INTERVIEWER: How much is your weekly grocery shop?

MONICA: About 120 pounds.

INTERVIEWER: How much for a bottle of shampoo?

GAENA: Two pounds and nine pence.

INTERVIEWER: Do you take a packed lunch, Jay?

JAY: Yes.

GARY: I'll probably go to the puband spend 20, 40 quid on beer and not think about it.

MARTHA ANNE: Fingers, 20 pounds every two or three weeks.

INTERVIEWER: Would you do 200 pounds on a meal?

NEV: Yes.[MUSIC - BARRETT STRONG, "MONEY (THAT'S WHAT I WANT)"]

INTERVIEWER: 40,000 pounds is an average incomefor a British family today.It's the typical take-home pay for a householdwhere two adults are working.There are people who feel flush living on this amount of money.But for others, it's a daily struggle.

INTERVIEWER [continued]: So what do the choices we make about money tell usabout ourselves?All the families and households in this filmlive on the same net income, but their circumstancesand their priorities are all different.

MAN: [WHISPERING] Money.

INTERVIEWER: Is 40,000 enough for you?

JAY: No.

INTERVIEWER: And how do you feel on 40,000?

ANDY: I'd like to earn more.

GERARD: It's entirely comfortable.

JAY: Oh, quite stable.

KATE: Stable.That's a good word.

JAY: I know.

KATE: Yeah.Yeah, stable, comfortable.

INTERVIEWER: Is that enough for you, that income?

MARTHA ANNE: No.[MUSIC PLAYING]

NEV: I left school at 16, and not a moment too soon.I've been a train driver for 17 years,and I've been at Eurostar for 10 years.

INTERVIEWER: How did you become a train driver?What do you have to be able to do to become a train driver?

NEV: Drink lots of tea and whinge.Tell red and green from one another is a good thing.I think it's the best possible job that I could have,bearing in mind, I don't think I'm awfullygood at too many things.

INTERVIEWER: When you decided to be a train driver,was the money a factor at all?

NEV: No.I really felt that one should havea job that you like doing because itcuts into your day a bit.

INTERVIEWER: Nev and his wife Deeana live in Ashford in Kent.Deeana is a newly qualified teacher,and Nev earns twice what she does.It's Nev who takes primary responsibilityfor organizing the finances for the two of them.

NEV: There's two ways of doing finances, I think.There's the proactive approach and there'sthe reactive approach.I believe that there's not many things in lifethat are actually surprises.So I try and allow a sum of money for replacing stuffor for how much things are going to cost.

INTERVIEWER: Nev has devised his own elaborate and veryparticular accounting system.Your money comes into your account or a joint account?

NEV: No.My money comes into my account.

INTERVIEWER: And then what happens to it?

NEV: I like to then move that money into my virtual potsystem.

INTERVIEWER: And what do you have pots for?

DEEANA: All sorts.

NEV: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: Go on tell me what--

DEEANA: Food, entertainment, holidays, stationary.

NEV: Miscellaneous.

DEEANA: Miscellaneous, car maintenance,petrol We had a DIY pot when we were decorating the bedroom.

NEV: White good replacement pot.

DEEANA: White good replacement pot.

NEV: Saving up for the new central heating system.

DEEANA: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: How do you know what everythingis going to cost, Nev?Do you research what everything's going to cost?

DEEANA: Oh, he's the master researcher at anything, really.

INTERVIEWER: Are you looking for the cheapest dishwashertablets?Or are you looking for your favorite quality dishwashertablets on special offer?

NEV: I'd rather buy something that I knew worked.And there's organizations available to helpin your decision making process.

INTERVIEWER: So do you research your washing powderor your washing liquid?

NEV: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: Kitchen towel?

DEEANA: Yep.

INTERVIEWER: Toilet rolls?

DEEANA: Toilet rolls.

INTERVIEWER: Do you research which is the best toilet rollor do you just go on experience?

NEV: [CHUCKLES] No, again, the organizationthat I use and go on their website,it's got its recommendations.

INTERVIEWER: But you like to know from an objective sourcethat there's a guarantee of quality,and that you're getting your money's worth,and then you buy when it's on offer.

NEV: I feel it's important to aim for that.

MAN: [WHISPERING] Money.[MUSIC PLAYING]

INTERVIEWER: How did you two meetand how long have you been together?

JANICE: We came from the same village in the Philippines.We grew up together.

KENNETH: Yeah, grew up together.

JANICE: Same town.[LAUGHS]

INTERVIEWER: And how long have you been a couple?

JANICE: We got married in 2006.

KENNETH: So we've been married for more than four years now.[BABY CRYING]

INTERVIEWER: After three years of marriage,Janice and Kenneth had their first child, Keenan.When he was still a tiny baby, Janice unexpectedlyfound herself pregnant for a second time.

JANICE: So I got pregnant when he waslike three and a half months.And then when I had my scan, they said, it's triplets.And I was really shocked.And the first thing that came out of my mouthis we need to change the car.[LAUGHS] I was thinking about the impact on the finances,because all of this needs to happen.

JANICE [continued]: [BABY CRYING]

INTERVIEWER: So these are naturallyconceived triplets, three identical girls.How unusual is that?

JANICE: 1 in 200 million.

INTERVIEWER: Janice was working as a physiotherapistin the Philippines when she was recruited by the NHSto come and work in a hospital in Harlow.Kenneth came to Britain to join her,leaving behind his job as a qualified architect.So when you came here, just tell me what happened.

KENNETH: I tried to look for some jobs,but they said I need to have an experience,and I need to be qualified here.So I need to study about two and a half yearsto be qualified here.And then I look for some job that Ican do to earn money here.And then I found it in a DHL.

INTERVIEWER: So you're working in a DHL warehouse.

KENNETH: Yeah, in a DHL warehouse.It's a manual job.Not really hard, but it's a manual job.If you compare it to what you are doing before,it's really different.

INTERVIEWER: Janice and Kenneth have been bringinghome 40,000 between them.But this is only possible if Kenneth works very long hours.

