Chris Bavin and Jordan Banjo help families across the UK save money and eat well for less. How will they help the Smith family reduce their food spending on this week’s episode?
The Smith family are one of the nation’s biggest spenders, according to the BBC One show.
Beautician Katy lives with her two grandchildren: Ruby and Toby.
Toby hates vegetables and “dinner always goes to the bin”.
“So every dinner meal is quite stressful,” admitted Katy. Ruby, on the other hand, doesn’t eat any fruit “except for apples”.
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The family also share a bad habit: snacking, and Katy admitted she “always, always” gets takeaway coffee.
“I probably spend a bit too much on food as a lot goes to the bin,” she said.
Chris and Jordan inspected the family’s kitchen cupboards and fridge and discovered “two packs of carrots and one pack of carrot batons” while the family of three were buying carrots in the supermarket.
“Why would you buy carrot batons if you have normal carrots?” Chris said.
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The pair also found nine packs of pre-made pasta while they were in the supermarket buying some more, and a worrying “ocean of crisps” in the cupboard.
Katy said when she came back from the supermarket: “I’m quite embarrassed, it’s not the healthiest of shops.”
The food shop mainly consisted of snacks, ready meals and all branded food.
“I try to buy the supermarket’s own makes but the children can often tell the difference,” she explained.
“I always find myself eating what I call children’s food,” she said, as it is the only food the children like.
In terms of budget, she said she’d like to stick to £100 a week but “it usually goes above that”.
Chris and Jordan unveiled that her total food spend is £150 a week and they want to reduce it to £70 a week as the national average is £62 a week.
How did they do it? The pair advised Katy to switch to the supermarket’s own food and to stop buying branded products.
Chris and Jordan explained the food tastes the same and the children, who claimed they could tell the difference, agreed.
Ruby and Toby tried the supermarket’s own bread, which was 63p cheaper, and the supermarket’s own butter, 99p cheaper.
They said: “Even if it looks different, I’d swap because it tastes the same.”
Katy managed to save £125 a year by simply swapping to supermarkets’ own brands. She explained she will save the extra money to go on holiday next summer
