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Original poster

What is your worst and most expensive financial mistake?

303 replies

HorseHeist · 19/05/2023 21:37

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 Hmm 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?

OP posts:
Wilberthepig · 21/05/2023 18:38

Getting pregnant to my abusive ex

He ran up 8k of debts in my name (was only 19 and didn't know I could dispute 'my' signature)

He fucked off-taking everything that wasnt nailed down-incuding my dds bed,my fridge and freezer and my cooker

no csa from him,no money of my own and bailiffs banging on my door

My narc mother paid off the 8k-and bought 'new' (second hand but new to me) bits to replacewhat he'd helped himself to-i had to pay her back (fair enough)

At £100 a week-and that went on for just shy of 15 years (id be still paying it off-along with other 'debts' like her Christmas presents for dd or clothes she bought-if I hadn't lost it with her and went nc)

Turned out my brother and sil had ran up over 50k of debts and my mother paid it all off-and I was paying it back!

It was written off in the end as they had a child who was the closest thing to God and they couldn't afford to pay it back (!)

I know 100% that they've ran it all back up again and this time it's her parents who are bailing them out-they are trying so hard to keep it from my family as I'm not around to stump up the repayments this time

Snippit · 21/05/2023 18:41

Horse here as well, complete waste of bloody time and money. After seven years the bitch of a mare broke my bloody arm, on a purpose. She was a nasty piece of work. Spent loads on the cow bag, good food, supplements, physio, the lot. I sold her in 2017, don’t care where she is, as far as I’m concerned Findus are welcome to her for their lasagnes, honestly she was a psychotic bitch. For those who say horses have a sixth sense and know when you’re not well, etc, etc, she took the piss even more. Total cost of purchase and seven years of livery approximately 30k 😢 That’s time and money I’ll never get back 😫

Zoejj77 · 21/05/2023 18:44

Bought a flat just before market crashed got a dodgy rate and solicitors didn’t advise me about the lease complications. Stuck renting it just about breaks even at best

IKnowItsNotMine · 21/05/2023 18:48

I’ve dodged bad mortgage & PCP decisions but have also been caught out by a horse purchase.

Brought from a distant friend, had it vetted, got professional involvement from the beginning, everything tack-wise fitted and refitted by a master saddler.
He’s nothing but an expensive pain in the arse, who’s talented but CBA and unsellable.
Ill continue pumping money into him because I can’t admit any of this IRL and every Sunday evening I have to see other people’s weekend success stories posted on FB 😭

CriticalAlert · 21/05/2023 18:51

Getting into REALLY serious credit card debt. Thank God I managed to claw myself out of it with the help of Payplan..... but it took years to repay. Terribly stupid attitude to 'free' money.

Sainte · 21/05/2023 18:53

Paying extremely high school fees. Waste no of money. I could have been a stay at home mummy and sent the children to local schools. I thought I was doing my best but it truly was a waste.

MsButterfly · 21/05/2023 18:56

First house bought for £235k at property peak, sold post recession 5 years later for £117k. Still hurts!

TicTac80 · 21/05/2023 18:57

-the guys I've been in relationships with over the years. Abusive, cheating tossers. I am grateful for my beautiful DC though, and wouldn't change them for the world.
-not being more sensible with money in my late teens/early 20's. I should have saved hard and bought a property then (and not got married)!
-marriage (well, divorce!).

GP75 · 21/05/2023 18:58

Colinthedaxi · 19/05/2023 22:46

The opposite to many others, not getting married to the man I’d lived and worked with for twenty years. Then he died without a will…

💐💐💐

PointyMcguire · 21/05/2023 19:16

HorseHeist · 19/05/2023 21:37

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 Hmm 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?

Ha I was literally just coming on to say horses! Also had 2 unsuitable ones in quick succession, one sold at a loss, one has now gone on permanent loan as he’s a complicated sort. Youngster also suffered a career ending injury that has cost more than I care to add up so is now mostly a pretty lawnmower 🙈 Just started looking for a new one and really hoping 3rd time lucky 🤞🏻😬

hattie43 · 21/05/2023 19:19

I've wasted huge sums on horses over the years . If I had my time again I would have knocked some sense into myself .

TimPat · 21/05/2023 19:25

Training as a nurse. In a sense I'm fortunate in that I did it at a time when there was a bursary and didn't have to pay fees so I'm not saddled with debt from the training.
However I am stuck in a career that I loathe with a pretty low ceiling for earnings and a vocational degree that doesn't offer any prospects to do anything outside of what I trained for.

tatteddear · 21/05/2023 19:27

Agreeing a set figure of cm a month with exh instead of going through CMS. Wanted to keep the fragile peace. Missed out on hundreds a month. Wasn't an issue at first as I was earning well. I've now had to all but stop what I call 'proper' work-the thing I'm trained for in favour of little gig economy type work as dd2 has mental
Health issues which mean she needs me at home more. Now struggling a bit for money.

cookie4640 · 21/05/2023 20:00

OH bought a tractor on a man’s word. It arrived and it was a fucking rat. I hate that man that convinced hubby to buy it so much, I want to poison his business. But I won’t, because I’m a firm believer in karma and maybe, just maybe because he

AnxiousPixie · 21/05/2023 20:00

Marrying my ex husband

cookie4640 · 21/05/2023 20:02

Ffs don’t know what happened there!

so maybe, just maybe because that guy took a monumental shit on us from a great height and we lost thousands of pounds, the universe might grace him with a life changing car accident or maybe stage four cancer? Yes I’m bitter still. Suck it up.

