ADINA CAMPBELL:No one likes to just throw away money,
ADINA CAMPBELL:and when we don't have much cash in the first place it's even more important to make the most of the money we do have. Well that's the theory but do we actually do it in practice? And how good are you at shopping around for the best bargains?
DEV:I’ll go round, like, a supermarket for ages,
DEV:adjusting my list, things I really need and don't need. Two for one offers, that kind of thing. I think I have made myself into a bargain hunter.
TREVOR NELSON:I used to love bargain hunting in New York,
TREVOR NELSON:but when I do it in London, it's like… it just looks weird. "Aren't you Trevor Nelson, why are you looking for a bargain?"
SARAH-JANE CRAWFORD:You know, it's a cliché and people say it,
SARAH-JANE CRAWFORD:but look after the pennies and the pounds look after themselves, and I think it's important that when money does come in, that you still remain quite frugal in certain ways, and, you know, that you are careful because then you see the money that you do make really start to make a difference.
ADINA CAMPBELL:'Meet Jack and Leanne. They're both students in Stirling, living in university halls, which means it's up to them to get all their own grocery shopping. And that isn't easy on a tight budget. This is a typical load of shopping for them. And I reckon they could save some money here.'
ADINA CAMPBELL:Would you say that you're quite taken in by brands
ADINA CAMPBELL:or would you opt for the cheaper version?
LEANNE:I'd probably say I'm quite taken in by brands.
ADINA CAMPBELL:Would you actually shop around to find the cheapest price or…
LEANNE:No.
ADINA CAMPBELL:You just walk into a shop…
LEANNE:Yeah, I just do that.
ADINA CAMPBELL:…and buy it?
LEANNE:It's a lot easier. If you're driving as well, saves petrol, so.
ADINA CAMPBELL:So it's all about convenience for you?
LEANNE:Yeah, definitely.
ADINA CAMPBELL:Jack would you say you're the same?
JACK:No I usually try and shop around to be honest, see what's cheapest.
ADINA CAMPBELL:'Shopping around for cheap prices is one way to save money, but maybe the most important way, is to compare something called the unit price.'
ADINA CAMPBELL:'The unit price is the cost of a fixed amount of something.'
ADINA CAMPBELL:'In the supermarket, every kind of product has its own unit price.'
ADINA CAMPBELL:'It might be based on one orange, 100g of pasta,'
ADINA CAMPBELL:'or 100ml of water.'
ADINA CAMPBELL:'It appears at the bottom of price tags on the shelves, and by comparing the unit prices, you can quickly decide which product is the best value for money.'
ADINA CAMPBELL:'So did Jack and Leanne ever look at the unit price?'
JACK:I find it usually helps in finding the cheapest option, so.
ADINA CAMPBELL:And what about you Leanne?
LEANNE:Yeah I don't really take that into consideration when I'm shopping. If I like something, I normally buy it. I think there is probably more money that I can save.
ADINA CAMPBELL:'If Leanne shopped a bit more like Jack, she could reduce her £40 a week food bill. So we're taking her to a supermarket to try and save some money, by tracking down the cheapest unit prices. Two ways to do that, might be buying in bulk and changing brands. First up, it's the healthy stuff, the broccoli.'
ADINA CAMPBELL:This one here is £2.99 per kilo, but this one's £2.20, so I think I'm going to go for this one. 'Prepacked broccoli costs £2.99 here,'
ADINA CAMPBELL:'but buy it loose and it's only £2.20. A quick look at the unit price has already got Leanne the best bargain.'
LEANNE:I'm going to go for this.
ADINA CAMPBELL:Is that a bit cheaper?
LEANNE:Yeah.
JACK:Just need to work out if it's cheaper to buy a bigger…
ADINA CAMPBELL:So maybe go for a two or four pint, as opposed to a one pint.
LEANNE:Yeah, if I got this I could share it with flatmates, so it works out cheaper.
