Money down the drain - tell me your tales of misery!

[SomeOtherGirl]

Bad luck comes in threes, and I've had three money ones this week (the second one's not too bad)!

1- DH used a toll bridge that won't let you pay at a toll gate, you have to log on to the website when you get home. Guess what, he forgot - and used it in both directions. £80 fine coming our way! (And he wonders why I'm so neurotic about stuff! :-D )

2 - The toilet broke and needed replacing. I called a plumber and he wanted £160 plus VAT for the first hour. DH is currently redeeming himself for item 1, with a youtube 'how to' video and a toilet from B&Q. Dodged a financial bullet there! And shredded the divorce papers. Phew!

3 - But the most annoying one - I just mucked up an accommodation reservation in a really daft way that has made it cost an extra £130. Nothing I can do to undo the damage - I've tried, it is what it is - basically I lost out on a one-off discount. Urgh. That's a lot of money to me!

When this kind of thing happens, it makes me reflect on how difficult it is to save / earn money, and how easy it is to lose it, if you're daft enough (like us!!) For example, last night I spent three hours on the internet researching baby equipment to save £30 on the price of a baby item for imminent DC2. I was dead chuffed to have saved the money and was all pleased for a bit. That's three hours of an evening to save £30. How have I just thrown away £130 then?! What is wrong with me?

Now I'm wondering what I could have done with that £130, all the lovely things I deny myself in the interest of saving money.

*15 books for DC
*Probably an entire layette (if you still use that word!) for DC2
*10ish reusable nappies
*A total hair makeover including dye, perm and other glitzy stuff
*260 cans of diet coke
*A babysitter and meal and cocktails out on two occasions for me and DH
*A fancy upgrade on the pram I want to get for DC2 but can't justify
*A fancier phone next time I upgrade
*proper leather boots this winter
*A Rymek keyboard (total frivolity!)
*Petrol for four and a half round trips to see my DPs
*Tickets to go and see DPILs
*A lot of cinema tickets
*A lovely(ier) birthday present for DH
*Some clothes that aren't in the sale for once! (And therefore probably fit a little better)

I could go on :-D

Then I was thinking, hmmm, what could I do to make up that money, little by little - and I realised the world doesn't really work that way. I found 18p on the street the other day and felt I'd won !!!

So aibu to ask you to cheer me up and tell me the face palm moments when you realise you'd lost / squandered / wasted a load of money, what would you have done with the money if you hadn't lost it, and whether you managed to do anything to make it up in the end? :-)

On a fairground ride, being given £1 coins change from a £1 ride, probably a £10 note, in the 80s.

Big wheel roll ride, my purse burst open and see the owners picking up my change off the ground

I paid over a grand to get all the pictures recovered from a busted hard drive. My baby's birth and first two years, plus all of the family photos from that time. I have since learnt to always back up!

@BrumBoo

Mine is proper bloody idiot territory. Bought a car for the first time last week, had no one to talk me through it so just researched as much as I could about cars and using legit garages. Bought a second hand one that I could just trundle along in until I felt confident enough to drive something with more value, but not an ancient tin of shit either.

Less than a week of ownership and it's currently sat in a garage as it's 'too dangerous to drive'. For a car that apparently has months left on the MOT, the battery is gone, engine has faults, and the fuel tank is corroded to the point of leaking. Looking at losing the price of the car, or forking out £££ to have it repaired. It's been a really shit year even with Covid aside, cannot believe I've been stupidly done by this on top.

How much was it and how old?/ miles on the clock? Gosh that's rubbish :-(

@SomeOtherGirl, it's about 12 years old and just over 80k on the clock. Meant to be a 'reliable' car brand as well. Absolutely nothing mentioned of the issues on the MOT and fuel wasn't leaking until I filled it. Just waiting for a report and estimate so I can hopefully claim a refund under the Consumer Act. Either way, I'm out of pocket but it's a life lesson learned!

Husband forgot to cancel his salary payments for kiddi care vouchers that we used to pay for after school club with.

By the time he realised there was 500 non transferable non refundable £££ s in there....!

So gutting.

@dicksplash we were in Paris about 4 years ago and we ended up at a chinese buffet. I desperately needed to feed our 6 month old (breastfeeding) so I plonked myself down with my back to the food and our eldest went up and started loading a plate, my husband comes back complaining because all the food was cold and you had to heat it up in a MICROWAVE! I think for the 3 of us it was about €60 for a plate of microwaved food and 3 soft drinks!!

@sunglassesonthetable

Husband forgot to cancel his salary payments for kiddi care vouchers that we used to pay for after school club with.

By the time he realised there was 500 non transferable non refundable £££ s in there....!

So gutting.

