If you were about to be poor, what would you spend your money on now?

Good, you won't regret it. I can't blame you for getting your DH to do it, but I promise you that it's not so bad.

Nothing, I would raid the freezer, use tinned or packet food already in stock, and look at my stuff for anything i could sell on ebay or Marketplace etc.

Not to mention sandwiches and cold meat not being very good sources of nutrition, as well as expensive. A slow cooker will pay for itself in no time with good hot meals from cheaper cuts of meat as well as great veggie dishes.

In that case, he needs to get himself back to full time asap. He needs to view this job as a temporary stepping stone and not put it all on you. He is taking the piss out of you otherwise.

Don’t get me wrong, this is definitely on the ‘to do’ list !! Sounds like a good, cheap source of protein, but definitely a DH job 🤮 !!

This is terrible advice. If you are cold, eating a hot meal is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to warm up. Slow cookers cost almost nothing to run.

Lots of good suggestions on this thread.

I found myself in this position and decided to keep my savings in the best account I could find, in case I needed to fall back on them. That was a mistake, as it meant I wasn't eligible for any means tested benefits. I wish I'd splashed out when I could. By the time I realised, it would have been seen as deliberate deprivation of assets if I'd shelled out on something sensible like new windows and then applied for benefits.

So my only advice is to spend it!

I suspect this post is from someone who knows what they’re talking about through experience - possibly changed circumstances meaning they have to live on benefits. Possibly disabled maybe, in which priorities would be different.

Overpay on tour mortgage monthly or a chunk that's allowed as part of your mortgage deal. Reducing your mortgage saves you money on interest payments & remortgaging costs later on.

As someone who is long term poor due to caring responsibility I would keep savings for emergencies.

I've not had the money to get a decent car so I'm constantly paying for repairs and each time it's such a stress finding the money. I could get a reliable car on lease for what I've been paying out but as I have no income I can't do that.

Same thing when the washing machine breaks or the garden door falls on its hinges and won't shut. Etc. I'd love savings to be able to sort this stuff

Home brew equipment, so you can make your own wine

My PP was a list of suggestions not essentials!
I'm on lifelong disability benefits and above is a mix of what I do/ would consider!

Is it worthwhile DH paying for a solicitor to see if anything can be done employment wise if he can't/ won't push for money owed?

If they've managed without all this claptrap up until now, this level of spending on reduced income would be insane.

Spend less, not more. Make do.

Exactly.

Insufficient income is the problem.

Playing at The Good Life preserving food and keeping chickens is not going to solve the underlying issues.

Get your teeth done
and if you wear contacts/glasses, stock up on these/get new glasses

Don't spend out on anything you don't need to
Chest freezer a good idea for storing yellow sticker bargains and batch cooking
Don't consider solar panels.. it takes years to recoup the costs
Weatherproof house, do any maintenance necessary so you won't have big costs if say the roof leaks etc etc
Buy any kitchen gadgets which would save money eg airfryer, slow cooker
Consider a dehumidifier over a tumble dryer.. will also prevent damp
Extra airers to dry washing making most of available space eg ceiling airer over stairs
Get central heating serviced, bleed radiators etc
Join Vinted, FB marketplace etc for clothing furniture etc etc if you need anything
Put money aside and start to buy things for Christmas when you see a bargain( again FB marketplace)
Go through outgoings to see if you can make savings.. mobile phones, gym subscriptions etc
The thing that jumps at me most though is you will be working 2 jobs whilst DH wants to go part time?!
Is he unwell? Stressed because he's lost the money?
You say he's useless buying stuff and gets it wrong
Simply put.. He needs to pull his weight and realise you're in this together.

You need to simplify, not add complexity. If you are taking on a second job and he will still be part time, income will be a bit tighter, but time will be extremely tight. Recognizing that budgeting is not his strength, you will need to keep some of the important mental load stuff, but he can definitely do the lions share of the day to day household management. Although, if you think big spending to save is a good plan, I do question whether your financial skills are that hot, but it may be that you are in panic mode.

Whether he likes it or not, your husband needs to engage with his previous employer and maximise his chance of recouping his losses. As much as no one wants to parent a partner, if he is mentally unwell at the moment, you might have to. Write the letter for him, he signs, you send.

Look at every single regular spend - do you need it, can you reduce it? E.g. streaming services, Sky, broadband, gym membership, mobile phones, cheaper supermarket, own brands etc. Everyone has different things that are nice to have but really aren't essential. No big spending, keep the savings for emergency/urgent need, because nothing will return on the investment in time.

I never had a tumble dryer, or a heated dryer, when I had kids in nappies. All clothes were line/airer dried. Both of us had full time, high pressure jobs. My H pulled his weight on running the house though. And that is where your H can really make a difference, picking up tasks that don't need mental effort while he recovers, they are just the repeat drudgery of life tasks. Engaging more with life and his children may actually help to recover more quickly.

The main goal has to be to make this as temporary a situation as possible so he can move back to a better position and allow you to go back to one job again.

Are chickens a lot of work? No. But they need predator-proof coops and runs (but that doesn't have to cost the earth) and you need to keep the coops clean/free of spilled food etc - because that attracts vermin and predators. 5 mins a day.
Honestly though, chest freezers and chickens are not going to solve your problems. The only job your DH "wants" just happens to be part time while his wife is taking a second job? You're in financial dire straits - he doesn't get to be choosy or only work part time. What a twat.

Could you trust him to bother to put them to bed before the fox comes along for tea? To listen to the noises they're making to recognise when there's a daytime fox visiting? To seal their feed up so that rodents don't get into it? To spot a sign of digging and immediately make sure that the security is upgraded?

I wouldn't be making somebody who can't be arsed to ask for the money he's owed (as if he doesn't ask for it, they're not going to hunt him down to force money into his hands) responsible for livestock.

Saves me some money and it's good for them and I hate flies 😂

I cannot get past the fact that you wil be working two jobs day and night, while your husband cuts his hours.
I understand it's a training job, and they can only take him part time, but can you afford that? Surely that is something for the future, when you are in a better position?
Right now he needs to take a full time job, so that you do not need to do two jobs, plus all the life work because of his incompetence.

This.

My parents got chickens when I was a child. Fun at first when they only had 3 (not enough never to have to buy eggs when you have a fairly large family) a nightmare in winter when they had about 12 and it was my job to slip on frozen chicken shit in the dark carrying a kettle of boiling water to break the ice on their water and feed them before going to school. Ditto mucking them out in winter. The novelty wears off.
It's a hobby for people with a lot of time, not for someone about to be working full time plus a night job plus kids and a liability of a husband.

The priory here is the husband pulling his weight - if he can't be trusted domestically he needs to be working full time, whether in one job which isn't the part time"only one he wants to do" or the part time dream job plus a second night job, so the OP "can" work full time in "just" one job while doing the domestic work like food shopping and cooking and bills which her husband can't be trusted not to be organised enough not blow the budget on.

Buying things is completely the wrong response to the situation unless there's a hole in the roof or the house isn't insulated or the heating is electric only and the windows actually don't fit and let the snow/ rain/ wind in...