My partner wants to renovate, I want to clear debts.

Baileys_Babe

Clear debts then deal with the kitchen & bathroom, these are wants not needs what you currently have is useable.
Buy most peoples idea of a kitchen we do not have one as the money isn't there, we have a sink, cooker, fridge freezer but no cupboards or built-in anything, our worktop is fixed to a frame made of sawn timber, most things are stored on bookshelves and freestanding units. We are a family of 4 and we make this work, yes we would like a different kitchen but this does the job whilst we ensure we have stable financial foundations.

Is there anything that can be done in the short term that will improve them but cost very little, for example making sure all the cupboard doors open and close properly, giving both rooms a good scrub down with sugar soap.

There is nothing stopping you from doing the planning that shouldn't cost anything, then you could work out the costs and a budget, then your OH would see that you also want the work done and you are working towards that goal. 10 months is not very long to wait. How much are they adding to the renovations budget?

ChrisLV

There's no question from a financial standpoint. Renovating instead of clearing your debt, at the cost of going on a DMP, would be crazy. However, I think it's likely that your partner doesn't have the same perspective on money as you do and, as she's your partner, you have to take that into account. I would see if you can offer her some sort of olive branch while broadly sticking to the right financial plan, e.g. start the renovations this year, doing only the lowest-cost things, while you wait for the debt to be paid off in, say, 16 months instead of 10. She's probably feeling a lot of emotional stress at the state of the house while you're probably feeling a lot of emotional stress about the debt, so I think the ideal solution is to find some compromise that alleviates the stress for both partners.