Shop Well For Less

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The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

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Shop Well for Less

Factual: Consumer

Entertainment

A host of money-saving tips and tricks to put hard-earned cash back in people's pockets.

A mission to help families change the way they shop - without changing their lifestyle. A host of money-saving tips and tricks to put hard-earned cash back in people's pockets.

Series 4

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Alex Jones

Steph McGovern

Fiona Gay

Jo Scarratt-Jones

Alex Hanks

RDF Television West

Shop Well for Less: Series 4: Episode 2

Factual

Factual: Food & Drink

Mountfords

Episode 2

BBC One - Shop Well for Less, Series 4, Episode 2

Alex and Steph head to Selby in Yorkshire to meet the Mountford family.

Alex and Steph meet the Mountford family. In the past Melissa and Jon didn’t 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’t 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’s 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’re spending, Alex and Steph take a sneaky peak around the Mountfords’ home. They find a kitchen full of brands as well as a rather distinct colour theme! Upstairs, Melissa’s 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’s 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’s spending down, their usual big brands are banned and replaced with alternatives disguised in plain packaging, so they have no idea what’s been swapped and what hasn’t. From handbags to coffee machines, even Nieve’s beloved fancy dress outfits weren’t safe! But will the family like Alex and Steph’s changes?

Steph chats to ‘impulse buyer’ 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’s been swapped and what hasn’t. 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?

Shop Well for Less: Series 4

BBC One

BBC One is a TV channel that started broadcasting on the 20th April 1964. It replaced BBC Television.

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Steph McGovern and Alex Jones present the ultimate guide to saving money when shopping.

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