To ask for your unexpected windfalls in life?

[strawberriesplease]

Lighthearted folks to give us some cheer as we waltz into December.

Mine was at a very expensive theme park.

Put money into vending machine for a Kit Kat and it released all the chocolate! About 30 different bars dropped. Kids were delighted and we gave some to the only other family behind us.

DH still talks about it as a life highlight

PPI payment of almost £4k from a loan I took out in the mid 90s.

I thought I was out of time to claim until I read something on the money saving expert website. I also used the money saving expert form to put the claim through which meant I got all the money rather than an agency getting a slice. All I needed was the amount I borrowed and my address at the time of the loan. I still had the same bank details.

I was the key contact for our company's travel provider and each year they ran a Christmas event for the travel bookers. There was always a very obviously rigged prize draw but one year a pre-selected recipient didn't show up so they had to an actual live draw. I won and it turned out to be an all-expenses paid trip to a beautiful town with 5 star accommodation, rental car and petrol, dinner bookings at high end restaurants. It was fabulous!

These are awesome! Especially supermarket sweep and the pension one, I mean Wtaf

I had a temporary job once and they mis typed the pay rate - they had to honour it! Was about £3 extra per hour, ker ching

Also got loads of tax back when working in Australia - about $4k

Also had back pay from an employer as they hadn't been paying us enough ( and they bloody knew it too)

I found a fiver in my coat pocket on Saturday . First time I’d worn my winter coat since last year.
We’ve just found out we are massively in credit on our electric bill. So no rise in our bill.

Great thread! 😁

When I was a single mum and struggling, I put £10 on the electric key, got home and put the key in, only to see £100 flash up. At the time it was the equivalent to a lotto win for me.

Was headed to work in america for the summer for the first time ever on my own. Sorted everything plane wise and picked my economy seat - isle seat at the front to try get extra leg room.
As I was boarding the steward ripped up my ticket and gave me a new one. Was directed to the left when entering the plane and straight into first class
Flight was over booked and I was the lucky chosen one. Life of luxury that was

(Unfortunately back in economy for the return flight a couple of months later haha)

😱 I know I was mis sold one in the 80's but never got round to sorting it......

We stopped at a, service station on a day trip. Dh went to the parking meter and discovered about £20 worth of pound coins in the coin slot.

The tampon machine in the train station where I went to university ate a pound coin and wouldn’t give it back. I fished around in the return slot and over a tenner came out. Felt like a lottery win.

I think marrying my DH was a windfall!

He has supported me through so much- serious illness etc and today when i was once again weeping about my toxic job he told me that for the last 2 years he has been squirreling away money into savings as he knew it was getting too much and suggested I quit and take a few months off before deciding what next.

I won three times in a row on the Jar-bola at the school fair.

Cotton wool (useful)
Sweets (yay)
Pickled Onions (oh well, can’t win them all!)

I’m a bit of a saddo, but pretty grateful for the following:

• Meeting my husband
• Having my son
• My son getting into an out of catchment excellent and oversubscribed school
• My husband and I getting good jobs
• Some of the wonderful holidays we’ve had
• And winning the amazing grandparents lottery as a youngster

Whenever I feel a bit down, I remember how lucky I really do have it.

I won a £50 shopping voucher at the school raffle. We were just about to leave when I heard the numbers being called. I checked my tickets and the numbers matched! I bought a pair of boots because mine were falling apart & I was on mat leave so money was a bit tight.

I won a football shirt once. I can't stand football but I wore it to do the decorating.

I once entered a competition for Leon when they asked people to suggest new breakfast ideas - I was unemployed and new in London so I spent a long time telling them about all my favourite breakfast ideas and what they should do - I won the prize of free breakfast for a year and would go around 3-4 times a week!

Recently £100 voucher from simply using an app. I emailed 3 people to check it was real I was convinced it was a scam but nope!

free piece of tiffin this morning to go with my coffee, from the nice man behind the till!

Late 1980s. Won a colouring completion at the local toy shop and got a shitload of Sylvanian families. It was amazing for 8 year old me. Must have been over £100’s worth then. Best day ever!

I won 20 tubes of smarties from Nickelodeon, 8 year old me couldn't believe it. The day they arrived I was off school sick and my mum wouldn't let me have any!

I won €7000 on an Irish radio competition simply for saying the word "floaters".

Not technically a windfall as it was my money... tried to close an ISA and it took over a year for one reason and another. Then one day I got a deposit of 4 grand in my account. I couldn't think where it came from until I finally worked out it was the ISA cash. I'd forgotten about it so it felt like a windfall.

A long time ago, myself and my boyfriend (who is now my husband) worked together, we didn't earn much at all and we were really skint, like couldn't afford petrol or a food shop skint, and I won the works bonus ball, it was about £300 and I remember walking around in a daze all day, I couldn't believe it!!!

this thread is cheering me up on a sad day

When i was 23 I broke up with quite an older boyfriend who’d had cheated on me. A week later he sent a cheque to my dad’s house for £30k for ‘uni and travel’