KENNETH: Yeah, before, when we didn't have Keenan,I'm doing seven days a week, so about 10, 12 hours a day.

INTERVIEWER: And have you thought about doing the yearand a half's training to become an architect here?

KENNETH: Yeah, I'm thinking of that,but there's always been a conflict of havinga situation like this.Because at first, I tried to work first for about a year,then I'm planning to study.And then Keenan came out, so my plan was postponed again.

KENNETH [continued]: And we adjusted again.And then after that, Janice got pregnant,and it was a shock it was triplets,so there's nothing I can do.So I need to prioritize my family.

INTERVIEWER: Do you feel frustrated about that?

KENNETH: Yeah, earlier.

JANICE: You can see it. [LAUGHS]

KENNETH: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: But you just have to accept it,because you don't have a choice, especiallynow with the triplets.

JANICE: Yes.

KENNETH: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: What can you do?

KENNETH: There's nothing I can do.

JANICE: He's very emotional today.[MUSIC PLAYING]

INTERVIEWER: Andy, how old are you?

ANDY: I'm 49.

INTERVIEWER: Becky, how old are you?

BECKY: 13

INTERVIEWER: And Gaena, how hold are you?

GAENA: 44

INTERVIEWER: And how old is the dog?

GAENA: One, tomorrow.

INTERVIEWER: Can you tell me what your household income is,net, annually?

ANDY: Net?About 40,000.

INTERVIEWER: And that's your income, Andy, because Gaena'snot working, right?

ANDY: That's correct.That's purely my income through my work.

INTERVIEWER: Andy takes home his 40,000 workingas a manager in an IT company, and Gaena is a homemaker.How do you organize your finances?

ANDY: It's quite simple.The money comes into my account.All the direct debits are set up so that it allcomes out of my account.I give Gaena an allowance each month.

INTERVIEWER: How much do you give her?

ANDY: 500 pounds?

GAENA: 500 pounds, yeah, which I do the shopping withand any socializing.

INTERVIEWER: How much do you spend on groceries a week?

GAENA: It probably is around about 100 pounds.

JANICE: Yeah, we've got a weekly budget of about 100 to 150.

MARTHA ANNE: It's 100 pounds.

SARAH: I could easily do 100 pounds, I reckon,with that pace.

GERARD: I probably spend around 60, 70 pounds a weekon groceries.

INTERVIEWER: Do you like cooking, Gaena?

GAENA: [CHUCKLES] No.

INTERVIEWER: How often do you cook?

ANDY: Two or three times.

GAENA: Per week?I've cooked more than that.I know four times a week, I probably cook.

ANDY: I'll give you four.

GAENA: I cook four times a week.

INTERVIEWER: So what do you guys eat the rest of the time?

ANDY: Fish and chips, [INAUDIBLE], Chinese, Indian,Thai, anything, actually.I was I mean, depends what we feel like.

INTERVIEWER: And is there a financial issuewhen you get at take-out?

GAENA: No.

ANDY: Not really, no.

INTERVIEWER: And is that coming out of Gaena's 500 quid?

ANDY: No.

GAENA: No.

ANDY: No.I buy that.

GAENA: Well, have you got everything?

INTERVIEWER: Gaena went to state school,but Andy had a private education.For both of them, educating Beckyprivately is their top financial priority.

ANDY: I benefited from it.A, being an all-boys school.Becky's is an all-girls school.No distractions.No distractions.I just personally believe that I got a much better education.And I know the class sizes are just bigger than I would like,really.

BECKY: What?21, 22.

ANDY: 21, 22.But even that is less than the state schools,and I value that.I value the fact that the class sizes are smaller,and I'm happy to pay for it.And I'm also happy to pay for the fact that because we pay,they actually have better facilities and betteropportunities.And again, it's worth paying for.

GAENA: There does seem to be a biggerbroadening of the mind within a private school, I think.

INTERVIEWER: Are the school fees your biggest outgoing?

ANDY: Yes,

JANICE: Yes.

INTERVIEWER: Bigger than the mortgage?

ANDY: Oh, yeah, absolutely.It's almost double the mortgage--

GAENA: Yes.

ANDY: --in monthly terms.

GAENA: Yes, well, I liken it to slitting our own threatson purpose, on most occasions.

ANDY: I work it out at basically 750 pounds a month,so it's about 3 and a bit thousand pounds a term.

BECKY: And I'm on scholarship.

ANDY: And you're on a scholarship,so we get a discount for that of 15%.

BECKY: Which is cool.

INTERVIEWER: So how much is that worth, the scholarship?

GAENA: She asks us that, how much is the--

ANDY: I think it's worth about 1,500 pounds, maybe.

INTERVIEWER: A year?

ANDY: A year, yes

INTERVIEWER: Once you've got that scholarship,do you have it throughout your school career?

BECKY: No.That's where the pressure goes on me a little bit, well a lot.

INTERVIEWER: Does it feel like an extra pressure, Becky?

BECKY: A little bit, yeah.But I know how clever I am.Don't let me brag.I will just go on and on.

GAENA: [LAUGHING] If the two of you had more than one child,would private school be an option?

ANDY: No.

GAENA: No.

ANDY: No, it wouldn't Couldn't afford it.

INTERVIEWER: How do you feel on 40,000?

ANDY: I'd like to earn more.

INTERVIEWER: You obviously don't feel it that intensely,or presumably, Gaena would be out at work.

GAENA: Yeah.Yeah, I guess.[MUSIC - GRITZ, "MY LIFE BE LIKE"]

INTERVIEWER: So my first questionis can you tell me how old you both are,how many children you have, and how old your children are?

MONICA: [CHUCKLES] I'm 44.

BRIAN: And I'm 43.My name's Brian.

INTERVIEWER: I didn't ask you your name, Brian.

BRIAN: Oh, didn't you?I forgot my list of questions.

MONICA: We've got two children.

INTERVIEWER: No, we're going to start againbecause Brian suddenly said, "my name's Brian."

BRIAN: Sorry.

INTERVIEWER: OK, so can you tell me how old you both are,how many children you have, and how old they are?

