Episode 1

The One Show's Alex Jones and business journalist Steph McGovern are on a mission to help families change the way they shop without changing their lifestyle.

In this episode, Steph and Alex are with the Allen family in South Yorkshire. Beauty therapist Naomi and project manager Richard have two sons and a daughter, and they love to shop, splashing their cash on their appearance, big brand names and buying on a whim. However, they need to reprioritise their spending to fix a DIY disaster in their bathroom.

Steph and Alex head to the shopping mall and watch the family as they shop to see where they are going wrong, witnessing impulse buying on a credit card. When Steph and Alex confront them, they are shocked by what they have actually spent.

It's time for a change, so for a week all of their branded products have the labels removed and are replaced with substitutes to open their eyes to alternatives, from clothes to cleaning products to Naomi's beloved beauty products. Will they notice the difference and like Steph and Alex's changes?

Naomi spends a lot on her shampoo, a range of them are put to the test to see if it's worth paying more. Steph goes to the factory of wax jacket makers Barbour to investigate how they are made and whether they are worth their large price tag, and some ramblers test waterproof jackets.

Consumer expert professor Avi Shankar gives advice on how to become a smarter shopper by looking at techniques used by retailers and marketing jargon.

When the experiment is over, have the Allens embraced the new products and broadened their shopping horizons to save money?