, can we interest you in a coffee?

-Oh, thank you.

-Shocked?

-Very.

-You look a bit shell-shocked, don't you?

-I am, yeah.

-We haven't got time to drink this coffee, unfortunately.

-OK.

We're going to have to get it to take away

because we need to have a serious chat with you two.

-OK.

-OK.

-Are you up for it?

-Yeah, definitely, yeah.

-Great. Come with us, then.

Hopefully, our pop-up shop will shock Kerry and Jason

into making some big changes in the way they spend.

You pop in first.

HE LAUGHS

-Oh, my life!

-Oh, my God.

-This is not all ours!

-This looks familiar.

Have we really got all that?

-J, why do you need so many spades?

-It's not me, it's you!

How do you feel, seeing all this?

I can't believe we can actually fill a shop.

It's not actually everything.

This is just some of it!

Look at all the gadgets out of the kitchen.

My crisp maker. I like that, though.

-Crisp maker, did you say?

-Yeah, this makes crisps.

-No, it doesn't!

-Does it?

-Fat-free.

-This spiralizes...

-Oh, yeah, courgetti.

How many times have you used that, then, Kerry?

I haven't.

LAUGHTER

And it's not just the spiralizer that's been bought and forgotten.

I bought that cos I made a trifle once

and you needed to whip the cream.

How much did that trifle cost, then, in total?

-About £20.

-A really expensive trifle.

It was nice, though.

And then there's the smoothie maker.

I was trying a fad diet where you needed to make shakes.

So what's this, then?

I've got no idea.

SHE LAUGHS

It was a toy that makes fruit kebabs, actually.

So how useful is that, then?

Well, it was... I haven't used it, really.

Kerry!

You're buying things you don't need.

How do you end up buying all this stuff?

Someone bought one on Facebook.

"This is amazing." So I ordered one.

Oh, do you fall for ads and people saying stuff?

-Yeah. She definitely does.

-Yeah.

Can I ask you about the bin as well?

They are really pricey brand-new, aren't they?

-£130.

-£130 for a bin?

It's the bin bags as well, though.

-Do you buy the official ones that go with this bin?

-Yeah.

They're, like, £15 for a pack of 30, I think.

They're not! For bin bags?!

Then we go through 14 a week, cos there's two,

and we empty the bin every day.

That is one dear dustbin.

So, do you have any idea, you know,

taking the bin and all the rest of it into account,

how much you've spent on gadgets

that you've used a couple of times or sometimes never?

I wouldn't know, to be honest.

Well, we have, and in terms of what you've spent on kitchen gadgets,

it's £700.

OK.

-Spending money on holiday, that is.

-It is, and it could be.

A lot of this is probably wasted money, isn't it?

Yeah. Yeah.

And unfortunately for our impulse shoppers,

the waste isn't limited to the kitchen.

There are 34 balls in your garden.

How many balls do you kick about at the same time?

-One!

-LAUGHTER

-We found a garage full of spades as well.

-Well...

And, actually, the total we estimate

is about 75 quid, just on buckets and spades, which is...

-You know, it's a lot.

-And you've got 140 quid's worth of balls!

LAUGHTER

What about board games, then?

Do you know how many you've got of them?

There's only about 15, I think. Yeah.

-More?

-Higher!

-25?

-Higher!

-Oh, my God.

-You've actually got

-37 board games.

-37?!

And the total that we estimate

is nearly £500 just on board games.

-Gosh.

-And they don't use them.

-No, they don't.

-We don't play them.

They're just stuck in the cupboard.

Then there's things like this.

-What is it?

-TOY GROWLS

Gracie wanted that.

-And that was £80.

-No, it wasn't £80!

It is, cos it's all, like, digital.

You're meant to sort of interact with it.

In hindsight, do you feel like that was a waste of money?

Oh, God, yeah. Definitely.

-Where do you buy most of your stuff, then?

-Online.

How many parcels do you get delivered?

Daily?

-Daily?!

-LAUGHTER

I wasn't expecting that!

I was going to say monthly.

I can't tell you monthly, but I know daily's about three to four.

-Three to four a day?

-Yeah.

The kids have only got to say they want something...

-They always want something.

-..and I'll order it.

To be fair, Kerry's not on her own.

When it comes to buying toys for kids,

Britain has the world's second-highest spend

with parents paying out on average just over 50 quid a month.

Although, with three to four parcels a day,

the Murphys could well and truly trump that.

The problem with you, Kerry, is these deliveries.

And it makes the kids not really value what they do have.

If they know there's something new coming every day,

no wonder that ugly-looking gremlin ends up in the corner.

It's all bought in love,

but the reality is these toys haven't come cheap.

All the toys come to 5K.

-No way!

-£5,000. Yeah, they do.

But it's not just toys keeping their postie busy.

Where do you buy most of your online stuff from?

Amazon and eBay.

And how often are you buying?

-Every night.

-Every night?!

Do you realise how much you're spending, though,

if you're doing it every night?

No, cos you don't physically see the money, do you?

I just click it.

One click and it's here.

Yeah, what did you buy last night online?

Erm...I've ordered a phone case for Gracie.