BRIAN: I'm 43.

MONICA: I'm 44.

BRIAN: We've got two children.

MONICA: Alexandra and Matilda.

BRIAN: Alex is eight, and Matilda is three.

INTERVIEWER: How would you describeyour financial situation at the moment?

BRIAN: Tight.

MONICA: Yeah, there's a word, and Ican't think what the word is.Draining.

INTERVIEWER: How much is your weekly grocery shop?

MONICA: About 120 pounds.

INTERVIEWER: And are you scrimpingto bring it in at that price?

MONICA: Yes.I won't even buy a Shoppable pizza.Because I think, well, it's one pound seventy five.I can make four pizza bases at that price.

INTERVIEWER: And do you try and buy organic?

MONICA: I do try to, yes, because Ithink it's better value for money, shockingly.Because you get better flavor, You get more meaton an organic chicken.

INTERVIEWER: Are your vegetables organic?

MONICA: Yes.Yes, carrots and celery, yes.And I have a delivery every week of organic fruit and veg.

INTERVIEWER: Do you care about whether your vegetables areorganic and your meat is free-range?

GAENA: No.

INTERVIEWER: Do you care if it's organic?

DEEANA: Yeah, I do.

INTERVIEWER: You do.You like it to be organic.

NEV: The rules, yeah.

INTERVIEWER: Monica and Brian and their two girlslive in Bournemouth.A couple of years ago, Brian took redundancy from his job.He and Monica, who'd been a full-time mom for five years,decided to set up a small business together,running their own cafe.At what point did you decide that you

INTERVIEWER [continued]: wanted to embark on the venture that was the cafe?What brought that on, Monica?

MONICA: I'd always wanted to work for myself.And my friends laugh at me because there was alwayssome scheme on the go, whether itwas hair scrunchies in the '80s, or knitting, or something.I was always dabbling, I always knewI wanted to work for myself.And all my jobs have been where you've been your own boss.You do your own thing.

MONICA [continued]: But the panic set in and made me really want to do it.And my Dad died suddenly, and I thought, oh, my god, life'sreally short.

INTERVIEWER: So how old were you when that happened?

MONICA: 40 [CHUCKLES]

INTERVIEWER: So it was a mid-life moment, literally.

MONICA: Definitely.I should've just got a sports car then.

INTERVIEWER: And had either of you any experience of catering,the catering industry?

MONICA: Only from having me a foreign student.And I've always done food for parties and food for family.

INTERVIEWER: Although an initial success,the cafe went bust after only eight months.So what did you do wrong?

BRIAN: We--

MONICA: --took on too many staff.

BRIAN: Yeah.We--

MONICA: --trusted people we shouldn't have done.

BRIAN: Yeah.

MONICA: An old drunk said to us, fool was [INAUDIBLE],and he was right.Too nice, too trusting.That's where you went wrong.

ALEXANDRA: 1, 2, 3, [INAUDIBLE]?

INTERVIEWER: Monica and Brian had remortgaged their houseand had plowed Brian's redundancy paymentinto the cafe.When the business failed, they were declared bankrupt.

MONICA: Aww, this keeps happening.That's the second time.

ALEXANDRA: You've got to give me two pounds.There.

INTERVIEWER: And so you personally lost70,000 or 80,000 pounds of your money.

BRIAN: 85,000.

INTERVIEWER: 85,000 pounds.That's a lot of money.

MONICA: Mm.It's everything we'd built up in the houses.

BRIAN: All the equity.

MONICA: By doing houses, up and moving, doing houses, upand moving.Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: Plus your redundancy.So it was all the money you'd ever made.

BRIAN: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: Brian now has a new jobworking for a utility company.His salary, combined with tax credits and moneyfrom taking in lodgers, brings their annual incomeup to 40,000.However, the bankruptcy means they'renot allowed credit cards and can never be overdrawn.Is it limiting what you can do now?

INTERVIEWER [continued]: I mean, is it day-to-day in limiting you,the fact that you can't get any credit?

MONICA: Yeah, it's actually doing me good.It's teaching me to manage my money, as my mom. said.I haven't for years.So if I haven't got the money, I can't do it.And if we want to do something, Ihave to save up and find it from somewhere.

ALEXANDRA: These are your toys.

INTERVIEWER: And did you not have that such a senseof financial management before?

MONICA: No.

INTERVIEWER: Did Brian?Are you both as bad as each other?

MONICA: [CHUCKLES]

INTERVIEWER: Oh, he's worse?

MONICA: Yeah, he's worse.Because we need change to give people to start with.But when we take in all the money,we need to how much we've put in in the first place.Otherwise, we won't know how much we've made, will we?

INTERVIEWER: I'm just wondering if you feel better in yourselfnow that you're financially prudent,or whether you felt better before whenyou could spend freely?

MONICA: Hmm, I feel more-- is the right word pious?For being able to now do that, but Ifeel more stressed and worried.

INTERVIEWER: And it's not fun.

MONICA: No, it's not so fun as slapping a bit of plastic.

INTERVIEWER: So is a good day a daywhen you can come through the door and say,I didn't spend anything?

MONICA: Yes.Yes.[MUSIC - GRITZ, "MY LIFE BE LIKE"]

INTERVIEWER: You own this house.How much is it worth, roughly, do you think?

NEV: Maybe 195,000, something like that.

GERARD: It's a modest house worth about 110,000 pounds.

JAY: 2--

KATE: We paid 300,000.

JAY: Yeah, 3-ish.

KATE: Yeah.

STUART: Well, when we bought it, it cost us 460,000 pounds.

JANICE: We bought it in the market for 165,000.

BECKY: Last time I heard, it was 250,000.

MONICA: About 310,000 pounds.

INTERVIEWER: How much money do you owe on the house?

MONICA: 360,000.

INTERVIEWER: OK, so you're in negative equity.You owe more than it's worth.

BRIAN: Yeah.[MUSIC, THE ADVENTURES OF STEVIE V, "MONEY TALKS (DIRTY CASH)"]

INTERVIEWER: Kate and Jay live on the outskirts of Bristol.They've been together for 11 years.They're not married and have no children.