We've got quite a bit stashed too. This was to be the last year we'd need holiday clubs and they were all cancelled because of covid. We've got £hundreds. I've seen on another thread that PGL take them. Have a look - you could do a fun family weekend or even a trip to Disneyland Paris. The type of accom and catering wouldn't ordinarily be my idea of a holiday, but it's better than wasting the vouchers.

for the car one go back to the garage you bought it from and ask them to pay for repairs sounds like a scam if its been classed as dangerous to drive

sorry cross posted hope you get your money back

@GabsAlot

for the car one go back to the garage you bought it from and ask them to pay for repairs sounds like a scam if its been classed as dangerous to drive

They're about 15 odd miles away and I'd have to take small children with me whilst risking breaking down again. I had no option but a garage within walking distance unfortunately. I really hope I get my money back as well, will use it towards something much nicer! In the meantime, I need to walk off some lockdown weight anyway .

BuggerBognor Ah, Bugger, you truly have a place reserved in heaven! Expensive, but not a waste, you must've made him sooo happy!

@veralynn what happened? ☹️

@Aiguablava

This summer I spent 100 on a portable air conditioning unit. Put it on for the first time to discover that although it blew cold air out the front, it also blee hot air out thr back and warmed the room rather than cooling it down.

I'd waited so long to use it due to the fear of having a massive electirc bill that I was no longer able to return it.

They have a tube on that goes out of the window usually?

Have a look - you could do a fun family weekend or even a trip to Disneyland Paris. The type of accom and catering wouldn't ordinarily be my idea of a holiday, but it's better than wasting the vouchers.

@Gazelda
Thank you! what a great tip!
Yes better than wasting them.

If it's the bridge that crosses the mersey - call them now and offer to pay before the fine comes - they usually let you off it you call them asap

Mine was when I left my purse at home (never done it before or since) and that morning's train was so packed that lots of people were standing in First Class who didn't have a First Class ticket. Guards went through mopping up £20 fines from these people - my turn came, I thought well fair enough I suppose, went to look for my purse and realised I didn't have it. Offered all sorts of solutions including DH paying over phone on my behalf or taking money to a station when I got to work... they weren't having any of it. Got issued with a prosecution notice which I managed to have withdrawn - thanks to a solicitor who charged me £1,000. That was fun.

I had a sh*tshow of a day today. First realised that my DS’s brand new £40 school rugby shirt had a stupid label sticking out on the side which needed removing before he could wear it for school. Cut it off and managed to snip the material with it...panic stitching before school...it looks like crap...might have to replace the shirt as it will probably tear in the wash. Then DS announced he’d lost his mobile phone. Told him I will get him a brick if he can’t find it...And to top it all, middle DD just found out College has moved her to another form as there are too many students in hers (they only had a month to realise that but decided to tell her today - she starts tomorrow 😤) As it happens I have had to pay for the yearly fees and other bits using her form number as reference...now they can’t find the payments as ‘ the reference is wrong’...no sht?!

Our biggest waste was another car one. Our car broke down and the garage took a while to look at it, when they finally did the mechanic very confidently said it was the catalytic converter so I said go ahead as we needed it back ASAP. Done the work and car still didn’t work, mechanic came back and said it was something way more expensive which we couldn’t afford so had to scrap it. Still charged for the brand new catalytic converter which we obviously never got to use. Best bit was it had already been replaced by them about 7months previously aswell!!!

I once took my (then) grotty boyfriend on a weekend trip away. I paid for everything because that was how he was (note past tense); we argued before we had even got on the plane; he watched cricket all weekend in the guest house while I explored; and I lost my airport parking ticket and had to pay $150 fine upon our return, which also happened to be my birthday.

Cut down a tree in our garden and then realised in our land titles it says we have to ask the council first for permission...

That I replaced all the carpets in my house I was selling and the eventual buyers said (to the estate agent who was doing the viewing) how much they loved the choice of carpet and couldn't believe that I'd replaced it all but they hated the bathroom. Well they bought the house and left the very expensive bathroom and tiling and ripped up every single carpet and replaced it. I should have saved my money

Read Barbara Amiel’s memoir which is serialised this week. Lots of handy money tips. Apparently if you go down the Clermont Club tycoons will give you a cheque for £100k in 1980s money for doing nothing but looking decorative. Then you marry a billionaire but be careful cos people you thought were your friends are not your real friends.....And always check the price of posh sheets cos they cost £10k. You think you’ve got it bad OP, Barbara wasted much more on bed linen.

Something went wrong with the car which seemed like an easy fix so meanwhile spent the best part of 300 quid MOTing and servicing it. Turns out it's not such an easy fix and car might be out of action entirely! What a waste!

OP - definitely phone Merseyflow in the morning. I had a colleague negotiate £2000 of fines (don’t ask) down to £500! I’m local and it’s a real hot potato. They’ve e so many people not paying, if you nice and polite they’ll let you off. If it’s a regular journey you can set up an account so it takes it automatically. (I’m local)

I found a pair of special 5G football boots under DSs bed, in the exact condition they were on the the day we bought them 2 years ago. Apparently he forgot he had them.

Have also spent £80 on a full tank of petrol and a further £150 to have it drained out of my diesel car. Thankfully I didn’t turn the fine on so no other damage.

Getting lost in the city centre last week - 3 bus lane fines coming my way ☹️