What's a lesson you learn the hard way in regards to money and finances

[Cupcakeicecream]

What's a lesson you learn the hard way in regards to money and finances.

Debts do have to be repaid, it’s not free money

What’s yours, OP?

If you're self employed/freelance: get every tiny detail of your work written in the contract and don't leave anything out because it seems 'obvious'.

I lost a month's full-time pay because the client said she didn't like the work I'd done but that it was too late to rectify and wouldn't pay me. I'd stupidly agreed to a vague contract and it was devastating

Don't rely on anyone else to support you financially - always work and try to save a bit each month.

When they say that the value of investments can go down as well as up they mean it.

Never ever trust anyone with your money....ever.

The safety net of family money is a huge privilege

If you have two part time jobs you dont always qualify for all the same things as one full time job. I dont reach the pension threshold in either job, and some other fluffier thing in one role.

Never, ever take out credit for someone. Not even your husband. When I was previously married I made this mistake and got a car on credit for us as a family. I don’t drive for medical reasons so when we split my husband took the car and promised to pay me the monthly payments. That lasted all of about 3 months before he stopped and I was paying it myself out of my maintenance payments. Then the maintenance payments stopped. It was only a year or so later when he was drink driving and wrote the car off that I could stop making the payments as the car was written off and the insurance paid out in full. I could have cried with relief as my son and I had been going without food to make those payments all so he could show off and drive his girlfriend around. Never again.

Don't become financially reliant on men/a relationship, even if it's alluring. Develop your own financial security.

Don’t spend above your means. Simple but true. Unless it’s something massive like a mortgage or a car loan, you save up for it.

Don’t lend money you can’t afford to lose.

If it seems too good to be true - it's almost certainly a scam. I've seen so many adverts for things which are just too cheap - only been caught once, never again.

When you graduate and the banks start bombarding you with offers of Student Accounts with absurd overdraft allowance, credit cards etc. - don't do it! They lure you into debt at a young age (when you don't know any better) and it is a very sticky situation to get out of at such a young age.

Don’t lend to friends or family. You’re likely to lose both the money and the relationship.

Never accept the life insurance offered by the bank when arranging your mortgage.

We were overpaying by £300 a year and it took me 3 years to realise.

Shop around for EVERYTHING

I'm not lucky enough to be a homeowner or have money to invest in stocks or crypto, but I think people are about to realise that you should never buy at the peak of the market. Things go in cycles, so look at long term data over decades and try to judge where the bottom is before investing, and have cash in place to invest. Not easy to do that at the moment though.

Don't bank on receiving money until you literally have it in the bank (bonuses, gifts, rebates, etc.). It is far to easy to think....I'll have £££ coming next month so it's OK to pre-empt that by buying xyz now.

Don't have a credit card.
Try not to go into your overdraft.
Never let a man move in with you unless he has a job.

You'll clear a debt much sooner by overpaying.

Always, always have enough hidden so you can run.

You need to think about the impact on your pension if you take maternity leave and/or work part time while your DC are small.

Lots of cheap things add up to a lot of money. Don’t impulse buy anything. Sleep on any purchase, you may not still want it in the morning.

@Iamboredandgoingforatwix impossible to time the market. Imo better to drip feed in every month and invest for the long term ie 10+ years.

Cut your coat according to your cloth.