KATE: We never wanted any.Don't like them very much.[LAUGHS]

INTERVIEWER: Kate is a nurse, specializingin multiple sclerosis.And Jay is an electrician.They both have plenty of disposable cash,and Kate loves to shop.

KATE: Saturday is chores and foodshopping, things like that.And then Sunday is my play day, whichgenerally involves shopping.

INTERVIEWER: So you go into town without Jay?

KATE: Without Jay.We don't shop.We shop for Jay.

JAY: When we have to.

KATE: When we have to.We don't shop for me with Jay.No, it's always been my mom.Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: Would you say you buy something every Sunday?

KATE: Yeah.[CHUCKLES] Yeah, definitely.I've got quite a few scarves.

INTERVIEWER: Oh, you do have quite a few scarves.

KATE: I quite like scarves.

INTERVIEWER: Do you have a lot of scarves?

KATE: Not a lot.15, 20 scarves.

JAY: [INAUDIBLE] scarf shelves.

KATE: No I don't.No.

INTERVIEWER: You can never have too many scarves.

KATE: You can't. [CHUCKLES]

INTERVIEWER: And what about shoes, and boots, and things?How much are you spending on those?

KATE: Oh, we've got lots of shoes and boots.Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: Sandals, yeah?

KATE: That's the pumps drawer.We've got probably about 80 pairs of shoes and boots.Heels drawer.

INTERVIEWER: When you say "we"--

KATE: Me.[LAUGHS] That was the royal we, me.I'm not really sure what's in there.Got night shoes.

INTERVIEWER: And how much money you spend on a pair of bootsor a pair of shoes?

KATE: I'd probably spend, I don't know,probably anything up to sort of 150.And then, I don't know, anything up to about 50on a pair of shoes, probably.

INTERVIEWER: Do you budget for the groceries,and things like that?

KATE: It's about 80 pounds a week.

INTERVIEWER: Where do you shop, Kate?

KATE: Wherever I to money off vouchersis where I tend to shop that week.

INTERVIEWER: So you're a voucher person?

KATE: Well, they send me like 7 pounds off and 5 pounds off.I'm not a 20p off.I'm, yeah.

INTERVIEWER: Let's see what's in your fridge, Kate.

KATE: [CHUCKLES] Food, Vanessa.[LAUGHING]

JAY: That's the vacuum meals.

KATE: OK.Chicken.

JAY: More chicken.

KATE: More chicken.What else have we got?Chili.

INTERVIEWER: Chile con carne and rice.OK.What's this one?OK, is that for one or for two?

KATE: That's for two.

INTERVIEWER: Two for 5 pounds.Oh, so dinner for 5 pounds for the two of you.What's the most you'd spend on a ready meal for two, Kate?

KATE: 10 pounds?

INTERVIEWER: Would that be a special occasion?Friday night, or something?

KATE: Yeah, maybe.Yeah.Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: OK, that's it.Fridge interrogation over.And that your white goods replacement pot ispretty healthy at the moment.

NEV: Yep.

INTERVIEWER: How much is in there?

NEV: I'd say, we've got a 60 pound target each month,and we've got 300 in at the moment.The next targeted white good to be replacedis the dryer, because I need a much more economical dryerto run.

INTERVIEWER: And do you know havemuch that's going to cost you?

NEV: Again, research, guesswork.I mean, these pots--

INTERVIEWER: Have you researched your next dryer, Nev?

NEV: Don't need to.I've got the website to go to.

INTERVIEWER: Oh, so you know which dryer you're going for?And how much is it going to cost?

JAY: I think the one that I was actually after is about 450pound.

INTERVIEWER: Ooh, it's a dentist.How much do you put in the dentist pot a month?

NEV: I usually put in 20 pound a month.

INTERVIEWER: And how did you work this out, Nev?

NEV: Roughly, what I spent in a year or I guess.

INTERVIEWER: When you're trying to do your research,might you say to a dentist, how muchdo you think it's going to cost me in dentistryin the forthcoming year?

NEV: [CHUCKLES] No.I think he might think I was somewhatoff the wall with that.

INTERVIEWER: I was trying to work outwhether there are things that Deeana might want that don'tfit with your system.So what are the things that Deeana wants?What are the things you can't have, Deeana?

DEEANA: Shoes, clothes.

NEV: [CHUCKLES] No, It's not that bad.

INTERVIEWER: What about double-glazing?Do you want that, Deeana?

DEEANA: I do want double-glazing, yes.

INTERVIEWER: Can she have that, Nev?

NEV: No.

INTERVIEWER: Why not?

NEV: I just think that it's a waste of moneyand we'd be better off--

DEEANA: Freezing.

NEV: Getting the maximum value outof these windows, which are glass.They're still there.

INTERVIEWER: Have you got a window maintenance pot?

DEEANA: No.

NEV: No, I don't think there's a use for that.No.

DEEANA: That's what we need.

MAN: [WHISPERING] Money.

KATE: I generally quite like cars.So I try and buy myself a new-ish car every two years,maybe.

JANICE: The car cost us--

KENNETH: It cost us 10,000.

NEV: I did have a brief spell when the BMWM5 was sort of beckoning to me.

GERARD: I've never been particularly into cars.They've never done much for me.

INTERVIEWER: How many cars have you got?

ANDY: Three.

BECKY: Three.

INTERVIEWER: How many drivers are there in the family?

ANDY: Two.

BECKY: Two.

INTERVIEWER: And what's the most you've everspent on a car, Kate?

KATE: About 17,000.

INTERVIEWER: So if you buy a car for 17,000, roughly,what would you get for the one you're trading in?What are you actually spending?

KATE: Probably 7 every time, 5 or 7.

INTERVIEWER: So you're having to find 10,000 pounds every coupleof years to upgrade?

KATE: Yeah, I love my car.Yeah.I love cars, generally.Yeah.[CHUCKLES]

INTERVIEWER: What would an impulse buy for you be, Kate?