I ordered one and the wrong size came,

so we've ordered another one for her.

-So did you send the wrong one back?

-No.

-No, it's in the cupboard.

I can't be bothered.

Perhaps she will be bothered

when we tell them how much Kerry's clicks have cost.

We just looked at your Amazon spend for nine months.

How much do you think Kerry spent in those nine months?

-Erm...£400?

-£400? Come on, Kerry, what do you think?

-1,000.

-Double it and add some.

You spent nearly £2,500.

We don't have that money!

Well, regardless, the big figures keep rolling in.

Do you know how many DVDs you've got?

-No.

-No.

-176.

-Really?

Are there are some there that you've just watched the once?

-I'd say most of them.

-Do you know how much they're worth?

-No.

-Come on, then.

-Two grand!

-No!

-Whoa!

-Yeah.

On 22 adult colouring books,

Kerry's clicked up a spend of £160.

-Oh, man.

-Yep.

-And they're all just sat in the cupboard

cos I actually don't get them out and do anything with them.

But colouring books aren't Kerry's only creative splurge.

How often are you redecorating your house?

-Probably doing something every month.

-Every month?

-So you've been in your house for 11 years.

-Yeah.

How many times, for example, has the lounge changed?

-We said seven...

-Seven times?!

-What?

-Eight. Seven or eight, yeah.

-Seven or eight?

-My colour scheme will change

-and then I need new cushions and new curtains and new...

-Oh...

When you go into your kitchen, it's very purple, so if you were to

change the colour, would that mean that all of those bits and pieces

would need to be chucked out and you'd need more stuff?

-Yeah.

-Do you try and sort of put a stop to this, Jason?

Do you say, "We've just done that room, we don't need to do it again"?

No, to be honest. I like decorating, making things look nice.

-So you're as bad.

-Yeah, I'd say. I'll admit that one, yeah.

Do you want to know how much money you spent last year on redecorating?

Go on, then.

So you spent £4,800.

-I'll be honest, I can see the colour from Jason's face has gone...

-Yeah!

..from that figure. How do you feel, hearing that?

It's a lot, yeah. It is.

With the toys and that, now, that's the holiday, isn't it?

You could just stop redecorating!

We could dial that down a bit, couldn't we?

We could dial it down massively, to be fair.

'And not just the decorating,

'because we've totted up how much all of this comes to.'

Now, can you stomach just one more figure?

No, I don't think I can!

Well, you're going to have to.

Everything we've looked at today in this shop,

we estimate that all of that is worth...

-16,500.

-Oh, wow.

-Makes you feel sick when you hear them numbers, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

You don't realise how much it actually adds up to.

-Do you have any savings at all?

-No.

And how close are you to the breadline, would you say,

every month? Is there literally nothing left?

-Yeah, there's nothing left.

-Nothing left.

-The good news is

there's loads we can work on.

-Are you up for it?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, definitely.

Right, first things first - give us your mobile phone.

-You're joking!

-We're going to take the internet off that, love.

Because you're not doing your online shopping every night.

'And confiscating Kerry's phone is just the start.'

If Kerry and Jason are serious about saving for

a family holiday to Florida, then they've some big changes to make.

The biggest problem is how much Kerry spends online.

I mean, we have to make her see that she's got to curb it

and start saving money.

-But what about all the redecorating as well?

-I know.

-The matching everything in the house.

-That has got to stop.

Come on, off we go.

Time to kick our Murphys money-saving mission into action.

Oh, my Lord!

Oh, where's my lovely bin?

Hopefully our swaps will open this family's eyes to alternatives

that could help us all spend less.

I didn't know you could buy stuff without a name on.

-It's nice, though.

-Matches.

Most of our substitutes are cheaper.

But to really test this brand-loyal bunch,

some items might not have been switched at all.

Oh, the shaver! Now, that...

I will definitely tell if that is different.

If it is the cheaper one...

-Yeah.

-..it will rip my skin.

During our experiment...

Is that my camera?

..we want Kerry to try out some creative swaps...

Oh, look over there, Mum!

..to stop her clicking her time and money away.

Oh, my word.

Plus, we need to reverse the whole family's money mind-set.

JASON AND KERRY: "You're off to the car-boot sale!"

That means sell some stuff.

-That and that and...

-No, that's really good!

They could flog some DVDs too

and have their movie night without buying a new release every week.

"We've enrolled you in a month's free trial,

"giving you access to 80,000 movies and TV episodes to rent."

Yeah, we can get some popcorn!

You certainly can - however,

there is an outright ban on any more paint or balls.

-Look at the balls!

-Do you know? I'm going to find that well hard,

to not buy a football.

Yeah, I think enough's enough.

No more buying, you, Mrs!

THEY LAUGH

Well put, Gracie, and to help mum stifle her spending,

we've swapped her virtual money for hard cash.

"You will no longer receive

"your £200 monthly allowance to your bank."

Hopefully physically seeing the £200

will make Kerry consider money more carefully.

And it's going to be so obvious if I've took one.

Because for this family to really save big,

Kerry's nightly click-click-clicks need to stop.

Oh, my life, I won't even be able to use that.

You're kidding me, aren't you?

