What was your biggest financial mistake?

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Was watching an interesting video on YouTube of people talking about their biggest financial mistake and thought I'd be nosy and ask 😁

Mine (aside from having kids 😂) was either:

Taking a credit card out ",for emergencies". It's just amazing what I justified to myself as an emergency when I had that card!

And also taking out a student bank account with a £1.5k overdraft and thinking it was basically free money. Cue the next 4 years of constantly living in my overdraft, my wage not even half clearing it before I spent it to the limit again before the next payday. Sometimes I wish I could go back and give my idiot self a bloody shake.

Staying at home with my kids for seven years. I did part time work and was self employed at various points but the damage it did to my career, pension, confidence, and employability has put us in a tough spot even now our kids are nearly grown. I loved being there for them but hate what it did to our finances.

Ending up in debt of about £20,000 as I was young and stupid!

Marrying my now ex husband 🤪

If we're talking purely financial - working p/t for many years, which means my pension took a big hit.

Getting rid of a really good car that had no finance on to get one I liked the look of, paid a lot of money for, and don't like very much.

My dog 😂

Getting married!

The divorce was expensive!

Two.

1. Carelessness with credit cards after I bought a car in 1982.

2. Not standing over Mrs B and getting her to re-enroll in the Teacher's pension scheme after going part time c 1993 after DD was born.

We're now retired and at least £10k a year worse off for that.

Mine was thinking I had lost my debit card. My now ex wife assured me everything was OK as she was managing online. 4 years later having thought I could trust her until the day I died I found out I was £7000 overdrawn.

It then took me another 4 years to find out the whole truth about her.
I ended up with 3 ccjs and losing our family home to her because all the debt was in my name and her credit file was clear.
A very clever woman. I learnt lessons but still struggle alot with how stupid I was.

Buying a flat with a short lease...bought in a very popular area and we must be the only people to have lost money on property in that area.

Also getting into £25,000 debt by the time I was 20!

Following through on buying a moneypit that my DH was keen on when every fiber of my being was telling me that we needed to walk away.

It is an albatross around our necks and we will never be in a position to sell without losing our shirts.

We bought points on a Timeshare club in 1998. Not a fortune, about £4,000. For this we got a weeks accommodation in quite good resorts, mainly in Spain or Tenerife. We had to pay maintenance fees annually, flights and car hire. First 2 years were good. Then our DCs started holidaying with friends, and we found the smaller apartments, for just couples, tending to be in the worst positions in the resorts. Fees increased every year, till the fees were higher than booking an apartment on Vrbo. We were self employed, with a high street shop, and having the points made us have a holiday every year, even the less profitable ones, so we did have some good holidays. When Woolworths closed, we felt the glory days of high streets were over, so we got rid of all liabilities, and hunkered down for the storm that followed. We had to pay over £600 for our last years maintenance and sold our £4,000 worth of points for £250. We were glad to be shot of them.

Buying a flat with a sibling and not agreeing upfront what would happen when one of us wanted to sell. Big financial mess and also emotional disaster.

Not finding a way to maintain my NHS unbroken service/pension contributions while retraining. I don’t know if it would have been possible in any way, but I never even tried to find out.

Getting scammed by one of the most obvious scams possible. It wasn’t a terrible amount of money, but enough that I just felt so stupid. I knew it was a scam somewhere deep down.

Having a joint bank account and business bank account with exh where either of us could withdraw money. He had an affair and broke my heart then emptied our bank accounts including business account and exploded our life apart. I always said I'd never trust another man. I remarried and do trust me DH but I still keep my own bank account. We have a joint account and both pay money across into it each month.

I was buying an apartment almost 15 years ago when I met my ex. The sale dragged on for months due to a few recievership issues so I end up moving in with him and as time passed I decided there was little point in buying on my own anyway and I could exit contract due to the delays.

We broke up.

The apartment that I could have bought for €220k was sold for €505k last year!

I should have bought it and let it out but I was young, stupid and in love!

Not starting to invest small amounts from my 20s onwards knowing now how much that mounts up. Buying a house that was tiny and far too small for kids (1 year before I got pregnant) and then not being able to sell it in the 2008 economic crash. Ended up losing money on it.

Buying horses

In my case, not getting married to my partner of 10+ years, so when dp died suddenly we paid a fortune in inheritance tax and I very nearly lost the house.

Was just about to post the same. May as well have burnt my money

When I went back to work full time after raising my dc alone - they were all in primary school (nearly 30 years ago). At the time I was in a fairly new relationship and this part time cock lodger convinced me not to join the pension as because I was a single mother I needed all the money in my hand. It seemed right at the time but now I really regret it. I left the job 19 years later then spent five years caring for my father. Went back to work 4 years ago and this time joined the pension scheme but I am a few years away from retirement age now and will have six years of paying into a pension so no idea what I will do.

Same!

Yup, been there.
People assume horses eat hay... whereas we know they actually eat money.
Lots of it.

Renewing my mortgage for 5 years then deciding to move after 2. Spent almost £10k in early repayment fees which could’ve gone towards the next house.

Buying our current house ten years ago. It’s barely increased in value in those ten years (10 per cent absolute max increase). We want to move closer to our DC’s schools but prices have rocketed in that area (about 20 mins from where we live now).

My current car. Having a car like that was beyond my wildest dreams but it has been nothing but trouble. I could have bought a car outright with what I’ve spent on repairs. And it still has 2
ongoing issues.

@LadyLolaRuben @hattie43 @Needapadlockonmyfridge but I bet they bring you so much joy!

I'd love a dog, not the same price commitment as a horse obviously but we can't afford one at the moment and it wouldn't be the responsible thing to do 😭