KATE: Oh, gosh, a car, possibly.

INTERVIEWER: You'd impulse buy a car?

KATE: I could easily impulse buy a car,yeah, easily and have done.

JANICE: Every time we're going to buy stuff for the triplets,we have to search first, rather than just an impulsive buying.Because obviously, we need to save a lot of money.I mean, it's like every single penny helps,and you have to keep it.So it's like buying a buggy or buyinga simple blanket for the baby.I have the searches on the internet which is the cheapest.

JANICE [continued]: So and that's how we save.

INTERVIEWER: And presumably, you'vehad to buy three of everything.You've got three carts, three high chairs.And then you've got Keenan as well,so you've got four of lots of things.Are you buying your nappies wholesale now?

KENNETH: Yeah, they're wholesale,so we can save a lot.

INTERVIEWER: And how many nappiesare you getting through a day?

JANICE: Oh, dear.Let's say, if they're feeding 6 times a day,so they're changing their nappies 6 times,times three, so 18 nappies a day.

INTERVIEWER: So you've had to buy an enormous amounts of kit,haven't you?I mean, you had to buy the car.How much was the car?

JANICE: The car cost us--

KENNETH: It cost us 10,000.

JANICE: 10,000.So it's a big impact on the budget,because obviously, we did not expect--we know that we were having triplets,but it wasn't planned.So it just happened.It was like you asked for one, and you were given three.So everything was a big change in the budget.

INTERVIEWER: Is there anything you buy that's for you?

JANICE: For me?No.Even my haircut, Kenneth does it.

KENNETH: [LAUGHING]

JANICE: Look.Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: Before you had children,did you spend money on yourself?

KENNETH: Holidays.

JANICE: Yes, I do holidays.I love holidays.

KENNETH: She loves holidays.

JANICE: I love holidays.But I can't afford it at the moment.

ANDY: Barbados.

GAENA: Maldives.Maldives twice.

ANDY: Maldives, Maldives.Kenya.

KATE: Just package holidays two or three times a year if I can.

MARTHA ANNE: If you're talking about cruises,we will go for the four to five star, as opposedto the six star.

INTERVIEWER: But are you looking longinglyat the six star brochure?

MARTHA ANNE: Of course, I am.Of course, I am. [LAUGHING]

ANDY: We then had four or five skiing holidays, maybe.

GERARD: For a break for a few days,I'd probably rather spend some timein Scotland or even the Lake District,or somewhere like that.

INTERVIEWER: And those big trips, how much would theycost, roughly?

ANDY: Oh, the Maldives are very expensive.

GAENA: It was about 5,000.

ANDY: No, it was 7,500.

GAENA: Was it?Kenya was 5,000.

ANDY: Kenya was about 5,500, but the Maldives was about 7.500.

INTERVIEWER: How are you affordingthat amount on holidays?

ANDY: We probably are living a little bit beyond our means.

INTERVIEWER: Do you have credit cards?

KATE: No, I haven't got a credit card.No.

INTERVIEWER: Have you ever been overdrawn?

KATE: I haven't ever been overdrawn.

INTERVIEWER: Have you ever been in debt?

KATE: I've had a loan once, 5,000 poundsfor a car which I bought myself for my 30th birthday.And I had the loan-- I think it was three months--and then I paid it off.

INTERVIEWER: And are you proud of that, Kate?

KATE: Yeah, I am proud of that.I like the fact that I can manage my money.And a lot of my friends are in debt for whatever reason,and like I said, never got any money leftat the end of the month.And yeah, I am proud of that.And I think that comes from my mom,and it's working hard, and managing your money, isn't it?

KATE [continued]: [BABY CRYING]

JANICE: [SINGING]

INTERVIEWER: When are you going back to work, Janice?

JANICE: I'm going back next week, Monday.

INTERVIEWER: Full-time.

JANICE: Full-time.

INTERVIEWER: And how is that going to work?

JANICE: Kenneth applied for a change of hours.And then he was allowed to work from 4 o'clock in the afternoontill until 12:00 midnight.And I will be working from 7:45 to 3:45.

INTERVIEWER: You will come back from work,and Kenneth will go straight out.

KENNETH: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: So then you'll get back, of course, past midnight.Janice, hopefully, will be asleep.And Janice will get up and go to work.So you won't see each other in the morning.Will you see each other at all?

JANICE: Possibly, because he needs to wake up.Because the babies will be awake by 7:00.

INTERVIEWER: So you'll see each other at breakfast time.

JANICE: Yeah.

KENNETH: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: And so financially, you're going to be worse off,because on that schedule, presumably neither of youcan do any overtime, because there'sno time left to do any overtime.

JANICE: No.At least we're not paying child care.

INTERVIEWER: And how do you feel about the factthat you've had triplets.

JANICE: We're so blessed.We asked for one, and we were given three.[CHUCKLES] There must be a reasonwhy we have the triplets.We don't know about it now, not yet, now, but Ithink in the future we will know why we have triplets,so it's hard.

INTERVIEWER: So you are blessed, Janice, but in another way,it's an incredible burden to look after them.

JANICE: It is.It is.And I said to Kenneth that probably thisis a test of my patience.

INTERVIEWER: And how's your patience holding up, Janice.[CHUCKLING]

JANICE: I know it's getting better.

INTERVIEWER: Are you planning on havingany more children, Janice?

JANICE: No, no more.I've done my share for humanity.I'm saying it loudly.I've done my share for your humanity.[BABY CRYING]

INTERVIEWER: Do you save regularlyfor your grandchildren, or anything like that?

STUART: No.

INTERVIEWER: You're not in the positionto save any money for the children for the future?

MONICA: Oh, no.

INTERVIEWER: So you're trying to save money for their future.

JANICE: Yeah, we need to.Because how can we afford four kidsin the university, all at the same time?[GUITAR MUSIC PLAYING]

INTERVIEWER: Do you live alone, Gerard?

GERARD: Yes.

INTERVIEWER: Are you single?

GERARD: Yes.

INTERVIEWER: Do you have any children?