That's brilliant, that is.

-That's not brilliant at all!

-It is.

Gracie, shall we swap?

-WHISPERS:

-I'll have your phone.

I don't think that's going to happen, Mum.

There's no internet linked to the phone at all.

It's terrible. Terrible. I'm going to hate it.

Let the swap experiment commence.

It's morning, and we're hoping to show our refurb fanatics

wiser ways to spend their cash.

These feel ever so much squashier.

The Murphys love revamping their lounge

and that nearly always includes a sofa.

I reckon this is probably the same price as ours.

-I reckon it's a bit cheaper.

-Do you?

Jason and Kerry paid over 1,800 for a corner sofa

which they then split in two.

-Because I've got a feeling the corner one...

-Is dearer?

-Is dearer.

Which we don't use as a corner suite.

The separate sofas we've given them cost less than £470 -

a saving of over £1,300.

-I think it's a swap.

-Yeah, I think I'd swap it.

-I'd keep this one.

-I think it looks better.

-It looks nicer than ours.

The only thing I will miss about it is I don't have my pouffe thing.

I'd have to do this instead now, look.

But there's no time for putting your feet up, Kerry.

I want your verdict on the curtains.

-Well, I like them.

-Why?

They're nice.

-They're just stiff and horrible.

-No, they're not, they're nice.

-I like the colour.

-Clearly out of a packet.

When Kerry refurbed this room,

she opted for made-to-measure curtains at a cost of £120.

Our ready-made alternatives cost less than 55.

So, would you say these are cheaper?

-Yeah!

-Yeah, but they look nice.

-No, they don't.

-They do!

-No, no.

-I'd buy them.

Well, you can go and live with them in another flat on your own.

Kerry's not the only one passionate about her decor.

In a lifetime, the average Brit blows

over £36,000 revamping their home.

But could we all be rolling back the cost of our paint jobs?

Jason's going to test five rollers to find out.

So, how often are you buying rollers?

Every time, you know, we buy a pot of paint, I buy a new roller.

What type of price would you say you normally pay for them?

Probably a fiver.

'The five here range from a couple of quid to just under a tenner.

'But which roller will Jason think is the best?'

-I like that one.

-What's caught your eye about that?

It's the lines on it. Just looks like it's going to paint better.

Seriously? Is that what you're judging it on?

'Well, the first roller Jason's trialling is stripe-free

'and it's the second-priciest.'

What do you think of it?

-Looks a bit 1960s.

-It does, doesn't it?

-The old wood effect.

'Each roller gets just one coat of paint.'

Covers it quite nice.

'And Jason is judging each on their handling, coverage and finish.'

I mean, that looks quite nice. How do you feel about it?

I don't like it. Too heavy.

'Next, a value roller, and the lowest-priced in the paint-off.'

Cheap.

-I can lift it easier.

-Yeah.

It's covering it, though.

-It is.

-Like, it's going further than the other one did.

'Now a roller in Jason's usual ballpark price.'

It don't turn, look.

Oh, look at that.

Just scrapes it on.

That texture looks lovely, though.

Yeah, it's smooth.

'Next is by a leading brand, the most expensive,

'and it comes with stripes.'

Now, that's a roller, that is!

-I will have to admit, it's not painting...

-As well as you thought?

As well as I thought it would.

It's actually run out now.

'The last roller is by a big brand

'and is the mid-priced roller in the contest.'

Two stripes, though, on this one.

That feels better than the rest of them.

I reckon this is the pricey one.

-And you think it's, what, because of the stripes?

-Yeah.

This has got two stripes.

-Looking at all of them now...

-Yeah?

Which one do you think has done the best job?

I'll have to say this one.

Painted more.

-This is a Harris roller and it cost £7.

-Right.

Would you class that as expensive?

Yeah, because I'd normally say a fiver.

'So maybe his runner-up is the roller for him.'

The roller you gave second place to

-was our little friend over there.

-Yeah.

So, that is a Homebase Value Roller Kit. £2.50.

Even though £2.50, done a good job, still.

-If it's done a good job, happy days!

-Yeah.

Come on, let's roll on out of here.

Whilst Steph's busy at the house...

I'm off to investigate the other roll costing the Murphys a fortune.

-Yeah, they're like £15.

-They're not! For bin bags?

But how much should we be paying to rid our rubbish

and what do we get for our money?

I've decided to find out.

Now, we've all been there, haven't we?

Monday morning, wrestling to get the bin bag out of the bin

and then suddenly it rips and the contents is just all over you.

So what can we do to ensure

that we get a bin bag that just simply does the job?

I've come to the largest bin bag factory in the UK,

which produces 600 million bags a year,

to ask their sales director, Lorcan Mekitarian.

Most consumers, like myself, go into the supermarket,

we feel a bit of the roll.

Are we going to get a good bin bag by doing that?

Just because the bag is thick doesn't always mean

that it's good quality.

-Really?

-I can demonstrate a thick bag here.

-Do you think that would be a good quality bag?

-Oh, this...

-I would be pleased with this bag.

-You would be over the moon with this product.

I would think, "This is going to sort out my bin bag problems."

This bag is, in fact, brittle.

