Great 'What's your biggest ever waste of Money?' Hunt

r_p_james

Issyc wrote: »

Getting married.

...twice!!

Lost a mortgage-free house, paying more for the kids than they ever cost directly and now supporting a new partner and more kids, too! (Not that I resent the last one, by the way!)

tessie_bear

not getting married would be mine as well

hyde2612

Biggest waste of money ever was going to a Star Wars convention, many years ago. It was advertised on BBC 2 radio and tickets were expensive. When we arrived there was nothing to do. I've never seen such naked greed in my life. There were supposed to be speakers and ticket holders could then have a signed photo. However they got greedy and didn't do any speeches or entertainment, so the stage was empty all day. All the 'stars' sat behind desks with great piles of money in front of them, charging £5 per signature and £5 per postcard to sign. No fee, no signature. Shocking.

Spookeychick

Suzkin wrote: »

Hey Spookeychick, that's seems me all through and through, I'm afraid.

I walked everywhere (very Jane Austen-esque) up until the age of 42. And now I'm currently having to pay all over again for little real gain, with all the waste pipes leaking, the rendering falling off, penetrating damp on both front elevation and single skin utility room etc. I think I'll end up dying in this little 1-bed terrace!:o

Oh dear! I hope not!

I applaud you walking everywhere - I like to walk too but it's I'm afraid my car is definitely my guilty pleasure (I don't have a fancy one or anything - not at all, it's an 1989 Mazda bought for £450 in 2006!) as once I got it I knew I'd never be able to be carless again (after not having one for many years and just using public transport and my feet).

I don't think I'd like to put in writing all the money I've wasted over the years but as someone else said earlier - hindsight is 20/20! A couple that spring to mind are:-

1. Buying some 'New Rock' boots for £100 only to discover they completely rip my heels to shreds and can't wear them - they are still in my cupboard (along with many other 'bad' shoe choices!) waiting to be sold on E-bay (really must get around to that).

2. Training to be a make-up artist for a year, taking out a student loan for the fees and spending 6 years of my life trying to pay it off (I was a student in my home country and the interest rates on student loans were over 8%!!) only for my Dad to end up paying off the loan which at that point was only back down to the ORIGINAL amount I borrowed! Oh and I have never worked as a make-up artist as I realised it was an incredibly hard career choice and didn't know where to start to find work! :cool:

Oh well, it's all part of life's rich tapestry!

EternallyGrateful

Being the father of a 'faddy' daughter I don't know where to begin!

Think several times before:-
Joining a gym
Going on a 'special' diet
Joining a slimming club
Buying an all singing and dancing phone then using it for phone calls and texting only
Buying exercise equipment
Buying clothes that you are going to 'slim' in to (aye right)
Joining a book club
Joining a music club

Oh boy! I could be here all night!

boocc4

My husband and I took out life insurance in 1989 and it was index linked meaning we paid a bit extra every year and our life cover also increased. That was until 2 years ago when we decided we could no longer afford to keep increasing it and to keep our premium at the same rate. I received a letter this month telling us that after their review the monthly premiums we have to pay will be over 100% higher to keep the same level of cover for the next 5 years. It seems excessive to me and now I wish that we had gone for a level term insurance rather than the index linked whole of life that we chose because we are now going to have to decrease the amount of life cover we have just to keep it going. I would advise anyone to find out just what they are getting into and try to get them to explain the differences to you before you buy. We all know that it is cheaper to get it when we are younger but I was ignorant and assumed that we could keep paying at the same rate for the rest of our lives and we would be covered Now we are 22 years older and it is like starting all over again. Stupid Stupid us and not happy with Countrywide assured either.

only.partly.my.debt

The ones that feel most wasteful are not so much the most expensive, but the ones where you really feel you were done (or did yourself) out of the money.

In the category of most dim: buying a car, on impulse, from a car auction, for £700 (+ auction fees). It caught fire a week later. Lesson: don't buy a car at auction unless you are such a good mechanic you can judge, in a dimly-lit warehouse, from the outside of the vehicle only and without looking under the bonnet or at the MOT/service history, exactly what it's worth. And I, clearly, can't.

Also, don't lend money to friends/relatives, but there's a whole thread about this.

Elle1267

airgead wrote: »

My biggest waste of cash was probably a web design correspondance course which cost over £1000. paid monthly over about three years. I think I did the first three assignements, and then stopped. I have been told I can still take it up again anytime I like - even though it was 8 years ago!!! Maybe ought to be my resolution for 2011..

I took up a course on book-keeping that cost over £1000. I had a similar payment scheme I think it was approx £70 a month to pay back. The first assignment I did I got full marks for but the second one was marked wrong and you had to get 100% for each assignment. Bear in mind that I was doing a chemistry degree at the time so my maths was pretty good, I couldn't understand what I was doing wrong. In the end I felt it was a lost cause but I had signed a contract so I still had to pay the full amount :eek: which took a couple of years. At the end of the day if you learn from your mistakes then maybe it was worth it. Everyone has at least one thing that they regret buying. Knowing that I'm not the only one makes me feel a little better about it. I just wish that I had learned about money in my teens as I think that is when you are most impulsive. I plan on teaching my future kids everything I know and showing them this website. :money:

rozeepozee

jcm1970 wrote: »

My Vitamix. The thing really is rather brilliant (It can make delicious piping hot soup from scratch in less than 6 minutes), but it's huge, weighs a tonne and I use it perhaps once or twice a year. The cost of this bundle of joy? A mere £400! Craziness!:eek:

I soooo lust after one of these things. They have had them on special promotion (£340) at Costco for the last 3 years and I have been on the verge of buying one each year but have so far resisted....

Primrose

Buying a brand new Hillman Imp - my proud first car bought for cash with my hard earned savings. It spent more time in the garage being repaired than it spent on the road. It needed a new water pump every few months, had to have 2 gear boxes replaced and nearly drove me to a nervous breakdown. It taught me never to buy a brand new car model that's just come out onto the market and to leave it a couple of years to be road tested first by others. It was definitely the last car built on the Friday afternoon shift.:eek: