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What's been your most expensive mistake?

Put the wrong fuel in your car? Accidentally won an auction? Signed something without reading it?

What's been your most expensive mistake? Come and share your tale and cringe all over again.
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Comments

  • Siebrie
    Siebrie Posts: 2,964 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Not understanding my student loan when I took it out, and even though I cancelled it when I understood it after only 4 months, I didn't pay it off straight away. I received the bill for the interest after a year, and I had to pay all the money in my Youth Saver Account, that I had spent 7 years building up!
    Are you wombling, too, in '22? € 58,96 = £ 52.09Wombling in Restrictive Times (2021) € 2.138,82 = £ 1,813.15Wombabeluba 2020! € 453,22 = £ 403.842019's wi-wa-wombles € 2.244,20 = £ 1,909.46Wombling to wealth 2018 € 972,97 = £ 879.54Still a womble 2017 #25 € 7.116,68 = £ 6,309.50Wombling Free 2016 #2 € 3.484,31 = £ 3,104.59
  • Exodi
    Exodi Posts: 3,435 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    When I was in early adulthood I was in the payday loan/overdraft cycle (e.g. get paid, pay off all pay-day loans, take out new ones to get by for the month).  I was also having takeaway multiple times per week, going out drinking at the weekend, smoking, etc.

    To think of the sheer amount of interest I could have saved (hundreds, if not thousands of pounds) by just living frugally for a month or two to get back on track...

    Even smoking alone! I'd spend £10 per packet... often times 2-3 times per week... thats £100 a month on it's own!

    A night out drinking could come up to £100, and this could often be multiple times per month.

    Or the fact that one or two takeaways was equivelant to a weeks worth of shopping. Crazy.

    Overall I'd expect I wasted thousands and thousands of pounds.

    Can't say that I'll look at much of the above as 'fond memories' in the future either, so I can't even argue it was worth it just for the experience!
    Know what you don't
  • Not taking out critical illness cover on my first mortgage, and then being diagnosed with cancer three years later.

    I've had the all clear for over five years now so it's not something I think about very often, would be nice to be mortgage free though!
  • Ganga
    Ganga Posts: 4,253 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Taking out a fixed rate mortgage for two years at 12.5% ,within two months the bank rate was down below 8% and dropping ,mind hindsight is a great thing.
  • My first foray into share dealing. A woman I’ve known for a long time was constantly giving me and my dad tips, she was putting £5k-£10k on at a time and withdrawing it days later when the price went up, obviously she was making a bit of profit because of the amount she was buying and selling.

    anyway, she gave us a tip for EOG shares, we kept watching and finally dad and myself both bought £1,000 worth at 34p each a few years ago only watch them fall days later and continue falling.

    Todays price is 01.51p 🤬🤬🤬 

    I’m only keeping them to hopefully get my money back one day but they’re a fracking company and it isn’t looking good….

    i've made much more money over the years with bargains and top cashback (especially in the days when you could get £100 for switching gas and electricity suppliers, I once got £200 for switching 🥳) but you remember the losses more.


    Happy moneysaving all.
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