So what are the most expensive mistakes you’ve ever made?
Some mistakes cost us physically – like stepping on an upturned plug or chewing raw chillies.
The expensive mistakes that leave us pitifully unable to point the finger of blame anywhere but our dear selves.
If ever there was a reason the kick yourself! Here’s a few of mine:
Tea Catastrophe
I recently spilt tea on my MacBook Pro.
Turmeric tea, to be precise.

Being a fairly chilled type, I can’t remember the last time I felt such a sudden surge of raw panic – apart from this moment.
The laptop carried on working just fine for about 24 hrs, then it went crazy.
Some keys stopped working, it started phantom typing and making weird shaky movements across the screen.
Then it stopped charging.
If your machine shows any of the above symptoms – it’s very likely to be water damage.
According to a reliable source, what I should have done, was tip the laptop upside down immediately – let it drain for a while and then cover it in dry rice. Yes rice – rice that that you cook and eat.

I tried the rice remedy a few day too late since it didn’t work. Apparently it can also get your smart phone working again if you drop it in water!!
Rice power!!
Anyway, the laptop was well and truly unconscious, despite it only being a small amount of tea that spilled onto it.
I was quoted an unspeakable sum of money to replace the keyboard area – with no guarantee that that would resolve the problem.
In fact, they said if the new keyboard didn’t resolve the problem they might have to replace the battery and/or hard drive – which would come with further throat choking quotes.
In the end, all sensible arrows pointed to buying a new laptop – seemingly cheaper than the potential mounting costs of repairing the old one.
I still need to go and collect ‘the deceased’ from the repair people – though I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do with it.
Book in haste and repent at leisure
I can’t be the only one who’s booked a holiday online and then days later I notice the price has gone down dramatically, or I come across a better deal that I missed when doing my prior research.
Kick, Kick, Kick, screaming inside!!!!

Worse than that, was the one time I booked a holiday online, not through my usual agents of choice – oh no, I was going to bag one of those ‘really good’ deals from those ‘other’ holiday websites!!!
I found the perfect deal, couldn’t believe how good the price was and paid in full.
After a few self satisfied minutes, I decide to look through the order details again – feeling smug. The smirk soon evaporated, as I quickly realised my ‘bargain price’ was only a bargain because it didn’t include any luggage. None whatsoever.
It ended up costing £100 per person via the airline, to add on a measly luggage allowance each – then we had to pay more money on top of that for priority boarding – since that’s the only way this airline lets you bring hand luggage onboard. Crazy is an understatement.
I mean, who gets on a plane with no hand luggage or hold luggage – it’s not exactly a bus ride!!
The shock on my face that night (around 1am) must have been priceless – no hand luggage!! What the heck kind of airline was this? I’d never experienced anything like it, needless to say, it took me a while to get to sleep that night.
I’d been had – and I hated it.
Anyway, you win some, you lose some I guess, but when you lose it hurts for a good while – at least until you get on the plane and forget all about it!
Rest assured, I won’t make the same mistake twice.
The Small Print
Another superbly pricey mistake I made was when I bought my first (leasehold) home and naively paid absolutely no attention whatsoever to the number of years remaining on the lease.
Years later, when it came to putting it on the market again, the unhealthy lease meant I had to extend it first – and boy did that cut like a knife.

Tip – avoid buying leasehold properties at all costs if you can (it’s such a rip off system in the UK, compared to other parts of the world), but if you do, be sure to check the number of years remaining and make sure you’re happy with that before getting carried away with making an offer.
Over to you
I’d love to hear about your most expensive mistakes in the comments below; maybe you’ll help me avoid a few in the future!!
Michael Polyak
1) I was squeezing pomegranate juice while Skyping and spilled a full glass across the keyboard of my brand new laptop. 2) Going 9 MPH over the speed limit on a highway in Iceland — $300 dollar ticket!
Cherryl
Oh, the keyboard sill – I can relate to that, ‘the heart just drops’ 😫and the $300 ticket sounds excruciating – they showed no mercy! 😔 🚙
Monika Bascombe
Not a big one , but once I didnt secure the telly cables at the back and my dog pulled them when he got tangled and broke new telly …it was only 2 months old 🙁
Cherryl
Sometimes it’s the shock, inconvenience and the hassle that creates more stress than the actual cost 🤪
Laura Novak
Getting married, or at least not leaving sooner he was such a leach
Cherryl
Sorry to hear that Laura 🤨I hope nobody tries to take advantage like that again.
Caroline Cordery
I sold my car but neglected to cancel the insurance immediately- the guy who bought it was uninsured and crashed it 2 hours later, leaving me with a claim against me and higher premiums.