Thick bag doesn't necessarily mean it will carry anything.

You're blowing my mind now, Lorcan, because if it's not thickness,

is there any way of knowing what would make a good bin bag?

Well, a good bin bag has to be stretchy.

It will stretch and stretch and stretch, so stretchy bags are good.

'Problem is, we can't walk into our local supermarket and start

'manhandling the merchandise.'

So, what is the test that you can do, then?

-There is a nose test.

-Oh, go on.

-If you pick up a roll...

-What?

-..and it smells of the farm,

-that's a clue you then might be onto something good.

-Ooh!

-Let me compare.

-That's a kind of burnty...

-That's a burnt plastic, so we don't want that.

-No, you want...

-That's definitely got a bit of a field about it.

-Yeah.

Turns out the black bin bags here are made from recycled polythene,

some of which comes from industrial sources like pallet wrapping

and others are old silage bale wrap from farms.

If you start off with a good raw material,

you end up with a good bin bag.

So you've got your polythene... What happens next, then?

We've got to clean it and grind it

because it's going to have contaminants on it,

and those contaminants will vary from paper labels if it comes from

an industrial source, or it's soil and straw if it comes from the farm.

Once washed and ground, the polythene is then fed into

a big, heated barrel, which melts it

at 200 degrees to form pellets.

These pellets are then blown and re-melted into this giant bubble

which turns them into bin bags.

The more farm polythene used, the stronger the bag,

but does that make them more expensive?

Where should we be looking in the region of

to get a decent quality bin bag?

You need to be in the premium section.

And these typically retail for £2.99, £3 a roll for 20 sacks.

If it's a roll of 80 for £1.99,

you can deduce from that where you're going to be on quality.

'But is it really worth paying the extra?

'Lorcan's sent me to the test lab to see just how much more a premium bag

'can take over an economy one.'

So, let's start with the economy.

Place it over the vacuum.

Three, two, one...

Straight through.

-I mean, a heavy apple on that bag would be doomed.

-Exactly.

'So, how will the premium perform?'

I've got the same weight as before. This is the 70 gram.

Three, two, one...

And obviously it's bounced straight off the bag.

You can't see any little holes, it's not split through the bag.

'Now, that's the bin bag I've been looking for.'

-So, you do get what you pay for.

-Yes, definitely, you do.

Well, it seems to me that

bin bags is the one area where you can't scrimp.

Give it a bit of a smell and see how stretchy it is,

and if you find one you like, just stick to it.

Back in Walsall...

These are the bin bags.

..we've given the Murphys

supermarket own-brand black bin liners

costing £2.70 for a pack of 20.

Our normal bin bags,

we have to have two because both bins every day are changed.

Buying these instead of their branded beanbags would

save the Murphys over £50 a year.

With the recycling, you can just empty that straight in.

So I won't need a bag.

Good idea, Jason.

Using fewer bags would save you even more for that family Florida fund.

And if they'd bought these bins

instead of the dual-compartment branded bin -

well, they'd have saved over £110.

They just look shocking. So they're a swap and those are a no-swap.

Plastic, white, don't match...

And this couple do like everything to match, which means

new furnishings and accessories each time they decorate.

But we want to show them

they don't have to change everything every time.

I mean, they feel nice.

The price is nice too - from a high-street catalogue shop,

they're 40 quid cheaper than their purple branded ones.

-I think these are more expensive than our ones.

-Do you?

-Yeah.

The utensils have fooled them.

Let's try the beans in there.

But will they realise we've gone back to basics on the microwave?

The other one we had had a grill and an oven on it,

which we don't really use.

We've never used. I don't even know how to do it.

Exactly. This is why we've given you this simpler microwave,

90 quid cheaper.

MICROWAVE PINGS

See, they're perfect for your beans on toast.

And today's toast will be done

in an un-branded, silver, non-purple appliance.

I do like the colour. Stainless.

When you decide to change the colour of the walls,

we haven't got to change all these.

-No.

-Because they will match.

Spot on! And to top it off, it's £22 cheaper too

and a supermarket own brand.

Perfect.

SHE LAUGHS

Like the Murphys, us Brits are partial to a slice of toast.

In fact, around 50% of us choose toast over any other breakfast.

And as it's the most important meal of the day,

we need to make sure the toaster we buy is up to the job.

So we've come to a watersport charity in the South-West

to ask its members to put five to the test.

Not so bothered about the style of the toaster

as long as it makes good toast.

I like slightly golden brown but not, like, burnt or anything.

Hoping to be top of the pops are...

a budget toaster by Cookworks,

a mid-priced bestseller by Russell Hobbs,

big brand Bosch, the second-priciest,

mid-range-brand Breville, the second-cheapest,

and finally, a top-end luxury toaster by Dualit.

First, our testers are judging them on looks.

I think it looks cheap and plasticky.

It's got more features on that one.

I think that's my favourite one.

-That looks like the mother of toasters.

-Yeah!

Now it's time to taste the toast.

Crunchy on one side but soft on the other.

Down here, it's just completely burnt,

so that's not an even toaster, really.

-That's quite good, actually.

-It does have a lot of crunch, though.

-This is good.

