1 - There is nothing to stop the OP husband doing handyman work.

That could be anything, and at least gives him something to do and
some "routine" of say 2 days a week. It gets him out of the house,
gets him interested AND he can choose his clients.

Age Concern often need people, they may require references, but there
is a variety of work he could do.


2 - Dehumidifier will make a difference.

Shop around, it is one appliance where a 2yr warranty or 3yr warranty
for £9.99 is a good idea because it covers you if it fails sooner (the
bearings DO tend to seize on the big radial fan, you need a smoke
alarm in the same room - battery is fine). I think John Lewis used to
do a free 2yr and prices were competitive. You can buy energy monitors
for £9.99 also re monitoring how much it uses AND putting money aside
if you have to.

As a guide, running 7hrs/day at 100% (they have a humidistat), drawing
350W for 365 days a year is £107/yr at peak rate or under £50 if run
overnight on an E7 timer. Not something you probably wanted to hear,
but they are not cheap to run. They DO provide a little heating
incidentally, so it is not as though the £50-107/yr energy is
completely wasted.

Crack a window upstairs whenever you can to get ventilation re damp &
mould removal.


You need a separate bank account.
You need a separate savings account - indeed two, keep one just for
electricity and say you will pay the bill, *full stop*.