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Episode 2

Shop Well for Less Series 4
Episode 2 of 5

Alex and Steph meet the Mountford family. In the past Melissa and Jon didn鈥檛 have to worry about their spending, but a change in circumstances means they need to tighten the purse strings.

Alex and Steph head to Selby in Yorkshire to meet the Mountford family. Electrical purchasing manager Jon and travel consultant Melissa are proud parents to Elliott, 13, and nine-year-old Nieve. In the past Melissa and Jon didn鈥檛 have to worry about what they were spending, but a change in circumstances means they need to tighten the purse strings and learn to shop savvier.

Nine-year-old Nieve has global development delay, and to give her the best possible support, they enrolled her into a new school. To make it all work, Melissa has given up her full-time job to work from home and has now set up her own travel business. But, with the business in its infancy, the Mountfords are now solely relying on Jon鈥檚 income. If they want to survive off a single salary, they need to rein in their spending - and fast.

To get to the bottom of just how much they鈥檙e spending, Alex and Steph take a sneaky peak around the Mountfords鈥� home. They find a kitchen full of brands as well as a rather distinct colour theme! Upstairs, Melissa鈥檚 wardrobe reveals an impressive collection of dresses, and it becomes clear that Jon is a brand man when it comes to his clothes.

To shock the family into making some big changes, Steph and Alex build a surprise pop-up shop in the family鈥檚 house with some of their biggest spends, but how will they react when they know the true cost of their big brand spending?

To get the family鈥檚 spending down, their usual big brands are banned and replaced with alternatives disguised in plain packaging, so they have no idea what鈥檚 been swapped and what hasn鈥檛. From handbags to coffee machines, even Nieve鈥檚 beloved fancy dress outfits weren鈥檛 safe! But will the family like Alex and Steph鈥檚 changes?

Steph chats to 鈥榠mpulse buyer鈥� Melissa, and gives her some top tips to try and reduce the number of adverts that come up on her social media.
Alex challenges Jon to ditch his branded clothes in favour of non-branded versions for a night out, but can Alex convince him to lose the label?

The Great British public get their say too. Steph and Alex hit the high street with four pairs of glasses to see whether, as a nation, we can spot a pricey frame from a cheaper one, just from the look and feel. And a group of street dancers put five different hairsprays to the test to see which takes their top spot.

At the end of the experiment there are plenty of surprises when the family find out what鈥檚 been swapped and what hasn鈥檛. Have Alex and Steph done enough to convince the whole family to change their ways and embrace enough of the new products to save them money in the future?

58 minutes

Last on

Wed 16 Oct 2019 08:00
麻豆社 Two

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Clip

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:04

    Will Joseph Cook

    Plastic

  • 00:04

    Years & Years

    All For You

  • 00:34

    The Pogues

    Fiesta

  • 00:36

    Fickle Friends

    Glue

  • 00:37

    Olly Murs

    Better Without You

  • 00:38

    Bad Sounds

    Couldn't Give It Away

Credits

Presenter Alex Jones
Presenter Steph McGovern
Series Editor Fiona Gay
Executive Producer Jo Scarratt-Jones
Director Alex Hanks
Production Company RDF Television West

Broadcasts