-Yeah, I think that's a reasonable toast.

-I like the look.

It was even toasting.

After the tasting and rating the design of toasters,

it's time to find out which the testers think is the best.

-Whoa!

-Hey!

-It's the Bosch.

-The winner? Is that the winner?

-That's the winner.

-Oh!

-Yeah, that is the winner.

The mid-priced toaster

came out on top

with the budget buys

at the bottom of the table.

-To make toast, for the price, you'd go for this one. Yeah?

-Definitely.

Back in the West Midlands...

Oh, how many buttons have you got to press just to send a message?

It would be quicker to phone you.

As well as swapping one-click shopper Kerry's smartphone

for a basic mobile,

we've also replaced the £200 spending money

that goes into her bank account for cold, hard cash.

Now, if she wants to shop,

she'll have to physically go out and spend it.

How have you been doing?

Well, there are four notes in there.

I think I've done really well.

Was it hard just to look at the money and...

and say to yourself, "I'm not going to spend it"?

No, it was hard because I like to spend.

You certainly do.

Kerry usually keeps busy with one-click shopping,

but today we're keeping her busy in other ways.

Oh, wow, that's really nice.

Really nice pages as well.

We've replaced Kerry's 22 unused colouring books

for one artist pad.

I'm going to have a go at doing a cheetah.

This pad was just under £13.

The colouring book collection Kerry bought online cost nearly 160 quid.

That 160 quid could have been saved, couldn't it?

And I could have just bought a sketch pad.

But this is where I don't think properly

and I don't think about what I'm doing,

so hopefully, you know,

I'll learn to think a bit better.

Oh, brilliant news.

I definitely think this is a swap.

I'm already enjoying doing this.

Shopping online wasn't just a convenience for Kerry -

it had become an expensive habit.

And to show us just how easily we could all fall into

the one-click trap is consumer expert Avi Shankar.

I don't know about you two, but I increasingly

am spending more and more of my money online. What about you?

I... I buy a lot of stuff online. It's convenience, for me.

-Too much, some would say.

-Yeah. No!

You pick up your phone, you store all your credit card details,

your delivery address details, and basically what it does is

it shortens the time between you making the decision to buy it

and paying for it.

-Right.

-Means it's just seconds.

-Yeah.

-Dangerous.

And retailers know that.

The shorter they make that time,

the more likely you are to make an impulse purchase.

'Avi's shown us how some brands are reducing this time even more.'

So, to make one-click shopping even quicker without the use of

a mobile phone, we have these.

They're called dash buttons.

What is it? Is it...

So Play-Doh, is this a direct line?

Yeah, you've just ordered a job lot of Play-Doh

to be delivered to your house.

That is bizarre.

Well, look, let's imagine this one, OK?

Where do you think you might place that in the home?

-Oh, next to the loo.

-Next to the loo,

so, when you run out of toilet paper,

-all you have to do is press that button and...

-No!

..a delivery of toilet paper will arrive at your home the next day.

-Free?

-Not while you're sat on the loo, then?

-No!

What they're trying to do is to ram home the convenience for consumers.

And you're locked into their brands as well, aren't you?

Because once you have one of these, you're going to constantly

keep buying from that brand and that might not be the cheapest.

No, no. Of course.

Convenience does come at a cost.

'It most certainly does.'

And for the Murphys, their one-clicks and decorating

is costing them their holiday to Florida.

So we've come up with an idea.

Hi! Come in, girls.

Because we've noticed matching interiors isn't

creative Kerry's only talent.

I did photography and qualified with a photography course

and certificate under my belt and just didn't do anything with it.

Well, we think it's about time she did.

That's perfect.

One, two, three...

CAMERA CLICKS

So, we've arranged a photography session with Kerry

and her friend's daughters.

You're doing very good posing, girls.

Doing this in her spare time...

Nice big smile. One, two, three!

..means she's fuelling her creativity for free,

and not online shopping.

Look at your sister, Laurie.

So what does she think?

I've never actually taken photos of anybody else's kids.

I just always have my own. It was really good. I enjoyed it.

Time to strike whilst the iron's hot,

so I'm back to ask Kerry to commit to some big changes.

Where do you think this spending habit came from?

Money's always burnt a hole in my pocket. I've never been a saver.

So would you consider deleting the shopping apps off the phone?

-Because that is your downfall, isn't it?

-Yeah, it is,

because if they're not on there, then I'm not going to pick it up, am I?

I think we need to do this now.

-So we've got the phone here.

-Yeah.

'Around a third of online shopping sales in the UK are now done

'via smartphones and tablets.'

I've got three shopping apps.

'Accessible 24/7, the convenience is great.'

So, we're holding down and we're uninstalling.

'But it does mean we could end up doing a Kerry

'and buying things we just don't need.'

Gone. There's one commitment done.

'But I'm not done.

'I've had two of the pictures Kerry took of her friend's children

'put on canvas.'

That is lovely, isn't it?

-And then...

-Did I take that?

Yes, you did!

You're one of the most creative women I've come across, you know?

Everything we talk about, you're like,

"Oh, and then we changed the paint there because I love this colour."

And then, "Oh, see those photos? I took those pictures."