Cherryl
Oh no!!! The Guy who bought it must have been thanking his lucky stars 🤭
CAROL PATRICK
In 1996 when we had a new fitted kitchen I signed up for extended Warranty insurances. Every year I sent a check off for each individual appliance, Fridge, Freezer, Built in oven, Built in hob, & Extractor fan. After several years – not quite sure whether it was eight or even 10 years, I received a letter stating that the Insurance underwriters had changed, & that they would no longer accept cover for extended warranty on appliances over eight years old! In those days it was before I had pc & home Internet, But looking back I am sure this was illegal. I had paid huge amounts out faithfully every year. Now I will never ever pay for extended warranty insurance on anything item!
Cherryl
That sounds like a nightmare Carol – and definitely dodgy – I guess you end up having to weigh up whether it’s worth spending even more money to chase it with a legal case – cost, cost cost!!!! 😰 I must admit, I never bother taking out a extended warranty and most electrical things have lasted longer than I thought they would 🤗
Ali Duke (@weirdoA)
I treated myself to a new laptop but didn’t get insurance. A few days later I accidentally spilled tea on it! It was not cheap getting it fixed! #moneytoburn
Cherryl
Just curious – how did they fix it?
Sarah Morris
#moneytoburn is buying a vr for son to play only once
Kelly
Hiring a car on holiday and my other half forgetting that he had the car keys in his shorts when he went in the sea. We had to call out the car hire company to bring new keys and we had to pay for a replacement set of keys
Cherryl
Crikey – that’s an unusual way to lose car keys lol 🚘
Geri Gregg
#moneytoburn my most expensive mistake was dropping out of uni during the first year, I still have to pay the full £9k when I’m earning above the threshold
Cherryl
You could probably do without that Geri!! 🥴
At least there’s a cut off point , if the debt isn’t paid back within 30 years – it’s basically wiped clean and you don’t have to remember to make payments, it’s more like a tax from your earnings – much kinder than bank loans and credit cards that can ruin your life if not managed properly 😝
Jennifer Toal
I went shopping to Liverpool and left my dress I’d just bought on the train so had to order it again online
Cherryl
No words Jennifer – I feel your pain 😖
Samantha M
Either the time I bought expensive train tickets way in advance and forgot I got them delivered – so turned up at the station to pick them up and had to rebuy them 🙁 at least I could use my original reserved seats haha.
Cherryl
Oh no….I think I know how that feels – I bought some months in advance then I couldn’t find them them when it was time to set off – ended up buying them again in the station – didn’t have time to check the website for what to do if I lost them (and never did find them….I think I might have accidentally binned them) 😩
Anonymous
The most expensive mistake ive made was leaving my girlfriend
Lisette Davidson (@Supersoniclady3)
#MoneytoBurn – some time ago we purchased a fridge freezer so it would fit under our kitchen cabinets – when it arrived, it fitted beautifully but no way would it open in the right direction and the doors were NOT removeable so you could change them round – it was late at night and we decided just to put it straight out for the dustbin – £300 worth of fridge freezer BINNED as it was totally useless to us and we had bought it online and could not return it, having discarded all the packaging!
Cherryl
Oh dear, that really bad luck – they should highlight the hinge position/or give you a choice to suit which direction you need the door to open. Seems unfair to lose all that money and then find it again for a new one 🤭
Mr Kevin W will
A Vauxhall vectra, wish I kept my trusty old Honda.
Cherryl
🚗
Caroline Signey
I swapped my fiat punto which I’d brought from brand new with my brothers Audi which turned out to need loads of work which was really expensive. Wish I’d kept my lovely little punto.
Cherryl
Cars and mounting costs always seem to go hand in hand!! 🚙👛
Christopher Wheeler
oohh when I was waiting for a train I was on the wrong track and only knew after an hour. It cost me to get back more than I paid for the first ticket. #moneytoburn
Cherryl
Train tickets can be sooooo… expensive – nightmare 😖
Joanne dawkins
Brought a new 65 inch smart tv for the living room after having the old 40 inch for 12 years. A week later my partner was fiddling about with the radiator and asked me to hold the metal grill which goes all the way across the top of it, which i did, I then proceeded to lean forward to pick something off the floor while still holding the grill and gouged a 4 inch long line down the middle of the tv. It’s still there now 🙈. Luckily it’s not really visible when the tv is on but looks awful on a dark screen.
Cherryl
Lol, one false move and we can destroy anything 😝 Thank goodness you don’t need to buy a new one – sounds like it probably cost a fair bit at that size 65inch!!!
Nia Jenkins
Purchasing custom made blinds for every room downstairs and realising I’d measured wrong for each and every one.
Cherryl
Tragic 😬, some companies will come out and do all that for you, I wouldn’t trust myself!
Victoria Easton
#Moneytoburn Bought a home many years ago in quite a remote area that I thought just needed redecorating. It needed everything! Even after a new kitchen, heating etc, I still sold it 2 years later for exactly what I had paid. Surveys are worth every penny!!