GERARD: No.

INTERVIEWER: How old are you?

GERARD: I'm 47

INTERVIEWER: And tell me what you do for a living.

GERARD: I teach at the University of Glasgow,where I head up the department of Scottish literature,and I also run the center for Robert Burns Studies.

INTERVIEWER: So what's your net income, Gerard?

GERARD: Around 40,000 pounds a year disposable cash.

INTERVIEWER: And what's your gross income?

GERARD: Around 60,000 pounds a year.My father was in the Merchant Navy and then [INAUDIBLE] Lake,he was a maintenance fitter in the shipyards Claybankfor most of his life.

INTERVIEWER: Were you the first generation of your familyto go to university?

GERARD: Yes.Both my brother and I attended university,and that was something that was certainly notopen to my parents as a possibility.

INTERVIEWER: Are you religious, Gerard?

GERARD: Yes, I certainly believe in God.

INTERVIEWER: And are you a regular churchgoer?

GERARD: I go to mass regularly, yes.

INTERVIEWER: How often is regularly?

GERARD: Every week, sometimes morethan that, when I'm in the mood on a daily basis.[CHUCKLES] I certainly try to live my life to some extentaccording to ethical religious principles.And I think probably, if anything,it's the religious part of my formation

GERARD [continued]: that leads to my attitudes towards money.So quite honestly, I would rather give money to charity,to some extent, than to be indulgent.

INTERVIEWER: How much do you give to charity a month,would you say?

GERARD: That's probably a couple hundred quid a month,because add my bank account to miscellaneous charities, churchand other charities.

INTERVIEWER: How do you make a calculationabout how much to give to charity?

GERARD: I don't make very precise calculations.I just am aware that on a monthly basis,I can give 30, or 40, or 50 quid to this charity,to that charity.And so therefore, I let the checks flow out.The idea of simply too many people in the UK, let alonethe wider world, who don't have the proper share of resources,

GERARD [continued]: that idea is something I think I probably think about and amaware of every day in my life.

INTERVIEWER: How would you describeyour current financial situation?

GERARD: It's entirely comfortable.I can have a very nice bottle of malt whisky whenever I want.I can go for nice meals with friends.I can indulge myself in guitars, which is my one real weakness,I suppose.And apart from that, I don't need to worry too much.

INTERVIEWER: Are you wealthier than your parents were?

GERARD: I'm probably around three times wealthierthan my parents ever were.It is the case that I try to live fairly ethically,fairly modestly, fairly simply, and that'sa kind of conscientious choice.

INTERVIEWER: So what would a treat in the supermarketbe for you, Gerard?

GERARD: Maybe something a wee bit indulgent food-wise.It might be a pizza with cheese crust.But the main treat for me would be a bottle of malt whiskey.I have gone as high as 90 pounds for a bottle of malt whiskeywhen I've been in the mood.But that's not all that often.

INTERVIEWER: And how much would you typicallyspend on a bottle of wine, Andy?

ANDY: I don't like spending much on wine.I always look for the ones at half price.

INTERVIEWER: How much would you spend on a bottle of wine,typically?

NEV: Anything from 3 pound 19 to 70 pound.

GARY: I'll probably go to the puband spend 20, 40 quid on beer and not think about it.

INTERVIEWER: How much would you spendin a night in the pub, Jay?

JAY: Well, you can't actually spendthat much because I generally drink with my brother.So we'll buy rounds, and we'll end up, say, drinking, say,six pints.And if a pint is, say, 3 pound each, though.And then you've got a kebab at the end of it,it's literally the same every time we hit the pub.It'd be like, say 22 pound.That's a night out.That's beer and kebab.

JAY [continued]: Can't go wrong, can you?

GERARD: The main treats for me apart from fruitwould be spending money on guitars and music gear.

INTERVIEWER: And what's the most you've ever spent on a guitar?

GERARD: I've had a guitar flown in from Los Angeles, a custommade Fender Telecaster, which was about 1,300 pounds,and a very nice bit of kit it is too.

INTERVIEWER: I'm not suggesting you're going to die soon,because you're only 47.But what are you going to do with that money, Gerard?

GERARD: My late mother used to say to me,because I've got no children, where'sall the money going to go?What are you going to do with it?And it's a good question.So part of me thinks I probably should just run out and spend30,000 pounds on guitars.But I don't think I will quite do that.But I would like to think that I would leave moneyto some kind of ethical trusts or some kind

GERARD [continued]: of educational purpose.My heart's preference would be to leavemoney towards scholarships for peopleprobably from working class backgrounds.[MUSIC PLAYING]

INTERVIEWER: Tell me how you met.

SARAH: In a night club.Yeah.You were on the [INAUDIBLE].I was on the [INAUDIBLE].And our eyes met very drunkenly.

INTERVIEWER: Gary is a sergeant in the Metropolitan Policeforce.His wife Sarah's job as a part-time manager for a travelcompany brings their combined income up to 40,000 pounds.The couple live in East Grinstead,have two small boys, Dominic and Joshua,and have been together for 10 years.

INTERVIEWER [continued]: 10 years ago when you met, how much debtdid you both have, roughly?

SARAH: A lot, yes.Do we want specific figures?

GARY: Would they have to take any specific figures?

SARAH: No, they're not on that stage.But yes, there's a lot of debt.Yeah, Gary owned his own house, but yes, I had probablyabout 20,000 worth of debt.

INTERVIEWER: And Gary, did you have as much as that?

GARY: Probably.

INTERVIEWER: Gary and Sarah have triedto get on top of their debt and aredoing what they can to pay it off in regular installments.

GERARD: What are you singing, Dom?What is that?

DOMINIC: [SINGING]

GARY: [CHUCKLES] What is that, Dominic, you make that up?

INTERVIEWER: Before you had Dominic, had the two of youever had a conversation about the possibility of havinga child with a disability?

SARAH: Don't even occur to you.

GARY: At all.

SARAH: It doesn't even occur.

GARY: Hold on, Josh.

INTERVIEWER: When Dominic was born,did you know immediately that everything was not OK?