-Yeah.

-You know, you've got so much to offer.

You could be doing so much more with your time, couldn't you?

-Yeah, I could.

-Have you thought about doing photography

in a more professional capacity?

-That was the intention when I did the course.

-And you know what?

By doing photography, by selling the stuff,

by getting a grip on things...

Yeah, I might get more excited about seeing the money roll in

rather than roll out.

Exactly. And what will it do for your confidence?

Lots, actually.

-Lecture over.

-Thanks!

-Let's have a cup of tea.

It was really good to see her so passionate about the photography.

I think that is an area now that she will really take seriously

and, of course, she has deleted the shopping apps,

so she's definitely moving in the right direction.

With Alex taking care of Kerry's one-clicks, it's my turn to help

the family maximise every penny they put by for that holiday to Florida.

So I've decided to call a money meeting with the saver

in the family, 11-year-old Sophie.

Now, when me and Alex first came into the house,

the one thing that stood out more than anything is

Sophie is the sensible one when it comes to money.

-Have we got that right?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

So when we were looking round the house,

we did find your little plastic box.

I'm dead sorry, we opened it!

Because we're nosy!

Do you want to show us what's in it?

Inside is not much. It's £40.

That's a good start. £40 is still a lot of money.

So do you like saving money, then?

Yeah, I do like saving money because I like counting the money

and then I put it all in the pot and I'm all proud of myself.

'But I've got an idea which I think will make Sophie even prouder -

'by making money on her money.'

What I want to talk to you about is savings accounts in banks.

So do you know what they are?

-I've heard of them.

-Yeah, Dad?

-We've got some, but they ain't got a lot in.

-Yeah.

Right, so, when you put money into a savings account in the bank,

you're essentially giving the bank a loan.

So you're saying to them,

"I'm going to give you this money to do what you like with,

"but I want my money back one day and I want a bit extra as payment."

And that extra payment they're giving you is called interest.

-Right.

-So what you want to do is,

you want to look for a bank account that has a good interest rate.

'The best rate we could find on children's savings was around 4%,

'so I'm going to use that as my example.'

So let's say if you put a pound into the savings account for a year,

at the end of the year, they will give you that pound back

plus an extra 4p. That is the interest.

'The most the family have ever saved in their Florida fund box is £340.'

So let us imagine you still have that £340.

So, here we go.

It's loads, isn't it?

'But in a bank earning 4%, it could have been even more.'

'And my little piggy's going to show Sophie just how much.'

So how much is there?

-£13.60.

-Is that more or less than you imagined?

A lot more than I imagined.

So we're definitely going to sort you out with a bank account, then?

-Yeah.

-Hurrah! You're dead proud of her, aren't you?

I am, I am dead proud of her, yeah.

What's so great about this family is that they have Sophie.

She is a little legend, isn't she?

And I think by being able to help her with her savings

so she can see she can earn money from it

and it's kind of locked away

is really great for all the family because it's a real step for them

to get that dream holiday.

-So, are you excited for movie night?

-Yeah!

'Throughout our money-saving experiment,

'the Murphys have been trying out a whole host of swaps.'

-We haven't watched this one yet, have we?

-No.

-No!

Shall I put it in the DVD?

'Usually, they buy a new-release DVD every week

'for their Friday film night, costing them £44 a month.

'But we found a rental package that's just £11.99 a month,

'a saving of nearly £400 a year,

'plus they can hire two at a time as many times as they like.'

I really like the idea, actually.

Just a better, better way of doing movie night.

We've not just tackled the family's big spends, though.

To save money...

What do you think, Esmae? Do you like them?

Yes.

..we've swapped their day-to-day products too.

If this is not a branded one, it would leave...

It dries and leaves, like, a smear.

Because little changes can mount up to massive savings.

The Murphys usually buy a leading brand,

but at 90p, this supermarket own brand is £1.60 cheaper.

No smear.

A saving of over £75 a year.

I reckon that's the same stuff.

They've just disguised it in a bottle.

And Jason thought we'd done the same with his big-brand body wash.

Smells the same.

Feels the same, so I think it's the same one.

But it's a budget supermarket own brand,

over 50% cheaper, at 65p a bottle.

Shaving foam.

Now, I'm definitely going to know if this is a non-branded one.

Are you sure?

Looks the same, feels the same, froths up the same.

Except it's not the same.

Again, from a budget supermarket,

it costs £2.30 less than his usual big-brand foam,

and would save over £50 a year.

I definitely think this is 100% mine.

So, Jason's on board with our big-brand swaps,

but how are the girls getting on?

All the ingredients is ready for our smoothie.

We've swapped the Murphys' market-leader blender

for a cheaper brand.

To me, that's took ages.

Theirs cost 80 quid. Our alternative was less than £35.

Ooh!

Can't have a random raspberry in my smoothie. I could choke!

After a second blast, has it done the job?

It's nice.

So is it a swap?

Is it as good as my old product? Verdict after three?

-One, two, three.

-No.

So... Yeah!

I think yeah.

The other one is expensive.

Too right, Gracie.

Kerry needs to spend less on kitchen gadgets.

'So I've decided to take her back to basics...'

