What is your most embarrassing financial confession?

Tixy

Hi all

I guess we've all made mistakes financially at some point, or done something that we look back on and are embarrassed about our lack of financial awareness.

Are you willing to share one thing that you look back on in shame?

The reason I thought of starting this thread was because yesterday someone posted about how she'd been embarrassed because she'd said no to an expensive night out she couldn't afford - I wish I'd been like her at that age (see my own confession on the next post). And also because yesterday on a thread people were trying to offer financial advice to a newbie on, someone accused myself and other members of thinking we were perfect and had never made mistakes - and I think we would all admit that we've made mistakes.

Tixy

Here is one of mine

When I was about 24 I took out a cash advance on my store card so that I could go on a night out. It wasn't a special night out, not a birthday or anything major, just a regular Saturday and my bank account was empty, so I withdrew £100 from the card.

I finally cleared that store card 9 years later. Because cash advances used to be paid off last that £100 sat on that card for 9years costing me interest - in fact it cost me over £300 in interest. So that night out cost me over £400 What a waste!

FireWyrm

There was a post thread like this a few weeks ago. We've all made mistakes and any newbies who might be reading this should bare in mind that the very reason we're all here is simply because we've made financial mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes are serious and they impact on the rest of our lives and echo into the future, sometimes, they are just ill-judged and downright stupid but leave little lasting impression. For my part, I've spent £1500 a couldnt afford on a stupid 'get rich quick scheme' and I'm still paying for that one. It has to be the biggest single stupid financial decision of my life to date. There.... all you newbies jump right in, the water's fine.

poppy_f1

i remember leaving the pub with my cash point card to go over to the petrol station to use the cash point (abnout a 5 mins walk) once i got over there i realised i had lifted my credit card, and rather than walking back i just lifted the cash from that
stupid me

klfairy

I think the thing I've done most of is putting things on my credit card, and saying "oh I'll transfer money when I've been paid" and then not doing it.

Doooford

When returning to pickup a car I'd agreed a great deal on the day before from a show room. I went with my bankers draft for the full amount that I'd secured on a great personal loan with low rates. All was going well until at the last second before I got given the keys a chap put a bit of pressure on to purchase a warranty for £45, I "bargained" it down to £39 a month and signed up. It sounded good but I knew I didn't quite understand what I'd just signed up for.
It was only a week later when details of a loan agreement for £1000 came through that I saw what I'd agreed to.
They'd basically sold me a 3 year loan which ended up with me paying £1400 back.
I never dared look into how much I could have got the warranty for if I arranged it myself. Also I only got the car serviced once so it was useless after the first year!
That's not even the stupidest thing I've done. Just the first that came to mind

quintwins

i lost £300 on a betting site in about 3hrs because we were trying one of those ebay things where they walk you threw how to make money, it did acually work but once i started losing i wanted it back asap and was betting larger amounts and was terrified to tell my hubby i'd lost any money so kept trying, we didn't really have £300 to lose, i've never been on a site like that since, so i lost £300 and i think we paid about £5 for the ebay tutorial aswell, you live and learn

Doooford

I had a great gambling lesson once. I baasically got a disk through the post that offered a free £25 for every £25 deposited. So I put £25 in and got my £50 balance and set off to virtual roullette. Through reasonably safe and measured covered beting after an hour or two I got up to £800!!! :eek:
Bearing in mind I was at college this was about 4 months wages for my weekend job.
Like any proper gambler I decided that "this was easy" and I targetted £1000 and then I'd quit. First I lost £50, then £100, then £200 and in the end it was all gone trying to chase missed opportunities.
The silver lining is that at £0.00 I stopped realising that I felt sick and I'd lost £800.
After time it became the best £25 I've ever spent. I saw the lows without losing alot doing it.

Gordon_Hose

Used one of those cheque cashing services that let you write a cheque for £100 but only actually give you £85.

That was for nights out etc!

foxgloves

I never ever used to look at my bank statement. I'd open them, flick a quick glance at the balance, then file them away. I never used to go through checking off transactions or anything as boring (& sensible) as that! In my early 30s, having been overdrawn & overspent since the age of 19, my debt seemed suddenly to get bigger. It went right over the reasonably generous bank overdraft limit. I decided to have a very stingy month (unusual for me) & see if I could pull it back. Next month, the overdraft was even bigger. And the bank called me in for a review. I took out a flexiloan which credited my current account with £1500 which was what I needed to pay off the overdraft & a few other commitments. That month, I really pulled my horns in, I won't say I budgetted, but I really noticed I was spending a lot less. Then, horror!! Bank statement arrived & I was overdrawn again!!! I can remember standing in the pouring rain in the square near the cashpoint with my new partner looking at that statement like I'd entered some strange parallel universe. Then, he spotted it!! (Probably why I married him.....only joking!) The building society had taken my mortgage payment twice that month. Checking back at the statements I never bothered with, they had done the same the month before AND the month before that! A stroppy march down to the building society put this right very quickly, but I was way more angry with myself for not bothering to manage my money properly & read my statements! Despite this, I carried on with overspending & failing to budget for the next 7 or 8 years before the LBM struck big time! Debt-free (apart from mortgage) this May for the 1st time in 20 years!! x

Sparklyfairy

Ok, mine is more of a *gulp* than the previous ones posted...My youngest is 6, when I was on maternity leave my dh & I decided to use credit cards to fill the gaps with the idea that I'd find employment when lo started school...if it was only that easy! Now I have a charging order on my home & I'll be on a dmp with my other creditors for ever...crazy as we could have stretched, made do & mended, etc but we were (I'm guessing like many others out there..) under the illusion that all would be ok & jobs would be plentiful..so so wrong to think that way & borrow against the future..just don't do it! x