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

[TargetPractice11]

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.

I agree with PP - save your money somewhere with a good interest rate. Divvy it up so you ring-fence some for school trips, Christmas and treats.

New windows are going to cost you thousands, and no way will you make that amount back in savings off your heating bill in the short to medium term.

Same! In fact I think ours may be older, without looking at the paperwork again.

Also we don't have a dryer and haven't had one for a long time. Clothes and nappies will fry outside most days at this time of year. In the winter an airer left by a radiator will dry them.

Batch cooking isn't mainly about saving money its more about saving time, eg when working, to enable you to have from scratch healthy meals but spend less time cooking.

Buying a huge freezer and paying the electricity costs to store frozen meals is more expensive.

The way you save money on food is cooking simple from scratch food, reducing expensive ingredients like meat & fish and using things that are cheap and easy to store without incurring energy costs - dried & tinned lentils, beans etc. Tinned fruit, dried pasta and rice.

A normal freezer can easily accommodate some spare meals so that you can cook efficiently/freeze leftovers. You don't need a big expensive chest freezer.

Stop trying to find ways to spend your way out of a tight budget, its not possible. The best way to reduce your outgoings is to live a more simple, basic lifestyle - reduce transport costs, eat less meat, cut back on treats, exercise by running outdoors and ditch gym memberships, cook simple food from scratch with cheap ingredients, hang washing on the line rather than using a tumble drier, reduce usage of high electricity using appliances like hair dryers.

Have you gone through current outgoings to see where savings can be made and where money is currently going? Some outgoings can't be changed easily such as rent/mortgage, council tax etc but others can. Also look at the amount spent at supermarkets, on petrol, amazon etc as these kind of outgoings can be easier to control.

Do not get solar panels!! We inherited some with our house and I’ve been totally underwhelmed, our power bill is still large, even with trying to use high power things like dryer and dishwasher when the sun is out. If the sun is out I dry outside anyway so no wins there! Ditto on windows, you won’t see a big return on investment there either.

Definitely agree with pps saying keeping as large a ‘hit’ fund as you can (ideally £3-5k) for any appliance replacements/boiler repair and maybe put aside anything further for a Christmas/birthday/treat top up account that you only dip into at those times.

The only high cost thing I might suggest is perhaps some therapy / coaching to get DH back on his feet to start earning again? Unless he is going to formally transition to primary carer role, you are going to be completely overwhelmed and burnt out. You need to be drawing up a list of expectations for him in terms of what he will now manage in the house as you won’t have time to (eg laundry, food shop, cooking/meal planning, sorting kid admin). It’s fine for you to take on two jobs on a short term basis but you both need a recovery plan in place so that you know it is not forever.

Don’t martyr yourself and lose precious early years with your children… make this a joint responsibility and form a recovery plan in partnership. If DH isn’t well enough to at the moment due to previous employment break down, get him some talking therapy. So many men will just happily watch their partners absorb more and more responsibilities and pressure and remain oblivious. It is not being unsupportive to be open and clear to him about the strain this will put on you and by extension also the children (esp the baby) by having you around less and completely exhausted when you are around.

I would put savings into the highest interest I could and would consider some in premium bonds. The money is accessible if you do need a new boiler or new windows.

In the meantime, rather than spend to save I would look at reducing monthly outgoings. Look at supermarket
deals like the Tesco one that saves you 10% twice a month and do your big shop then. Use savings to avoid paying monthly for insurances. If you are truly losing heat in winter, thicker curtains cost less than new windows. Batch cook and use your slow cooker, but use a notebook or diary so you don't end up with a freezer of mystery food. If I cook extra for the freezer, I note the portions on post it notes and aim to use within about 6 weeks. We have a chest freezer (full of dog food), but I would be wary of a return in investment in the short term, especially given the additional running costs.

Use a credit card to buy everything, but pay it in full each month. That way you get an extra few weeks interest on your savings and potentially some cashback too.

Spending - if you are looking at a slow cooker, consider an airfryer too. They usually use less power to cook in a shorter time which you might be glad of if working late. Just don't get draw into a fancy ninja 1700 watt one if your aim is to save money!

