What was your biggest financial mistake?

[QuickNameChange22]

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.

Getting married. Never again!

You wouldn't. I was born in 53 and had to wait until I was 63 and bit for mine.

Google rebel finance school.

Not claiming back higher rate tax relief on pension contributions for years.
Not making extra contributions on my pension.
Not sacrificing bonuses to pension (and instead paying 40% tax on them).

Anyone over 50 who hasn’t already, do make an appt with pensionwise (free govt advice service for over 50s).

I have just made repeatedly little mistakes my whole adult life. Never saving because there is always somehing I —need— want. It’s awful how I have just frittered money away.

I have equity in my house and an NHS pension so have those bases covered but I wish I hadn’t been so gullible with all the cheap credit around in the early noughties.

You’re not the only one leakycauldron. I bought a flat with a 14 year lease at auction. It came with an apparently served s42 notice to say renewal would cost £80,000. The s42 was fake. Turned out renewal would actually be nearer £200k. Had to sell at auction again because I didn’t have that kind of money to renew the lease. I bought it for £178k, renovated for £40k and sold at auction for £100k. The first solicitors (who faked the s42) did us over. I have always worked in law firms and never met a dodgy lawyer but property is another thing!