Cherryl
Wow, that’s awful, it didn’t go up in value at all!!! 🤔 …and maybe you should take legal action against that surveyor if you think they didn’t identify key concerns…
Lisa Bowler
Marriage and divorce – that old one! Lol
Cherryl
It’s always sad to hear this 🙁
Alex Brownlee
I knocked my new flatscreen TV off the stand last year :~(
Cherryl
I hope it didn’t smash!!
William Gould
Apart from dropping my phone down the toilet, I once bought a very expensive engagement ring and asked my then girlfriend to marry me. She said no, luckily, as she turned out to be an alcoholic! I had no idea, as she kept it well hidden. Got about a quarter of the cost of the ring back….
William Gould
#moneytoburn @gouldie7
Cherryl
😳 Lucky escape perhaps…
Candyfloss
I haven’t had any disasters really (touch wood!) It would probably be filling up with petrol, forgetting I was part-exchanging the car the next day. (@Natterjacktoad7)
Cherryl
Not to much harm done there – thankfully
Mary Baldwin
I ordered a new 3 piece suite without checking it would go into my room. I had to refuse delivery and re-book at extra cost, along with a glazier to take out the window so we could get it in – an expensive mistake.
Cherryl
Omg, a glazier as well 🤭 that sounds like a lot of stress as well as money. Don’t forget your measuring tape next time 😜
Karima Hoisan
I cringe at the Macbook Pro story…ow! I have one and it has almost happened to me..a Very expensive mistake indeed! Thanks for the tips just in case..
Cherryl
Yep. Now I have to get up to reach my drink – I won’t have it anywhere near my laptop 😝 Just don’t get too relaxed!!
janine atkin
i dropped my new phone and broke the screen. didnt have insurance!
Cherryl
Oh no!!! Was that an iPhone by any chance? Their screens seem to break really easily 😐
nadiashanahan
I forgot to cancel a subscription and ended up having to pay for another 12 months when it auto-renewed!
Cherryl
That’s really annoying and so easy to do 😣 they ought to ask if you want to continue rather than auto renew!!
floridaborne
When my kids were young, I bought a Yogi Bear campsite time share near a national park. The first few years were great. Then the time share fees went from $55 per year to $55 per month. The next year, the taxes and the time share fee were higher, so I stopped paying. I had paid the $11,000 in cash. When I moved to another state and eventually it was taken back by the people who sold it to me. When I bought it, I received a painting as a gift. I call it my $11,000 painting.
Cherryl
Tbh, just hearing the term ‘time shares’ gets my shields up, I’ve heard a lot of horror stories and now think of them as something to be avoided like the plague. The way your fees went up so drastically should be illegal 😠
floridaborne
It was the 1980’s. There weren’t many regulations for time shares. My ex-husband owned a time share in Hawaii for decades and used to go there each year. It worked well for him.
Cherryl
I’m glad it worked well for him – I guess some people do well out of it 😊🏝
floridaborne
He is one of the few people I know who actually got some use out of a time share. I knew of one couple who bought a time share in the North Carolina mountains and that’s where they went for vacation every year. But I know dozens of people who had the same experience as I did. So many promises and none of them kept by the people who sold the time shares.
Cherryl
My gut feeling usually steers me away from them, and anyone trying to sell them on holiday lol 🙂
Stacie May
I brought a brand new car, great at the time seamed a good deal… but the money i’ve spent on it I could have been on a mortgage… Not to mention its in the garage more than it should be! Cannot wait until the finance is paid off!
Cherryl
Awww, expensive toys that hardly get played with lol – we live and learn I guess!! 🚗 Hopefully you can claw some money back by selling it if you don’t really want/need it – once it’s paid off 🤗 🤞
claire griffiths
buying a new set of drawers for my son to only find them on offer the day i got my delivered for half price
Cherryl
So unfair 🥺
Alastair bull
Brought a £85 cashmere jumper wore it once and accidentally put it in the washing machine it came out shrunk and could fit my 5 year old nephew perfectly 🤦🏻♂️
Cherryl
I knew you were going to say that!!! Big mistake 😬 and so easy to do!
Sarah Oates
When I moved into my apartment I was paying the wrong electricity company for 6 months. Can’t get my money back so got a bill from the other company. Expensive mistake.
Still paying it off 😑
Cherryl
Oh no!!!!!
That sounds a bit dodgy, maybe contact Trading Standards, Ofgem and/or Energy Ombudsmen to see if you can apply more pressure for a refund 🤔
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/consumers/household-gas-and-electricity-guide/complain-about-your-gas-or-electricity-bill-or-supplier
https://www.ombudsman-services.org/sectors/energy
Lisa
Well we were redecorating my teen daughters room and she helped me build a wardrobe, I then left her to tidy clothes away and she leant on the tv , (which was flat on the bed), the screen completely smashed from the pressure- it was 3 months old , a 42 inch smart tv ! I didn’t have the heart to shout as she had done an amazing job helping with the wardrobe arghhhh!!!!