ADINA CAMPBELL:So you're making more of a saving by getting two pints.
LEANNE:That one. Those ones are cheaper, shove them in the trolley.
ADINA CAMPBELL:'They bought six eggs before, but now they're buying ten.' You've actually gone for a ten-pack?
LEANNE:Yeah, it was better value.
ADINA CAMPBELL:'So buying in bulk has reduced their unit price from 25p to 19p per egg.'
ADINA CAMPBELL:'Only buy in bulk if you'll use it all, and be careful of offers like buy-one-get-one-free,'
ADINA CAMPBELL:'known as a BOGOF. The price is sometimes put up just before the offer begins,'
ADINA CAMPBELL:'so it's not always the best value. If the unit price is too high, say bog off to that BOGOF.'
JACK:That's…
LEANNE:48.8.
JACK:Yeah. How much is the one on the end there?
LEANNE:Only 24.
ADINA CAMPBELL:'Now Leanne's looking for mayonnaise.'
JACK:You gonna go for that?
LEANNE:I think I will.
ADINA CAMPBELL:'She's going for a supermarket own-brand, not a household name,'
ADINA CAMPBELL:'which halves the unit price from 48p to 24p.'
ADINA CAMPBELL:You going to be brave Leanne? Try something different? 'Leanne's bought five items that originally cost £8.89, 'but has she made a saving?' Leanne all of this cost you £8.02 and before you spent just under £9. So you've made a little bit of a saving, but bearing in mind you've got more milk,
ADINA CAMPBELL:you've got four more eggs, and you have more cheese. How do you feel about how much you've saved today?
LEANNE:I know it's good, it's a good lesson to know that I can actually save on my shopping every week.
JACK:There's always something cheaper. Always look at the unit prices as well.
ADINA CAMPBELL:'If Leanne had bought the same amount as her original shopping,'
ADINA CAMPBELL:'based on the unit price, she would have saved £2.22.'
ADINA CAMPBELL:'Scaled up, that could cut her costs by £10 a week.'
ADINA CAMPBELL:'So to save the most when you shop, forget about brands, ignore the offers, and stick to the best unit price.'
MARTIN LEWIS:If you let them sell to you all the time, without being questioning, without being demanding, you will get ripped off.
MARTIN LEWIS:Not necessarily scammed, but you'll end up paying too much for things and buying things you don't need. Remember their job is to make money from you, that's why they advertise. Your job is to try and get the maximum value out of the money in your pocket.
Radio 1 Newsbeat journalist Adina Campbell investigates how to make the most of your spending money.
She visits the supermarket with students Leanne and Jack and together they try to buy the best bargains by considering unit price, bulk buying, and choices related to brands, own label and ‘value’ products.
Practical suggestions are offered on how to compare costs and decide what they can afford to buy.
Advice is offered from Martin Lewis on how to make best use of your money.
This clip is from the series Made of Money.
Teacher Notes
Pupils could use the example shown to prepare their own shopping list and plan their own spending.
Discuss how shops price their goods, and encourage pupils to work out the unit cost of products to enable easy comparisons.
Use percentages and fractions to compare deals and different quantities of products.
Students can use the internet to shop around for best value.
A similar approach could be taken with young people looking at best buys for mobile phones, gas and electricity prices, laptops and tablets.
Students could ‘taste tasting’ branded products versus own brand versions of bread, spreads, soft drinks etc.
Combine this with a look at nutritional information and discuss what difference, if any, there is in the quality or healthiness of different ranges.
Discussion can also take place around the power of advertising, including the promotion of supermarket special offers.
One of the contexts in which this clip can be used is as setting the scene for class investigations as part of money week.
In particular young people are being encouraged to take more responsibility for themselves and to consider other people in their financial decisions and this could be the focus of the money week.
Curriculum Notes
Suitable for teaching Maths at KS3 and GCSE in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and National 4 and 5 in Scotland.
