How does family-of-22 the Radfords afford to live?

AS Britain's biggest family, it may come as no surprise that Sue and Noel Radford must have some hefty bills.

Between them, they have a whopping 22 children and seven dogs, which often has some people wonder how they manage their money.

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How do the Radfords afford to live?  

The Radfords support themselves with the proceeds of Noel’s bakery, The Radford Pie Company, which is located near their home.

On their , it says: “We have owned our own lovely bakery since 1999 which is how we manage to provide for (and feed) our huge and expanding family as well as for the local people of Heysham and Morecambe.”

The family expanded their business to cater to online orders placed across the UK.

The business is a family affair, with Noel at the helm, and some of their children helping out.

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The older kids, who are working at least part-time, don't get a free ride as they're made to pay a small amount of rent to their parents.

"Us older ones do pay a little bit of board. Granted it’s not a lot but I’m also trying to save up for my own house at the moment.” their daughter Chloe said in a video on the .

Sue added: "We’ve always said if you want to buy somewhere, renting is a bit of dead money, so we’d rather you saved that money up and stayed at home a bit longer.

“I also do believe they should pay board if they are earning. We’ve always been brought up by our parents that we had to pay board.” 

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Do they take child benefits?

Noel and Sue famously don’t rely on benefits for their bumper brood and live off their pie shop for income. 

They also revealed they make money from brand partnerships on social media.

Still, looking after their family isn't cheap, and Sue revealed they can spend £400 a week on food.

While they are savvy with their money, they occasionally like to splash out on pizza takeaway for their kids.

How do The Radfords save money?

The family has a number of tricks for keeping costs down. 

It's pricey to take 22 kids to the cinema - so why not take the cinema home?

In 2014 Noel revealed to the how important home cinema was... and they have a brilliant one outside.

He said: "Family cinema trips and DVD rentals are becoming pricier these days so we take advantage of our TV package which often has the latest films, on the same day as DVD release."

They also like to shop around for the best deals. 

Sue said to the Star: "We always shop around for the best deals online, it’s worth making sure you get the best deals on your utilities and take advantage of voucher deals where you can."

Sue told she bought in bulk, explaining: "We buy in bulk things like wash powder, toilet rolls and we shop about for things and see what's on offer.

"It's all about planning and being savvy."

Meanwhile, Noel is no stranger to using cheap products to whip up meals for as little as 40p a head.

With many children to cater for, the Radfords say pasta often helps to make sure a meal stretches further. 

And the dad regularly shares his simple recipes on the family channel to give inspiration to fellow families.

Here are some of his offerings - tuck in!

The whole family eats the same meal to keep costs down. 

Sue told : "We don't really have any fussy eaters, we cook one evening meal and they have to eat what's in front of them. 

“We are lucky that we don't have fussy eaters because there's no way we would be messing about cooking two, three meals in an evening."

How much do the Radfords get paid for TV?

The Radford family stars in their own reality TV show 22 Kids and Counting - which has run for four series.

Brand expert Andy Barr believes Noel and Sue have been paid less than £10,000 for each show. 

He told the : "The typical fee per episode is going to be in the thousands rather than the tens or hundreds of thousands that people often think is the case with TV shows of this nature. 

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"If they continue to get commissioned for a fourth or fifth season, then they are going to be able to command a higher fee."

He estimates that the Radfords make £ 5,000 an episode.