What's your cautionary tale?

[BrightInMyNorthernSky]

Having just got through the most stressful week ever due to a nightmare situation of my own making, I thought I would share a previous and current cautionary tale.

1. Always remember to change the address on your V5 and not just your license. I didn't. DH got caught speeding twice on the same day on the same stretch of road (33 in a 30) in my car. Both fines went to old address. Didn't answer them, obvs. The whole sorry mess played out without me being aware and by the time it all caught up with me it was had been banned from driving for six months and fined £2k - five months earlier! So had been driving while banned for five months!!!

Or eye drops for ecig oil...

Eh?

Love this one! It really made me smile. (With apologies to you and the dog, @Vroomfondleswaistcoat — as I’m guessing you didn’t find it that funny at the time…)

They mean to lie and so you can use their fake deaths for more annual leave

Never ever have a joint bank account even if it’s just for bills etc
my ex via one account got in to all my accounts!
robbed me of thousands!
yes I thought he was trustworthy

10 in my case. There's a lot of difference between 73 and 83.

I think she means that then you have 4 excuses to bunk off work

If you dye your eyelashes with that lash dye you can buy do diy, and it goes everywhere but your lashes and gives you panda eyes... don't believe a friend who says rubbing white toothpaste in will remove it....

If you meet a guy who says he's totally fucked up, believe him
If you meet a guy who says he's crap and selfish in bed, also believe him.. don't 'try him out' because he must be joking...

(this was all the same guy...)

Ditto with the guy (I'm female btw) whom you thought was joking when he said he'd done time, and thought he was gay....

Also if a man tells you he has a very small penis, don't sleep with him just because you think he must be having a laugh and he's actually very well hung.. you will be disappointed.

If your elderly parents gift you anything above 3k please make sure it is official.
My mum gave me some money towards an extension and my greedy vile brothers have questioned it in the inheritance, making out that I have dipped into her account and that I owe them !!

Don’t ever lock your keys in your car with the engine running.

And then go into a restaurant and eat and come back out and laugh and say “some dummy has left their car running.”

Don’t base a career choice on something that sounds amazing and you wonder why everyone isn’t doing it . If it was that amazing they would be .

Yes definitely my experience. Lost four friends after a serious illness which took me a year to recover.

This is a fab thread - feel like I've learned some good life lessons and wish there were others I'd known earlier! Here's mine:

1. Never leave a bottle of wine in the freezer
2. If you have concerns about your line manager, keep carefully dated notes of what you have done and what you have been told and email them to yourself so they have a date stamp. This helped me out in two roles, one with a manager who did no work and one with a manager who would advise one course of action, and after we had followed it, tell us that we had got it wrong and should have done something else... I was able to say "but last week you advised x" and eventually she realised I'd got her number.
3. Don't drink lemon squash when you have a UTI - stick with water!

If Ann has issues with Bea but is too nervous to say anything, (or happier moaning about the issues than sorting them out) don't get involved on Ann's behalf !

Because it then appears that you have the problem more than Ann ever did.

Learned that lesson many years ago and I've stuck by that since.

Don’t chop chilli before some fun with your partner 😳

Don't have sex in the bath (my one and only UTI)

don't assume doctors know best as they most certainly don't
Never underestimate the strength and power of genetics
Don't be a pushy parent be grateful for the abilities your children do have
Never think it won't happen to me
Always appreciate and spend time with your parents while you still can
Always look at the bigger picture don't presume you know or are seeing the full picture
Be grateful for what you do have and don't be envious of others
Cherish every moment of their childhood as it goes in a flash

Or before going to the loo or putting in your contact lenses. At least you had fun!

Don't save too much money for a rainy day as if you have to go in a home they will take the whole bloody lot off you to pay for your care
Do everything you can to keep your brain active to ward off the dreaded dementia

don't ever pay any money to a builder up front

Trust your instincts especially with your babies and DC. HV gave me lots of wrong advice especially around breastfeeding (said I needed to top up with formula, wake baby in the night, baby wasn’t feed long enough etc) when DC2 was happy and healthy and exclusively breastfed for 9 months.

Yep agree never trust a health visitor they all say different in any case and social workers leave a lot to be desired as well

Don’t screen shot a photo of a vague acquaintance you’ve been snooping on and send it to them, rather than to your friend…