My biggest priority as a parent would be to keep a roof over my childrens head, food in their stomachs, heating and hot water. Then would their education.
If i were paying for that and times were hard or set to be hard, i would cut back in other areas to make sure i could pay for it. The very first thing to go would be the holidays.
Holidays used to bring in the big viewing numbers, back in the day. That day has been and gone. The holidays dont make them extra money, so sack them off. Save that money for their school fees.
Secondly would be the amount of presents/gifts/tat i was buying.
Thirdly id make changes/sell my vehicle(s), they still have that mini just sat on the drive. They have 2 fuel guzzling cars, both rust buckets but they could save an awful lot if they swapped for something better on the petrol front.
But they wont do that, they'd rather sell their home, put it down as trolls and upheave the family. Their priorities are all wrong, they always have been
Prehaps you could sit your son down for a chat Steve and point all this out to him.