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

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To make life easier when your income drops?

We have some savings that can be spent on things that will save money in the long run get term.

I've just bought a slow cooker, for example. And I'm thinking about getting our windows upgraded to save on bills.

Updated to add - not going to be on benefits- but have just had a massive financial blow (equivalent of a years income suddenly gone), our income will be more than halved and increased expenses are looming.

DH burnt by this last employer and looking to work less days in a lower paid job.

We have some savings still, and have drawn up a budget for the foreseeable future. It's looking dire.

We have small children, and I don't want them to go without.

I have been looking into solar panels - just trying to get my head around the ROI and what we currently spend on power.

I'd get outside maintenance stuff done to the house, things that I can't manage so I have to pay someone to do them for me. That should last a few years.

DH burnt by this last employer and looking to work less days in a lower paid job.

Does he have the luxury of doing this? Lower paid role he stays full time surely?

I've just signed up for a second job and start next week.

I'm going to be exhausted, that's the other thing. We have small kids including a baby. I'll be full time at day job plus a night job.

If money wasn't so tight I could get a cleaner, meal service, shopping delivery. but I'll be doing more at home to save money while doing more at work to make it.

My teeth.
Servicing the car and replacing the tyres. Upgrade my laptop and broadband to the fastest possible.
Fix stuff in the house.
A few cookbooks with advice on preparing cheap, basic meals.
Whatever the kids might need for their hobbies for the next year (sports kit etc).

It sounds more like you might need to downsize than anything although that's not cheap in itself.
Is he intending on taking on more hours / more pay later or are you able to. It's ok as a short term thing to do but drastically changing working routine if you have a mortgage is quite a big thing to do long term

Chest freezer has been on my mind- so I can batch cook.

Do people feel it's worth the initial cost plus the power needed to run it?

So why is your husband getting to cut responsibility and days worked while you're running yourself into the ground?

I think the most sensible thing to do would be to keep your savings to supplement you while your are poor, and in case of emergencies. However, if you are spending to ensure your savings are under the threshold for benefits I would suggest making sure your car and boiler are well serviced and working efficiently, insulation for the house, bulk buy expensive things that last, if you have space to store them, fill your freezer. I wouldn't do the windows unless they definitely need doing, it will take quite a long time to recoup the expense. Maybe buy electric throws and decent quality coats.

We just bought and moved six months ago. We love where we moved to. The school is much better for DC and being at a great school saves us spending more on additional supports.

Also moving was so expensive. I want to stay if we can.

A Rab Cirrus Gilet to save on heating bills!

DH burnt by this last employer and looking to work less days in a lower paid job.

Do you mean that he is struggling with his mental health? Has he been to the GP?

Don't replace windows or get solar panels with savings if money is so tight that you're working 2 jobs. Keep your savings.

Agree with PP that would make more sense to save this money than spend it now on things that may or may not be useful later. I understand the urge to be proactive but that might be better channeled elsewhere.

I'd pay off debt and then make sure all house maintenance was up to date in case I had to sell at short notice.

I wouldn't do expensive improvements though. Just maintenance.

I'd buy a travel pass if I lived somewhere with a good travel pass and transport network and investigate joining the local car club.

Yes to slow cooker. Yes to things like outdoor wear, maybe a bike.

I'd buy good bedding and indoor clothes for layering and if it looks like I'm not going to be turning the heating on as much I'd buy a dehumidifier and moisture traps. (This kinda links to home maintenance anyway).

DH burnt by this last employer and looking to work less days in a lower paid job.

Your DH wants to work less, so you are taking a second job and will be working all days and evenings? That doesn’t sound sustainable.

A chest freezer to make the most of whoopsies and bulk buying meat etc. A slow cooker is a great idea to pair with this. I'd maybe also say a few stacking storage bins for a 5kg bag of lentils/rice/mixed pulses. Super cheap from an Asian eateries and perfect time to stock up on large bottles of maggi/soy sauce/gochugarang and frozen cubes of garlic and ginger. Doing this has really increased my food stability and increased the rage of dishes I cook as well.

Decent insulated curtains. A heated throw for the couch.

A gift card/envelope of cash to out away to help with Xmas costs.

Decent shoes/coat if walking a lot or a service on the car with tyre/brakes checked.

A savings pot for school payments/ things that come up, birthdays and Christmas, make sure everyone is covered for eg jumpers, shoes and coats and as someone said outdoor gear. Ds has bad eczema and his wash and moisturiser are expensive so I’d make sure I had a full one of each. Tbh I’d get hair cut and eyebrows done too so I don’t feel it if you know what I mean!!

Clothes. Good quality socks, underwear, 3 jumpers, t shirts, a waterproof coat, hats and gloves.

Boots. Comfortable, supportive, waterproof.

The day I finally managed to be warm, dry and comfortable was a huge one for me. I'd always wondered why other people didn't seem to mind the cold and rain whilst I hated it.

Add in stocking up on sunblock/toiletries/food/cleaning stuff and ensuring everybody has a warm blanket/quilt/decent pillows /protectors and all the DIY tasks are done in advance.

Are your current windows particularly terrible (now I have seen update) as they are a really big spend. Are they badly fitted single glazed and letting out all the heat. Its just I'd imagined you were retiring.

I'm also thinking in your scenario that keeping savings is the best option. We had similar income issues in the 2008 crash. What was difficult for us was replacing things as they broke. So starting out on a reduced income was fine, but the longer it went on the harder it got. All sorts of random things break and need replacing and it's hard to anticipate.

Sounds like you are going to end up in burnt out and then you'll be really poor. What you have proposed is not sustainable there has to be a middle ground.
Whether to stock up on cans is the least of your worries although if cleaning services and other outsourcing is your norm perhaps you aren't actually becoming poor, more going from wealthy to average like the rest of us.

Join groups that sell second hand uniform for you DCs school. Buy baby bundles of clothes if eBay /second hand selling as much cheaper than buying all new

Possibly a tent if you don’t have one so you can take the family away cheaply but I wouldn’t spend it unless you were actually booked to use it.

Coats and shoes for everyone
Toiletries to keep you going (it somehow feels worse when you run out of the little things and have to think of how to buy stuff)
Stocked up cupboards
Chest freezer is amazing
If you have young DC, a membership to somewhere so you don't need to think about money to take them places
Some to cover Christmas and birthdays
Join the local library
See if there is a local toy library or library of things
See if you can switch your bank account and get money reward
If you regularly use one supermarket with a loyalty card, and you have another nearby, switch where you shop for a month and they will usually send you loads of coupons

Not my norm. Was just trying to demonstrate that I can't offset the domestic load with more income.

I can understand working all hours if you can outsource the other stuff and still have a nice life.