Both the fridge and the roof are problems which are moderately expensive for low-income people to fix immediately, but which grow into more expensive problems if you ignore them. It's easy to see how the roof will be more of a problem in a few months than when you first noticed it leaking, but not having a working fridge means you can't buy food that requires a refrigerator as cheaply. Not only is it more expensive to buy smaller quantities, but you then have to visit the store more often, which uses more gas, etc. Someone on a budget is probably only grocery shopping once or twice a month, since the best deals are in bulk, but not having a place to store cold food removes that option.