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Episode 4

Episode 4 of 6

Alex Jones and Steph McGovern are on a mission to help families change the way they shop. A drop in income and a reliance on credit means a Surrey family need their help.

Steph McGovern and Alex Jones are in Surrey with John and Flo and their three children, six-year-old Jake, five-year-old Tia and four-year-old Ava. A drop in income coupled with a reliance on credit means the family need help to get back in the black.

A year ago, part-time teacher Flo decided to take some time out to look after the children. But less income hasn't led to a change in lifestyle, and her love of socialising means she regularly goes into her overdraft. Flo also has a penchant for catalogue shopping, and her high street store card is regularly put to use.

Flo is not the only big spender in the house - petrolhead John's love of sports cars is a very expensive hobby, renting a second garage and buying countless spare parts all adds up. It's time for John and Flo to take control and get their finances back on track.

Alex and Steph resort to shock tactics and raid the family home to fill their very own pop-up shop. They hope that by confronting them with all their possessions they will be shocked into seeing the error of their ways.

The sooner the family start reining in their spending the better, so Alex and Steph debrand their home, replacing many of their favourite products with cheaper alternatives. To really put them to the test some products haven't been swapped at all, but will the family recognise what items have been switched and what ones haven't?

Steph travels to Malle in Belgium, the home of the world's first green factory to find out if it's worth spending more to clean green. A group of happy campers put five different tents to the test to see whether it's worth spending more on your canopy. And Professor Avi Shankar reveals just how early children can be influenced by advertising.

The experiment is over, but have the Bance family seen the error of their spending ways and will they embrace the changes to get back in the black?

58 minutes

Music Played

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

  • 00:02

    Gabrielle Aplin

    Sweet Nothing

  • 00:04

    John Newman

    Come And Get It

  • 00:17

    Fleur East

    Breakfast

  • 00:19

    James Morrison

    I Need You Tonight

  • 00:21

    Fickle Friends

    Swim

  • 00:32

    Josh Osho

    Freewheel

  • 00:51

    Gregory Porter

    Liquid Spirit

  • 00:52

    The Veronicas

    If You Love Someone

  • 00:52

    Eliza Doolittle

    Walking On Water

  • 00:54

    Alle Farben

    She Moves (feat. Graham Candy)

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Alex Jones
Presenter Steph McGovern
Expert Avi Shankar
Production Company RDF Television West

Broadcasts