As your DH is looking to work fewer days than before, will he be taking on more of the domestic load while you work two jobs? Reading your replies, it looks as though you’re going to be doing all the extra work.

As others have said, I’d make sure you have money to cover unexpected costs (car repairs, boiler replacement etc). These are the things that are hardest to manage on a lower income.

You mention energy costs - is your house as insulated as much as possible? Think about old-fashioned things like thick curtains, draught-excluders, etc as well as loft insulation. You might also find it’s cheaper to use disposable nappies rather than using cloth nappies which use energy to wash and dry.

What good advice! Exactly!

A new car

Or ask for them from grandparents as Christmas presents.

The advice from PP who recommend prioritising your DH's health is nailed on too. I work with lots of people with neurodivergence and we see a lot of adults with depression and burnout who have underlying, but undiagnosed ADHD or Autism.

@EllieQ

He'll be doing more childcare but I don't think he's turned his mind to doing anything else.

Agreed, a dehumidifier is a sound investment, for indoor drying or just older damp houses. It made a huge difference in my house last winter and rainy spring.

Do you have any debts? I'd pay them off. I'm on a relatively low income and debts is a huge burden.

NOT the windows, it will probably take 10 years to break even. Do the maths.

In your situation Id spend on career coaching/ counselling / mental health support / whatever your husband needs to help him get back to work full time.

In the meantime, you need to look at maximising your income and reducing your costs, not I repeat NOT spending your savings.

Look at money saving expert on how to cut monthly costs like bills.

If your husband is working less hours than you then he needs to do a lot more childcare, housework and wifework .

I

No debts beyond a sizeable mortgage on our home.

You can gently suggest to him that it’s time to make a plan.

Perhaps he can work his way through this
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/money-help/

I think it would take more than one day.

• health stuff (dental, eyes, full body physical with bloodwork, sort out appointments and treatments for any underlying stuff you’ve been putting off).
• new car that will be reliable
• set up a fund for emergency things like appliance breakages, roof leaking, etc so that she financial shock doesn’t kill you

Depends on how much you have but the only thing I would spend money on is paying off the mortgage.

Otherwise I would keep it in cash in an interest bearing account.

Shares etc are only any good if you can be sure you won't need the money any time soon and can ride out market ups and downs.

I would not buy any material possessions at all unless I really needed them.

There is absolute poverty and relative poverty, but it just appears you have had a drop in family income. I think in your circumstance I would be focusing on getting your DH well so he can contribute to the family, either through returning to his normal pattern of work or by stepping up in the home front. As a first step, I would go through all the finances and diarise when renewals are due, e.g. if you are working two jobs you don’t want to let your home insurance lapse because you are time poor.

We replaced an ancient boiler on an interest free 2 yr finance contract with British Gas and saved literally hundreds of pounds on gas bills. We thought we might save a little bit with a more efficient boiler but we were blown away,

Why are you going to be working 2 jobs, do childcare, all the cleaning and household stuff while his lordship cuts his hours and wage and sits around doing fuck all? I would make it clear you expect him to do his share which will be more than yours as he isn't working as much. He sounds like such a Prince.........

Well if you’re going to be working two jobs because he wants a job with fewer hours and less stress then I think he’d better turn his mind to it pronto. If he doesn’t seem to be then have a grown up conversation with him about what’s needed in running a home Don’t just take it all on you and then have resentment fester.

Think that probably the best thing you can spend money on is getting your husband help.

Your relationship will have completely broken down in six months time if you aren't careful. If he's not sat in his pants watching YouTube with the baby he will be living the life of riley with loads of comparative freedom to do what he wants; leaving you to do all the house admin, cooking, cleaning etc. Of course he might step up and take the physical and mental load from you - as he will effectively be a SAHH - ie it's him that stops at home with poorly kids, he gets up in the middle of the night, he does the majority of the cooking and cleaning. Mental health or no mental health.

Don't spend the savings you have. Keep them.
Make sure you are claiming everything you can claim for.
Make time for treats.
Don't understand estimate how boring it can be not working.