Right, here we are, then. It's like an outdoor bakery, isn't it?

'..with bread knives.'

Do you often cut fresh bread or are you more of a sliced family?

We have both, if I'm honest. We'll buy the sliced for quickness,

but the kids love crusty bread.

What would you look for in your dream bread knife?

Oh, it needs to be light.

And cut super nice and quick.

How much would you expect to pay for a bread knife?

About £14.99.

Very specific, I didn't expect that.

'According to experts,

'an excellent bread knife is a must for all households,

'but does the price affect the slice?'

Grab your weapon.

'We're testing five to find out.'

'First up is the mid-priced knife on the table.'

Oh, it's heavy, but I like it.

'Each knife gets two chances to impress.

'Round one, to cut the loaf in half.'

Oh, very good.

That was nice and quick, wasn't it?

'Round two - cut a slice.'

-That's a nice one.

-That looks good, doesn't it?

-That was all right, that was, yeah.

-All right.

'Will the next knife do as well?

'It's got a curved edge for a cleaner cut

'and is the second most expensive.'

-Much lighter than the first one?

-A lot lighter, yeah.

'As well as the feel of the knife, Kerry's also judging

'how easily they glide through the loaf.'

-Not as good?

-I had to pull the knife a lot harder and grip the bread.

Go for a slice, then.

-Can't do the last bit.

-Yeah, you've got like a negative aura now about this knife.

No, not a good knife.

'Will this knife slice any better?'

-Difficult, that was.

-And you were really gripping it.

-Yeah.

And if I was going to eat a sandwich prepared by you,

I'd rather less of a grip on the bread.

-How was that?

-Look at this.

You've got jaggedy bits. I'm not impressed with that.

'The next knife is award-winning.

'And it's the priciest in our test.'

The look of it is a bit cheaper-looking.

-Oh, no.

-Look at the pull.

-Try a slice.

How was that?

That second slice has ranked it slightly higher, to be honest.

That's in second place and that one top so far.

'But will our final offering, and second-cheapest,

'change Kerry's mind?'

This one looks like a beast.

Looks like a shark.

Oh... It was good, wasn't it?

That glided. Give us a slice.

I like that one. It's up there with my other favourite one.

Are you going this one or are you going this one as the top spot?

This one, because it's lighter.

And on looks as well? Happy with it?

No, I prefer the look of that one, but because that one is lighter,

-this is the knife for me.

-Excellent.

So, for Kerry,

the knife a cut above the rest is

the second-cheapest in our test.

And in third place,

the one she thought looked cheap

was the most expensive.

So, the knife you placed in middle position, £44!

-No! I wouldn't pay that.

-I mean, you like spending money,

but you'd draw the line, wouldn't you?

Yeah, because it did lines in the bread.

-Leaving us with a clear winner.

-Yeah.

Now, this one at the end is from IKEA. £9.50.

So the second-cheapest.

Now, the ones in your drawer are more expensive than that.

-Yeah, they are, yeah.

-So, going forward, when they are blunt

and you can no longer sharpen them...

Go and get a cheaper one.

'She's got it!'

Up until this week, the Murphys have been spend, spend, spend.

I never knew we had them, Chris.

But today, it's sell, sell, sell, as they say goodbye

to their abandoned buys.

-£2, yeah? The books are a pound.

-Never been used, that one.

50 pence, mate. Here you go.

Just on a few items, the Murphys have made over 40 quid.

That's straight into the holiday pot.

And doing this a couple of times a year

could definitely help fuel the Florida fund.

And it's a massive change in mind-set, especially for Mum.

My mum's done well, because she wouldn't usually do it,

-so it's very cool.

-We've sold lots of things, haven't we?

In fact, Kerry's done so well that, come the end of the week,

that 200 quid is still intact.

Really proud that you've managed to not spend any £50 notes.

And I am. I'm really proud.

I'm quite enjoying the fact that they're still there

and we're managing to save.

What a U-turn!

-ALL:

-Hurrah!

Now the time's come for us to head back to Walsall

to find out which swaps have got the family's thumbs-up

to get money in the bank for that holiday to Florida.

I'm really excited to go back and see the Murphys

because I think they're ready to make

-some pretty big, substantial changes.

-Hm, yeah.

Changes that hopefully will give the postie an easier life,

because, God, he's doing deliveries there every day!

And all of this hopefully means they'll get that dream holiday

that the family all want and they'll be able to just

-sort out their finances once and for all.

-Yeah.

I'm looking forward to seeing what money we can save, if we do,

if there is some good swaps in there.

Well, all is about to be revealed.

How did you find the whole experience, then?

It's been really good, we've loved it, every minute of it.

Well, it's time to spill the beans.

'Starting with the couple's kitchen gadgets.'

So, we swapped the blender you had with another one.

What did you think of it?

Well, it left a whole raspberry.

Not a whole raspberry!

Oh!

So, do you think it's a product

-which is more expensive, cheaper or the same?

-Cheaper.

'Well, Kerry's right, it was cheaper, costing just short of £35.'

Which, compared to your pricey blender,

is a difference of £45.01p. Can we get over raspberrygate for £45?

Yeah, definitely, yeah.