SARAH: He was eight weeks premature.So we obviously knew that though he was premature,and he'd have delays in hitting milestones,he was a pretty healthy, robust child.Once he was out of special care, yes, we saw delays.But we kept putting it down to being prematureand that eight-week delay.And then he was in hospital with a chest infection.

SARAH [continued]: We found out after that.So yeah.

INTERVIEWER: So how old was he when he--

SARAH: Eight months.

INTERVIEWER: Eight months old.And at that point, they diagnose with cerebral palsy,but they don't know the severity of the effects of it.

SARAH: They do an MRI so they cansee the areas of the brain that have been impacted.And his areas were areas affecting gross motor skills,fine motor skills.That's all that they could really tell us at that stage.

SARAH: Is Dominic standing tall?Is Dominic standing tall?1, 2, 3, 4, 5, is Dominic standing tall?OK.

INTERVIEWER: It's been over three yearssince Dominic was diagnosed with a permanent disability.Sarah and Gary are hoping that a groundbreakingoperation on his spine can improve his mobility.

SARAH: The doctor said that it won'tmake him walk independently, but it'llhelp him walk with a walker, because at the moment,his legs just get in the way, and that stops him doing that.It would help his sitting.It would help his posture.It may free up his arm.

INTERVIEWER: This operation is very expensiveand is only available in America.

GARY: Thanks very much.

INTERVIEWER: On Gary and Sarah's joint income of 40,000 pounds,they struggle to cover the daily costsof caring for a disabled child.But they've had to raise an additional 60,000pounds to pay for the trip to the States and the surgery.

SARAH: We did sponsored [INAUDIBLE] salefor 60 people, parachute jumps, bucket collecting.

GARY: Golf Day.

SARAH: Golf Day.A black tie event that went with the Golf Club.And lots of people danced, sponsored runs, cycling.

GARY: Quiznot, we did Quiznot.

SARAH: And a 24-hour motorbike challenge around the UK.

GARY: Yeah.

SARAH: And we did a big Quiznot.Yeah.

GARY: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: And who organized all this fundraising?That's an awful lot of work.

GARY: Sarah did most of it.

INTERVIEWER: Even after the operation,Dominic will still face an uncertain future.For Gary and Sarah there are many unanswered questions.

GARY: You just don't know what he's going to do.And will he walk after this?Will he not walk?Will he get on with the motorized wheelchair,will he not?Will he be able to be in a house and live on his own?Those are the things I think of.

SARAH: You think about crazy things.Yeah, will he be able to drive, get a job?And if he can't get a job, is he goingto spend the rest of his life on benefits?Are we going to end up caring for himtill we're really, really old, too?

INTERVIEWER: Does it give you financial worries?Do you think, well, I need to makefinancial provision for that?

SARAH: That is the biggest burden of it all.We'll deal with Dominic and what he can't do.We'll make his life as happy and as loved and as enjoyableas we can possibly make it.But in order to do that, it is financesthat we will have to manage.You're really running.

INTERVIEWER: And at the same time,you're trying to pay off your debts from before.And that all sounds a bit overwhelming.

DOMINIC: Jump like a rocket.

GARY: You're going to jump like a rocket?Good boy.Augh.Ugh.

SARAH: I could probably cry my eyes out right here and nowabout Dominic.And it eats away at me every single daywhenever I see a normal child.So what?We've got some debt?What's it matter?We'll deal with it.We're being sensible.We're not putting our home in jeopardy,

SARAH [continued]: or anything like that.We're just living our life and-- sorry.

GARY: You all right?

SARAH: I think what is the point in wastingyour life worrying about it.And then perhaps that's burying your head in the sand,and people that are obsessed with their budgets,and everything, were thinking, oh, my god, these people.This is crazy.But actually, we've got bigger priorities.

GARY: 3![LAUGHS] Dominic![MUSIC - TOPOL, "IF I WERE A RICH MAN"]

GARY [continued]: [LAUGHING]

INTERVIEWER: How much are your monthly mortgage payments?

ANDY: At the moment, with these lovely interest rates,they're about 440 pounds, I think.

KATE: 400 pounds a month.

INTERVIEWER: And so how much are your mortgage payments a month?

NEV: 800.Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: Do you have a mortgage here?

MARTHA ANNE: No.

STUART: No.

INTERVIEWER: And do you own it outright?

GERARD: Yes, I own it outright.

INTERVIEWER: And do you know how much your monthly mortgagepayments are?1,370 pounds.[MUSIC PLAYING]Can you tell me when you were diagnosed with cancer?

NEV: Yeah, it was this time last year.The German consultant told me it was testicular cancer.He was very good about organizing an operationvery quickly.I've had a big advantage.

NEV [continued]: I got told about this cancer, and then it's been gone,and it may come back or it may not.The rest of us, we're all going to die, and none of usknow how it's going to be.So mine's just been a wake-up call.We don't think about it until we're confronted with it.

NEV [continued]: And then when we are confronted with it,you can decide how to deal with the rest of your life,can't you?

INTERVIEWER: Did your spending change at allsince the diagnosis?Have you treated yourself more or spent moneyto enjoy the moment more?

NEV: I did have a little spell whenI thought about doing that sort of predictable thing.But I think I've been trying to be good for money for too long.And I did have a brief spell when the BMWM5 was sort of beckoning to me.But these things don't change your life, really.

NEV [continued]: I think on your deathbed, you remember holidays,you remember entertaining, friends, just momentslike that.So that's where we've tried to spend money on now.

INTERVIEWER: It would be easy to imagine thinking, don'tknow what's going to happen.Let's go out for a lovely meal.

NEV: Yeah.But a lovely meal is not going to put youin debt, necessarily.You know, I mean, everyone's got different scenarios.But let's say you did 200 pounds on a meal.That's recoverable from going out and spending too much moneyon a brand new car.That's not so easy to recover from.

NEV [continued]: So I try not to do that on a regular basis

INTERVIEWER: And would you do 200 pounds on a meal?

NEV: Yes.