Cherryl
That’s a v. expensive mistake – esp when it could have so easily bee avoided lol 😫 📺 It does seem like a lot of these flat screen TVs crack and break easily these days though!!
kathcake2017
buying a top i liked then seeing it massively reduced in the sales a little while later 😐
Cherryl
Yep – hate that 🥴
CLAIRE WOODS
Buying a Christmas toy for my son early but then it got reduced in a sale a few weeks later.
Cherryl
Soooo annoying – that it when that happens – I think its best not to look once you’ve bought something as you’ll only torture yourself lol 😐
IAN CHEYNE
Trusting online casinos, i ended up a sad looser and £47000 lighter
Cherryl
Wow, that’s a huge loss – I hope you can avoid that happening to you again – those companies make so much money just by sitting watching us throw ours away and they really don’t care how it affects people’s lives 🙁
Jan Johnson
Getting married he’s cost me a fortune
Cherryl
Ha ha – hopefully he’s worth every penny Jan!! 🤔
Laura Pritchard
Losing my keys and locking myself out the house – changing the locks was pricey!
Cherryl
Yes!!!! I forgot about this one Laura – I’ve been there too, and another time I locked myself “in’ the house (don’t ask!!) and had to wait while the locksmith literally broke in – super expensive – I think locksmiths are the new bankers lol 😣 🔐
Tanya
Dropping my new iphone in a swimming pool on holiday!
Cherryl
Noooooooo!!!!! 😬 😰
But maybe if you’d got to a supermarket quickly and stuffed it in a bag of rice for a few days …….apparently this works sometimes!!
Eva Appleby
The most expensive mistake l ever made was buying a second hand care privately because once you give the cash that’s it your on your own. the car had so many things wrong with it that it cost me more than l paid for the car to make it road worthy. lesson learnt big time.
Cherryl
I watched a documentary once – talking about how a lot of dodgy cars are sold with mixed parts from all different cars and then disguised to look like a newer car with paint spray etc…..and then paying with cash is always a huge red flag for rip off potential – I don’t know how these crooks sleep at night Eva 😡
Emily Hutchinson (@emilyh13)
Buying a freezer because it looked cool even though it wasn’t frost free. It froze up fast and was just way too inconvenient so had to sell it on ebay. Lost hundreds with that, never again!
Cherryl
That’s very unfortunate – but I’m glad you at least managed to get some of your money back from selling it – good old Ebay!! 😌
Phil
I didnt read the small print when selling my business, I signed a contract with a dodgy agency and it cost me thousands!
Cherryl
Yikes, that sounds like a painful amount of money down the drain 😧
Jonno
Heard all about using rice to save water damaged electronics an it appears to definitely work. Most expensive mistakes always seem to be around flights and booking non-refundable tickets. Been caught out when plans have changed and we’ve had to rebook. Not great.
Cherryl
Yes, non refundable deals seem to catch a lot of people out. Rice on tech seems to work for a lot of people…and my old laptop seems to be working again now, albeit with an external keyboard. Maybe the rice helped!!! 🤗
gypsysoulsun
Financially: aiming to retrieve my daughters funds for a life insurance policy of my deceased mom’s to try to place the funds with respectable financial managers. The court red tape and lawyers fees on top of the emotional upheaval of unexpectedly losing my mom hit me in more places than my wallet.
Emotionally- not being able to forgive before it’s too late.
Cherryl
Financial expense and demands coupled with such raw emotional loss, all at the same time must be unbelievably hard to carry – I’m really sorry to hear that you have been/presently going through this – I really hope things settle and you manage to find peace within yourself and for your mum – bless her soul. I realise we all see things very differently – but I believe forgiveness is about the state of your heart toward someone (whether they are with you to know it or not) and you will feel better when that change in your heart takes place – forgiveness is an energy – not just saying and doing 💛x
Sheena Batey
I booked train tickets for a day trip on line and managed to make the return ticket for the day after. It cost me to change it.
Cherryl
Whoops – it really hurts to know your money went down the drain – no matter how much or how little 😢
Karen Usher
Most expensive mistake – Booked a flight, I was doing it at work when I wasn’t suppose to be on my phone so I was rushing – 1 – Booking flights on the phone isn’t easy in the first place 2 – Should have been doing it when I had more time to concentrate….but the price was right, and I got excited…..booked the right date….in the wrong month. Tickets were non refundable……..I couldn’t travel on the dates that I was meant to travel on, lost all my money, husband was livid………lesson learnt the hard way.
Cherryl
Ouch – that sounds painful!! I bet you won’t make the same mistake twice though – I bet you’ll be triple and quadruple checking all future bookings 😝