'Brilliant - and the kitchen savings don't end there.

'We de-purpled their utensils

'with a set from a high-street catalogue shop.'

So this utensil set is £40 cheaper than yours.

An extra 40 quid for purple handles? Oh, my God.

'And an extra £21.99 for their branded purple toaster.'

And it fitted your toast in, which I was impressed about, as well.

I've seen you cut, though, fresh bread.

She likes a wedge, let's just say!

Right, muscles ready.

'And there's a decent wedge to be saved on the Murphys'

'microwave/oven/grill, too.'

What do you actually use a microwave for?

Um, soup and beans.

-So, you paid 140 quid for your microwave, didn't you?

-Yeah.

A microwave that has functions you don't need!

It does have functions we don't need.

How much do you think this one was?

Um... I'd say 70.

It was 50 quid...

..saving you...

-90.

-£90.

That's loads of money. So, would you now consider buying

other appliances that are not branded?

-Yeah, we would.

-Yeah, definitely.

There you are. A move in the right direction!

'But cooking gadgets weren't Kerry's only one-click weakness.

'What about those colouring books?'

22, we counted.

But most of them were empty, so we swapped them for an art pad.

Now, this is actually £5.95 more expensive than a colouring book.

-Yeah.

-However, you could buy three of these a year and you'd be done.

-Yeah.

-As opposed to all those colouring books,

and that would be a saving of £119.

-Wow.

-So, no more colouring book obsession.

-No.

-OK.

'It wasn't just colouring books

'cluttering up the Murphys' shelves, though.

'The family were spending £44 on new-release DVDs every month.'

So, we joined you up to a subscription, so, how was that?

-It was really good.

-The saving would be £32.01 a month.

-A month?

-Wow.

-A swap?

-Yeah.

-Definitely a swap.

-Great.

'Now, will Jason and Kerry think more wisely

'next time they buy furniture?'

I don't know how you all fit on this.

'Because we replaced the Murphys' split-corner sofa

'for separate three- and two-seater sofas, almost 75% cheaper.'

I reckon this is probably the same price as ours.

You paid over £1,800 for your sofa.

And the ones we swapped it for was £469.

-No way!

-It's a saving of £1,380.

I mean, what's that, in terms of your dream holiday?

-It's a massive amount towards it, yeah.

-Wow.

'And what's the saving on those day-to-day items

'brand-lover Jason thought we hadn't swapped?'

I actually thought it was the same one that I normally have.

-You did, yes.

-Oh, my gosh. Swapping that one.

'Jason thought it was his usual shower gel, too.'

-Oh, no!

-Ah!

-And the difference in price, 75p a bottle.

-75p.

That is a saving of £78 a year.

-£78.

-On shower gel.

-Just on shower gel.

'Add that to the shaving foam,

'that's an annual saving of over £130.'

'And the supermarket own-brand surface cleaner would save

'another 77 quid a year, too.'

-No way!

-Is it their own?

And it's a saving of £1.60 a bottle.

-We'd definitely swap that.

-Definitely swap that one.

'Apart from a handful of items...'

-Proper hideous.

-All right.

'..the Murphys agreed to 90% of the swaps we gave them.'

Per packet, you would save £2.89.

If you also used one recycling bag every week

instead of changing it every day,

the saving on an annual basis is about £100.

-Just on bin bags!

-So, a swap?

-Yeah, definitely swap the bag.

-Definitely.

'But has Kerry stuck to her promise

'and stopped her compulsive click, click, click shopping?'

Well, we're not suggesting that you use one of these going forward,

but we did take the shopping apps off your smartphone.

-Are they still off?

-Yes, they are still off.

So, is the postman all upset, cos he doesn't come here any more?

He's been made redundant!

But have you realised that you don't need to be

-online shopping all the time?

-Yeah, definitely.

'So, no more one-click shopping.

'But how did she get on with the £200 in cash we gave her?'

So, the big question is, did you spend it?

-No.

-And how did you feel?

-It feels good now.

-But, going forward,

what if we agreed you would spend £100 per month, instead of £200?

-We've come to even more of a compromise, haven't we?

-Hey!

-Go on.

-Because I'd said, could I just have £45 out of that,

-every two months.

-That's amazing.

The change since we first met you is huge.

-It is.

-It genuinely is. Massive.

So, shall we talk totals, then?

'Because, going forward, if they stick with the ideas

'on all the swaps they've liked, we've worked out how much

'they could save a year for their Florida fund.'

Taking on board all of the things we've talked about

with you as a family...

..and the swaps we've done...

..would save you £6,000.

-No, no!

-No!

-That's like three-quarters of the holiday.

-Yes, it is, yeah.

Big pat on the back for the pair of you,

you've done excellently as a family.

I feel quite emotional.

-£6,000.

-Gosh.

It's incredible, it's proper incredible, isn't it?

When it comes to the end of every month, you know,

I'd probably have money left in the bank, won't we?

That would be a first. If we've got salary,

our own salaries left at the end of a month,

that would be the first time ever.

-What a result! I am buzzing about that.

-It's brilliant, isn't it?

And as a family they've changed beyond all recognition.

Come on, on to the next one.