STUART: 40, 50 pounds, I think is probably--

MARTHA ANNE: That's a reasonable amount for you.

GERARD: Without thinking about it,I would usually spend 40, 50, 60 pounds on myself.

KATE: You don't really like eating out, do you?

JAY: I'm not--

KATE: You're not a foodie.

JAY: No.[MUSIC PLAYING]

MARTHA ANNE: I'm nearly 61.

STUART: I'm nearly 71.

INTERVIEWER: Can you explain how long you've been togetherand how the two of you met?

MARTHA ANNE: We met as I meet all my husbands, as Isay to people, playing Bridge.

STUART: One diamond, just need a two.

MARTHA ANNE: And I'm not sure whether we took to each otherimmediately, but eventually we did.

INTERVIEWER: Stuart, did you take to Martha Anneimmediately?

STUART: No.[LAUGHTER]

BRIDGE PLAYER: You're not playing on your own here.

INTERVIEWER: Can you explain what you both do for a living?

MARTHA ANNE: Nothing. [LAUGHS]

STUART: We're both retired now.We retired last year.

INTERVIEWER: What did you do for a living?

MARTHA ANNE: I was a PA to a director for a mobile phonecompany.

INTERVIEWER: And you, Stuart?

STUART: I was a solicitor.[PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]

INTERVIEWER: Stuart and Martha Annhave been married for 15 years.They live in North London, where they've downsized from a houseto a flat.They used to be on a combined salary of 80,000 pounds.But having both recently retired,they're now adjusting to living on half that amount of money.

STUART: Obviously, we have a rather lower income than wedid when were both working.But then we don't have quite the same overheads and expensesas we did.

MARTHA ANNE: People say oh, well, you won't need this,and you won't need that, and you won't need the other.All right. so we don't buy lunches at work anymore,but I still have to buy lunch for here,or whatever we happen to be doing.We still need clothes.I still want my makeup and my perfumes,and shoes, what have you.So to be honest, in that sense, bill expenditure

MARTHA ANNE [continued]: is no different.But we're living on perhaps half of what we had previously.

INTERVIEWER: Can you describe your average week now?Tell me the structure of your week.

MARTHA ANNE: Mondays, I go out for a walk with-- [INAUDIBLE]for age concern.And then Monday afternoon tends to be Bridge.The four girls get together to play Bridge.And then Tuesday evening is my lace class.

MARTHA ANNE [continued]: Wednesday tended to be, again, an exercise day.Thursdays we've tended to keep for us for thingsthat we want to do together.And Fridays, catch as catch can, really.

INTERVIEWER: And what about you, Stuart?What does your week look like now?

STUART: I don't have so many activities as Martha Anne.Well, Monday afternoon, I quite frequently play Bridge.So that's what I regard Monday afternoon for.Tuesday, I do table tennis in the morning.And apart from that, I don't think

STUART [continued]: I have any very regular activities.I'm much more relaxed about it.

INTERVIEWER: How much do you spend on food, do you think?

MARTHA ANNE: Well, we were working it out the other day,and I think we spend somewhere between 400 and 500 poundsa month on food, one way or another.

INTERVIEWER: Is that a lot?

MARTHA ANNE: Well, I think it is.There are only two of us living here.All right, we do entertain.Is

INTERVIEWER: Is it too much?

MARTHA ANNE: I think so, yes.I don't know how long we're to liveand how long we've got to make this money last for.Stuart's father was 96 and his mother 86.

INTERVIEWER: Well, I mean, you're both keeping fit.And you both look very well and young for your age.So you might have another 40 years.

MARTHA ANNE: Exactly.My father's 89 and still going strong.

INTERVIEWER: So Have you planned firm for that financial future?

MARTHA ANNE: In theory, yes.

STUART: No.

MARTHA ANNE: In theory, yes.We've got our pension.But we've not made any extra provision.And we haven't thought about havingto go into care homes, or anything like that.Hope it doesn't have to happen.

INTERVIEWER: And you reckon you're overspendingon your income at the moment?

MARTHA ANNE: I think so.

INTERVIEWER: When you're driftingaround the supermarket, are you thinking, oh,it would be nice to have asparagus for dinner?Or are you thinking, it would be nice to have asparagusfor dinner, but I'm trying not to overspend,so I'm going to buy some cabbage?

MARTHA ANNE: The asparagus is already in the basket.[LAUGHING] No, I still buy the asparagus,and I still buy the strawberries out of season.There are some fruits I draw the line at buying out of season.

INTERVIEWER: Which ones?

MARTHA ANNE: Cherries, I won't buy out of season.They don't taste nice, and they're extortion expensive.And similarly, sort of things like peaches and nectarinessometimes come not very nice.

INTERVIEWER: That's because they're not very nice, notbecause they're too expensive.

MARTHA ANNE: Well, it's a balance, isn't it?If they tasted nice, I might buy them.But because they don't and they're expensive,I won't spend the money.

INTERVIEWER: Financially speaking,is this the life that you pictured for yourselves?I don't know what financial expectations you had in life.But have you realized them?

MARTHA ANNE: I don't know why I probablythought that we would somehow be bet-- I mean,I knew how much was coming in, and I somehowthought we would be better off than we are.And it sounds awful, because 40,000 very is notan insubstantial income-- 40,000+.And we don't lead a bad life, and we

MARTHA ANNE [continued]: live in a very nice home.And it sounds very spoiled, I suppose,to say that it's not enough, somehow.

INTERVIEWER: You imagined you would have had more?

MARTHA ANNE: Yes, I think more flexibility,more freedom perhaps than-- but when you asked me the question,actually, what freedoms and flexibilities don't I have,I'm not actually sure.

INTERVIEWER: Have you got a pot for Deannaif the worst should happen?Or have you got a pot in case you can't work?Are you providing for those things at the moment?

NEV: No, because they come under,in my mind, the things that are too big to deal with.I can't start a pot up-- well, actually,a funeral pot might be sort of useful to have.But you can't live life as if it's about to endor the money's about to run out.[MUSIC PLAYING]