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?

Buying a doer upper house abroad...big big big mistake

This can be sorted. Try bicarbonate of soda sprinkled everywhere (seats, carpets, and mats), leave overnight, and then hoover. Lots of windows and doors open. Leave it in the sun. Failing that, a professional valet of the car will sort it.

Me too. If Dh and I had stretched ourselves and bought a 1 bed flat instead of renting, we'd have set ourselves up to buy somewhere fantastic when we moved out to where we live now.

@Camillasfagwrinkles Same! I think the one I was thinking about was with Qantas

It won't.

I spent hundreds on mine including having it professionally "bombed" and as soon as it git warm in the sun, the smell came back. And if i leave anything in the car it stinks too.

@autienotnaughtym I'd take it back!

Buying a new build flat and then getting stuck in the negative equity trap.

+1 for the dad/grandad.
Refreshing that someone didn't jump on the bandwagon.
I know of lots of dodgy games with council houses - no longer see an ex friend/acquaintance because of one.

1. Picking up the habit of gambling at a relatively young age. Just before Graduating..' So timed well with employment, online gambling and mobile gambling. I must have spunked a small fortune with over a decade of addiction.

Cost me tons of money in debt and fees, friends, family

2. Not buying a house (with 100% mortgage) when I left uni. And I lived in dirt cheap areas post unit. Liverpool & Derby. When i finally got my senses I was in Sussex/ Hampshire areas. Some of the priciest places in the country!

Admirable and his widow has presumably done what her late husband would have wanted.
Principles in action.
No one has lost anything in this scenario.

Opening a cafe, just before Covid!

My Ex and his stupid financial decisions. I’d give everything I own to get back the years stick in toxic relationship with him but just focused on trying to buy him out of the house I brought.

Always horses 🤣🤣🤣

Sadly no, it was a genuine University degree. must be 20+ years ago so not sure if it still exists though!

My ex husbeast! Drained me dry in our marriage, refused to get a job yet blew all our bank account while I was putting our shopping and bills in overdraft/ on credit card, then refused to cooperate with any of the divorce which made the cost eye watering. 😞.
Best financial decision was to have my children, they are worth every penny IMHO.

Prep school fees for my three oldest children. In my defence, most of my peergroup opted for private education and I was unaware that DD1 and DS were both autistic and would be completely unsuited to the school I chose (this was almost 30 years ago, I hope things are better now).

TBH, marriage and children have done me no financial favours whatsoever and I'd probably be a millionaire if I'd stayed single and childless. But sometimes money isn't everything.

Marriage

My dad left me his apartment. The estate agent (who had been recommended) came back two me after two months saying there had only been one viewing. I was 500 miles away and worrying about the service charge. He said he had a cash buyer who had sold his house and was living in temporary accommodation. His offer was £50,000 less than the agent's valuation. I turned it down and he offered £10,000 more. The agent said there were a lot of similar properties on the market and it was a fair offer. Reader, I accepted it. Turned out the buyer was a property developer who had done the same thing in the block a few months earlier and made a healthy profit (no doubt with a cut for the agent) after only a few cosmetic changes.

Oh well. I put it behind me and got a builder to carry out desperately needed improvements on my house. Turned out to be a cowboy. My dad's money disappeared and I had to replace the leaking roof four years later.
I know I'm lucky to have a house but my parents had worked hard all their lives and because I was naive (and let's face it, stupidly trusting) their money is more or less gone. And I feel very guilty.

opting out of my work pension scheme for 14 years. I could have retired this year at 55 with a very good pension. As a consequence I have to work another 12 years

Financial mistake 1)
Not being born a bloke. Being female at work has probably meant missing out on thousands in pay and promotions.
Financial mistake 2)
Not being born to rich parents. I’d advise all embryos to choose more wisely. Don’t make the mistake I did and be born to a steelworker and a teacher in the north east.
Financial mistake 3)
Marrying for love without thinking about gold-digging at all. Unlike my mate who married a multimillionaire (she loves him) and lives the life of Riley.

We’ve done fine financially, through a lot of hard work, being careful, saving and going without rather than going into debt.

But it’d have been so much easier if I’d had the sense either to have been born a rich bloke, or failing that, to have married one!

There's something very human and comforting about these replies. Highlights that we all have that "in hindsight" moment and goes to show that sometimes the things we envy others having can turn out to be their regrets later on.

We bought into a timeshare points club in the late 90s. It was good while the kids came with us, but once it was just the 2 of us, the lack of choice got a bit boring. When Woolworths went tits up we saw the writing on the wall for high st retail, which us what we were in, so got rid of as many liabilties as we could. It cost us a few hundred quid to get rid of our timeshare points, but so glad we did. We had 10 years of good holidays with them, but for anyone contemplating buying into timeshare, they are a nightmare to get rid of when you want to get out.

Not buying property in London in the late 90s, when I was in my mid-20s. I'd inherited a sum that would have allowed me to buy a small flat mortgage-free at the time. I didn't, preferring instead to have a good time, travel and keep a cushion of 'savings'.

However, I then also married a man who burned through a lot of it without my knowledge and, by the time I had extricated myself from him, I was a single parent and property prices had shot through the roof, way, way out of my reach.

It took me another 20+ years to buy my first property, and that only became possible due to help from family, moving 100 miles away for cheaper housing and getting a mortgage I'll still be paying off in my mid-60s. I'm happy and settled now but so wish I'd been 'boring and sensible' then!

Another horse! She lied through her teeth and sold me a dangerous horse for 3,500. It had a rearing issue. The worst of it was it was for my mother in her 60’s to ride. Could never sell it on in good conscience, total waste of money and also so much time and effort. Total nightmare just thankful no one got seriously hurt.

There are so many unscrupulous horse sellers and dealers about.

My first pony was a connemara who was completely nuts. We were banned from pony club because he was so dangerous. people kept asking 'Where did you get him?'.

In the end he had to be put down... after he bolted and put me through a fence and I ended up with a broken pelvis and internal injuries. I was 13.

The seller? My aunt.

Her excuse when confronted by my parents? ; Well, we had to get rid of him before he caused kaye (my cousin) a serious injury'.

I'm not even joking. We were inexperienced. I never liked the horse but my mother who was the younger sister told me I had to like him and accept him because it would make her sister happy.

Fuck you Aunt Dorothy.

And RIP poor Silver Banner.

Spending all of my savings (£16k) on medical treatment for a horse that then got a completely unrelated terminal illness just as the the initial treatment was coming to an end. I can't believe I was so stupid, but it's very hard to make detached sensible financial decisions where horses are concerned!