How do I decide which repair to do first when money is tight?

When several things need doing and there is not enough money for all of them, the instinct is to do the cheapest or the most annoying first. Both are usually wrong. The right order is set by what happens if you wait, because some problems stand still, some get more expensive every week, and some are not really a money decision at all.

Safety

Step by step

1. Deal with anything unsafe immediately, outside the comparison.Gas, carbon monoxide, electrical faults, structural movement, anything that could injure someone. These come out of whatever money exists, and there are emergency routes and grant schemes for heating and safety in some circumstances.
2. Next, stop anything that is getting worse.Water getting into the fabric, a leak, a failed roof covering, blocked gutters saturating a wall, active rot. These have a growing bill attached, so a small repair now is often a fraction of the same repair in six months.
3. Then fix anything costing you money continuously.A leak on a metered water supply, heating controls that no longer work, a fridge or freezer that runs constantly, a hot water system stuck on. These pay back through the bill and effectively fund themselves.
4. Then the things that stop you living normally.No hot water, a cooker that does not work, a broken washing machine. Assess the true cost of the workaround — launderette trips and takeaways add up quickly and often exceed the repair within weeks.
5. Leave cosmetic and convenience items last, deliberately and in writing.Write them on a list with the date. They are not forgotten; they are scheduled. Writing them down is what stops them nagging at the decision.
6. Check for help before assuming you must pay.Warranties, insurance, a landlord's repairing obligations, home emergency cover attached to a policy or a bank account, and support schemes for heating and insulation. Also check your rights against the retailer or installer if the item is not old.
7. Get the diagnosis even when you cannot afford the repair.Knowing whether it is a small part or a serious fault changes the priority order and lets you plan. Many trades charge a modest diagnostic fee, and it is usually money well spent.
8. Write the order down and work through it.A written order stops the list being reshuffled each time something becomes irritating, and it lets you commit each month's available money before it is spent on something else.

Tips

• A repair that prevents damage is nearly always the best value on the list, even when it is not the most annoying problem you have.
• Where you are renting, repairs to the structure, heating, water and electrical installation are generally the landlord's responsibility. Report in writing and keep the record.
• If the list is unaffordable in total, say so to the trades you contact. A good tradesperson will tell you what genuinely has to be done now and what can wait, and that conversation is free.

Common mistakes

• Doing the cheapest jobs first to make the list shorter — It feels productive and it lets the expensive damage-causing problem keep growing. Order by consequence of delay, not by price.
• Deferring a small water problem — Water damage compounds faster than almost anything else in a house, moving from a stain to plaster, timber and electrics. It is the classic false economy in domestic maintenance.

Questions people ask