Secret spenders’ tips to beat the price rises

We’re all Secret Spenders some of the time. And if you’re an Amazon addict or a take-away junkie, you may often wonder where your money has gone in the run up to pay day.

Now, with the UK hit by rocketing energy bills, rising food prices rising and escalating inflation, we could all do with a money makeover.

Tonight, Anita Rani is back with a full run of the series which aims to help cash-strapped families battle the cost of living by secretly filming their out-of-control spending habits.

She explains the emotions of spending money and how the programme works.

“You get a rush of excitement when the doorbell rings and something arrives, but it’s stressful when there’s no money left at the end of the month,” she says

“Buying stuff online is the modern way though and the pandemic has only made that worse.

“When you get an Uber or order a Deliveroo there’s no cash involved, so it’s easy to trick yourself into thinking it’s basically free.

“Me and my team are called in by one person in a family who’s slightly concerned about the spending habits of their partner.

“We set-up cameras in the house to secretly film them, follow them around a bit and show them both what we’ve discovered.

“Then my crack team go through everything with them and leave them with a much better understanding of how they could save money. It’s basically what we all need in our lives!”

Anita is joined by financial consultant Peter Komolafe and lifestyle expert Anna Whitehouse as they go through every detail of a family’s lives, from scouring their bank statements and renegotiating Sky subscriptions, to downsizing the gas-guzzling car and looking at piles of never-worn designer clothes stashed in the back of wardrobes.

Twenty-four hours later, the culprits come face-to-face with their excessive spending and discover exactly where their hard-earned money is going and how much they could save.

They then decide whether to make Peter and Anna’s suggested changes, which could be anything from cutting back on excessive takeaways to consolidating credit cards.

In the first episode, the team help two couples struggling to make ends meet.

In London, Rai is desperate to know why they can’t pay their debts, until she discovers that her husband MK is spending a small fortune on designer gear.

Meanwhile, in Milton Keynes, Daryl needs help to confront his spendaholic partner Natalie and stage an intervention to stop her splashing the cash on beauty treatments and eating out.

As well as following these two couples, the show also features VT’s providing topical consumer advice about the best deals available in the market, as well as tips and hacks on practical ways to cut costs.

And if you can’t get enough of all that advice, all episodes of this new series are available on All4 after tonight’s show has broadcast.