What is your worst and most expensive financial mistake?

[HorseHeist]

Long time ago now, but mine was in my early twenties. Managed to buy two very unsuitable horses in succession over a short period of time They must have cost me thousands, to deal with the subsequent mess. Which was a lot of money going back almost a couple of decades.

I keep wondering if I'd put that money in a pension, what would it be worth now? I would have been off to a great start pension wise at an early age.

What stupid financial decision did you make, that sticks with you years later?

Following with interest

Marriage

Marriage (and subsequent divorce).

Buying a house I had doubts about. It cost 70k in stamp duty to move!

First marriage.

When I was 19 my boyfriend of about 6 months convinced me to take our a phone contract for him in my name, because he didn't have a bank account or credit score. He gave me the money every month for about 4 months. I had to pay £200 to get out of the contract so not the most catastrophic loss but it was so much money to me at the time.

And I felt like such an idiot. Lesson learned.

Buying a house in 2006. Getting the mortgage with Northern Rock. Getting a 100% mortgage.

Then the financial crisis, negative equity, Northern Rock went bust, mortgage prisoners for several years.

Sold in 2018 and just about broke even so we just as well have rented for those 12 years 🙄

So in summary, bought at the absolute worst time, just before a housing crash and sold just before the housing boom. Hindsight's a treat.

Mine was a horse too!

Damn, hoped I was going to be the first to say that.

Mine was when I was 21. I brought an Audi on finance. I moved for work and then unfortunately had to sell the car! I was in negative equity and had to take out a loan to pay the remaining finance off.
I was still paying the car off until I was 26!
I was young and naive and would never buy anything on finance/credit ever again!

Came on here to say horses too

surely, if you broke even you essentially lived rent free. You got back what you paid. If you had been renting youd have thousands spent you couldnt get back

Not buying a flat in London when I lived there 25 years ago. It didn't seem like a priority but I could have got a mortgage for a 1-bed in zone 2 that would have been worth a fortune now!

Interesting thread.
mine was just fucking up with credit cards whilst on Mat leave and going bankrupt.
Im in a much better situation now and the bankruptcy is off my record, credit score is gradually raising, I own a flat outright which I rent out and have a relatively well paid job finally. Things can get better.

1. marriage
2. buying house in 2006 with a mortgage form Northern Rock (not 100% but close). The years of negative equity me at it took much longer to get out of the marriage.

Probably working for a company with a gold plated final salary scheme and not joining until I’d been there ten years.

Not applying for r&d tax credits in the early stages of our business. They sounded too good to be true, thought they sounded like a scam. Actually, they would have been free money from the govt to which we were perfectly entitled. We struggled through several years of genuine r&d to get the business going. Was probably £100k+ we lost out on. Plus horrendous financial strain on our family.

Business is now a successful ongoing concern. But I sure wish I had that £100k in our pension, and/or we had avoided the stress of going through that financial fear.

Not buying the freehold of my flat when I was offered it. £ 800 in the late 80s 😭

Selling two homes to buy one, we should have rented one out.

Turning down a job offer on a highly competive and well paid graduate scheme with a one of the big consultants with stellar career progression in favour of a basket case startup (I was young and it was 2001). I have a friend who joined said consultancy on same programme a few years before me and made parter a few years ago and earns a truly unfathomable amount, whereas my career never really recovered.

Playing it really safe when buying our first property - bought tiny one bed when we could have easily afforded the mortgage on a small house. We've never had any property disasters and have a decent family home now but could have been in a much better place.

Happy marriage and three generally happy kids though so very grateful for what we have and I wouldn't change anything.

Switching from a 25 year base rate 6.25% capped to a 4.5% 10 year fixed mortgage in 2007. Actually could have been worse as it dropped to base rate after the 10 years.
Not buying that parcel of land behind our first house for £5000 in 1983.

Marriage and the divorce which meant I had to buy my ex out of the house.

We bought the house in 2006 just before the housing crash and I sold during the supposed boom but still didn't make back the money spent on it.

and mine

My addict ex 🤦🏻‍♀️