WeAreBorg · 21/05/2023 20:06

Its quite wholesome to hear that the ultimate women’s ruin is horses. Those handsome stallions 😍

I dumped a couple of men at university who have since gone on to become absolutely loaded. They were very handsome and had lovely personalities. I was genuinely a massive twat back then 😂

celticprincess · 21/05/2023 20:17

Paying my student loan off with the equity from my first house sale. First house bought early 2000 with an125% mortgage. Wasn’t a massive issue. Bought for £45k and sold for £70k if I recall. I had started laying back my student loan so when my then DP and k decided to buy together I sold it and used the equity to pay off my loans. We then bought our next house on a 100% mortgage rather than me putting in for a deposit and him not. Was meant to be long term house but after we married we needed to relocate for his work and sold it for pretty much what we paid after a few years and managed to pay the moving fees etc. It’s probably worth a decent amount now. We then bought another property after renting for a year on another 100% mortgage. Unlike others who vowed to stay clear of them we didn’t have any issues previously and could buy a bigger house for the same monthly outgoing as our rent of a small flat. Literally a week after we completed, the 100% mortgages were pulled forever and the house also went into negative equity. It’s still not actually worth what we bought it for now, 15 years later. Bought on my name this time as he had bad credit (non fault and was removed eventually) but then we separated. I’m still in the house. I do have equity from what I’ve paid off over 15 years . But I always think back to those student loans I paid off in full. I would have probably had most of them written off by now if I’d not paid them as I went from working full time, to full time on a massively reduced salary, to being made redundant to then working part time. Martin Lewis was never around back then but more recent advice to people has been to not bother paying off loans in full and treat them more like a monthly tax. If I’d put that original equity into a decent bank account I’d maybe have savings now.

MessyBunny · 21/05/2023 20:20

Buying a house near a busy road.

T1Dmama · 21/05/2023 20:21

Our past makes us who we are.
no mistakes… only lessons

33goingon64 · 21/05/2023 20:35

Getting caught in a first class carriage travelling to work on a rammed train (loads of us in first class as previous train didn't come and people just squashing on). The train stopped to pick up ticket inspectors. Turned out I had forgotten my purse (sods law) so couldn't pay the £20 fine. Offered lots of different solutions like husband paying over phone with credit card etc but the c**ing inspector reported me and got a court summons. I found a fare evasion expert solicitor to appeal for me... a grand later and I was let off.

toxic44 · 21/05/2023 20:38

Buying a house I could barely afford with a guy who left me within the year. Just escaped foreclosure, had to pay him his 'share' of the market value. I was in debt for years.

Liz1tummypain · 21/05/2023 20:40

An endowment mortgage. Fell short by almost 30K when we moved. We had to add the shortfall onto the next mortgage. Complained to the Financial Ombudsman and they told us we should have expected the value could well not come up sufficient. Lost all faith in the Financial Ombudsman service since then.

Okthenhun · 21/05/2023 21:00

celticprincess · 21/05/2023 20:17

Paying my student loan off with the equity from my first house sale. First house bought early 2000 with an125% mortgage. Wasn’t a massive issue. Bought for £45k and sold for £70k if I recall. I had started laying back my student loan so when my then DP and k decided to buy together I sold it and used the equity to pay off my loans. We then bought our next house on a 100% mortgage rather than me putting in for a deposit and him not. Was meant to be long term house but after we married we needed to relocate for his work and sold it for pretty much what we paid after a few years and managed to pay the moving fees etc. It’s probably worth a decent amount now. We then bought another property after renting for a year on another 100% mortgage. Unlike others who vowed to stay clear of them we didn’t have any issues previously and could buy a bigger house for the same monthly outgoing as our rent of a small flat. Literally a week after we completed, the 100% mortgages were pulled forever and the house also went into negative equity. It’s still not actually worth what we bought it for now, 15 years later. Bought on my name this time as he had bad credit (non fault and was removed eventually) but then we separated. I’m still in the house. I do have equity from what I’ve paid off over 15 years . But I always think back to those student loans I paid off in full. I would have probably had most of them written off by now if I’d not paid them as I went from working full time, to full time on a massively reduced salary, to being made redundant to then working part time. Martin Lewis was never around back then but more recent advice to people has been to not bother paying off loans in full and treat them more like a monthly tax. If I’d put that original equity into a decent bank account I’d maybe have savings now.

I wouldn’t beat yourself up about this. Martin Lewis I think is talking more about modern student loans that are like £50,60,60k and will never get paid off so pointless doing it in one go. Student loans from the naughties were a lot lower?

sgtmajormum · 21/05/2023 21:11

Going on maternity leave April 2010, thinking I would return to work after 1 year and would get 50% of childcare paid via tax credits.
Living in a newborn baby bubble for gge next year until planned return to work April 2011, finding out the income bands for tax credits had been dramatically slashed in that time and no longer qualified for any childcare help.
Two kids needing childcare would have cost more than my salary so no choice but to be sahm til oldest in school.
Knock on effect was mortgage prisoners and a huge financial strain on marriage ending in divorce 6 years later