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.

A divorce.

Get chickens, you'll have eggs, chicken poo to grow other veg if you want to, and chicken meat.

Don't bother with the windows. The return will not be worth the outlay. Spend the money on heavy curtains instead, which can be drawn at night and even when open will keep some drafts out.
Do buy a pressure cooker, which can be used both to cook pulses (good protein sources) and make tasty meat dishes from less expensive cuts of meat.
An air fryer might seem an extravagance, but cooks/heats up small portions quickly.

I think this is a very relevant thread. If Rachel Reeves’ announcements on Monday are anything to go by, I think we’re all going to be poorer sooner than we think !!

These are unaffordable if you suddenly become poor - except the Netflix which is sensible. You could invest in a better TV if it is to be your only entertainment.

Join the library if you are not already a member; a source of free entertainment with books.

I've wanted chickens for ages. But I think the initial outlay in terms of the set up will be more than I'll get from eggs for some time.

Also we've seen a fox in our garden and I don't want to have to explain a chicken massacre to my kids!

Yep, from first hand experience. We turned part of our garden into a chicken run and it’s been a godsend. Fresh eggs and fertiliser for the veg patch, and the odd chicken roast !! Plus the entertainment value - they all have their own little personalities, I especially enjoy watching them playing tug of war with cooked and cooled spaghetti !! Don’t get too attached if you’re going to use them as Sunday dinner though !!

It's really not that expensive if you shop second hand. Chicken people are usually really friendly and helpful too. How big is your garden? There are also ways to make feeding chickens cheaper.
You'll be keeping your family well fed and nourished.

Much less likely than a dryer to catch fire and they cost pennies to run per hour ( mine costs 5p). A dryer costs about 85p per hour. Look on Lakeland they have a good choice to give you an idea of the sizes / what’s available

Yes, they're so funny aren't they! My kids love them but they still love their Sunday dinners! 😋

We feed ours on kitchen scraps along with their feed - rice, pasta, oats and some pulses, along with some veg peelings. We also grind up the egg shells and put them back in with the food as a calcium boost when they’re laying. Until you’ve tasted a fresh egg collected that morning, you’ve no idea how different they are from the supermarket eggs.

Somebody working two jobs doesn't need chickens to deal with.

You need to streamline and simplify, not complicate things.

Spending on clothing dryers and air fryers etc is just putting plasters on the wound. And blowing money that might be needed more later.

Your husband needs to muster up a decent income whether through one job or two.

I think it teaches kids a valuable lesson about where food comes from too.

Are chickens a lot of work?

We have a large garden, could definitely fit them.

This seems wise advice given the fact OPs DH appears to be haemorrhaging money with no intention of doing anything about it…

They didn't do that to me..

Chickens are work, not lots but I wouldn’t advise if you’re do a ft+ job(s)

Chicken feed is expensive

The OP is going to be working 2 jobs, looking after her kids and running a household with what sounds like a fairly useless husband. The last thing she needs is chickens.

Yes good tips.

They'll also eat all your creepy crawlies.

I make a maggot feeder. I hang rotten meat and the flies produce maggots that the chickens eat for yummy protein. It reduces the number of flies in your house too. Just test it out and make sure the smell can't be smelled by your neighbours! Ours is at the end of the garden with no neighbours and it's layered in hay and you can't smell it at all.

They are extra work yes, but I wouldn’t say it’s a lot and I think it’s quite enjoyable getting in amongst them. You need to house them securely - especially if you’ve seen the odd fox, but once the initial outlay has been sorted it’s just maintenance, making sure their environment is kept clean and ensuring they have a good diet and are healthy.

They're really not a lot of work. You just have to get creative at first if you want very little maintenance but even that wasn't hard.

Our kids love running out and collecting the eggs and opening the door.

Depends on what you’re spending the money on. If they deem it unnecessary spending, or there’s evidence you’re deliberately trying to get below the threshold they will treat you as though you still have the money.

I think that’s a great idea. But, forgive me - yuk !! Think that’s a job for DH !!

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...

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.