Every new year, we tell ourselves, "this will be my year!" But when has that ever been true? It's impossible to have a flawless year, and we're bound to have a few screw-ups. But what happens when those screw-ups cost major money? These Redditors will tell you.
u/onlinebeing asked: What was your most expensive f*ck up of 2019?
Starting off strong.
I work at a company that handles PHI (personal health info). I work in the mail room stuffing those packets. I stuffed two peoples PHIs in one packet and the company ended up getting sued for 1.2 million.
Winner winner chicken dinner.
OOF.
GiphyA few months ago I bought a $190 Visa gift card at Family Dollar, only to drop it into a manhole on my way home.
Please tell me you bought it for a dollar.
That's how it be sometimes.
My boiler wasn't working, so got a plumber.
A line was pinched, or maybe had frozen, it worked fine when the plumber got there, £160 and he didn't do anything.
Our alarm wouldn't stop going off, so we called a security guy. £75 for him to walk in, unplug a battery and hand over an invoice.
"Rerental"?
I was contemplating moving out of my apartment but didn't want to pay the lease break fee of 2600 so my apartment sold me on the idea of a 'rerental'.
Meaning I would pay 500 for my apartment to be listed for rental and if someone moved in, I would be in the clear. 500 and I would be out scot-free. The only caveat was that I had to pay the rent until that happened. If someone moved in mid-month, I get the rest back.
Ok, bet.
Well, I pay rent the 1st month thinking my apartment will go fast since it's the only 1 bedroom floor plan without expensive upgrades but I found out that they don't list it as available on the website. So, It doesn't get rented in month 1.
Boom, 1300$ gone. The apartment is empty and I have paid for the move + move in costs for the new place.
That means I am now paying rent in my empty old apartment and my new place.
At the end of the first month, I decide I cant afford to pay rent in two places again so I tell them that Ill just go ahead and pay the lease break fee thinking I'll just suck it up and be done with it.
They say okay, however caveat #2 is that I now have to give a 30 day notice to vacate (even though I have already vacated) and then pay the fee.
So I had to pay yet another month of rent in this empty apartment AND the lease break fee in the same month + the rent at my new place.
If I had just paid the lease break fee originally, I would have saved so much. And this is why I don't gamble.
That's rough.
GiphyI was engaged in June. I was no longer engaged in September. Whole lot of money down the drain.
You've saved yourself potentially much more my friend.
Guess not.
So apparently not all brake pads squeak when they need to be replaced. Sometimes you find out when you hear the horrible loud grinding noise of metal on metal and assume you're about to die. New brake pads and rotors all around I suppose.
Bad puppies!
I left a nearly full box of Raisin Bran on the kitchen table, left to hang out with a friend. Came back home to find that between my three dogs, they'd ripped into and eaten all of it.
Just now paid off the $3,000 vet bill, finally. All the dogs survived.
Not a terrible suggestion.
GiphyI just got my new social security card and driver's license and changed my name legally after getting married last November. Guess who's getting divorced and needs to change their name again? This girl.
Find someone to marry with the same last name.
Never leave your wallet on your seat.
Not mine, but my wife's.
Left her wallet sitting in the passenger seat when she went in to work. Came back to a smashed window and no wallet.
So just over $400 to replace the window (deductible for the insurance was $500), and about $100 in cash that was in said wallet. Plus the headache of replacing all of her IDs, credit cards, etc.
College is such a pain.
Finished school that I paid out of pocket for, went into my internship, and absolutely hated the field. Decided I'm going back to school for something else.
There's been people who graduate with a MASTER's in teaching, teach school for a year and then decide F*CK THIS.
"Europeans, what is something us Americans aren’t ready to hear?"
In Case You Didn't Know Just How Big "Big Pharma" Actually Was...
"EpiPens cost $69 in the UK compared to the US $600."
"And yes the Pharm companies are making a profit."- DevDudeZX81
Phonetics Ain't Gonna Help You With This One...
"Worcestershire."- TantrumZentrum
"Wash your sister sauce."- dbl1nk22
'I was making dinner at one point and asked my wife to get me the sibling cleaning sauce - once it clicked, she was hysterical laughing."- belsonc
And No, That Doesn't Stand For "Part Time Only"...
"27 days of PTO is absolutely normal."- Whole-Bank9820
Out Of Office Vacation GIF by StickerGiantGiphyAnyone From The UK Can Make That Clear...
"Europe and the European Union are not the same thing."- BradyvonAshe
Yes, They're Actually Efficient...
"Y’all need some trains."- CabbageMasher
Ironically, Church And State Are ACTUALLY Separated...
"Whats the deal with mega churches?"
"Why do you send them that much money?"- Jandolino
On My Way Church GIF by EMPIREGiphyBipartisanship? The Very Thought!
"Middle grounds exist."
"It doesn’t always have to be pro this anti that."- MySocksAreLost
"It's okay not to have an opinion about everything."- AlwaysCurious93
All Jobs Have Value
"Tipping is stupid."
"Just pay your staff a proper living wage!"- Coin-op77
"Tipping culture is placing the working class against the working class."
"And you lot are falling for it instead of striking."- Comander1SUV
At The Very Least, Not In Such Large Quantities
"Sugar does not belong in everything, esp."
"Not bread."- WrestlingWoman
Merely 2 out of 44
"Europe is more than England and Paris."- SloRules
Health And Education Are A Right, Not A Privilege
"It's neither normal nor okay to have to go bankrupt just to go to school or going to the hospital."- Roselily808
student loans burn GIF by Ethan BarnowskyGiphy...Um, Does Anyone Actually Need This?...
"You do not need a 5000-pound truck to haul your laptop and cellphone to the office."- It_is_Fries_No_Patat
Frustratingly, many Americans who will be told these facts by Europeans will look for anything and everything to argue about them.
As the most significant thing most Europeans aren't ready to hear, or at least don't want to hear, about Americans?
Most will look for literally anything to fight about, rather than actually taking a little time to enjoy the view...
Redditor wanted to hear about life in the recent past, so they asked:
"People born before 1990, what trivial skill do you possess that no one uses anymore?"
I had no skills in the '80s.
I was too young.
So tell me about history.
R We There Yet?
"I can re-fold a map correctly."
JungleZac
"I came here to say Reading a Map but yes, also how to refold it! I routinely amazed coworkers by remembering how to get to lunch spots without GPS after just one visit."
raulduke1971
"Yes. Yes. YES!! And how hard could it be?... if anyone bothered to notice or think or remember how it opened in the first place."
Far-Experience5137
I Remember
"Remembering phone numbers."
GreatMillionDog
"I remember the numbers for every house I lived in growing up, the phone numbers of the houses of my best friends from 7th grade and before, my grandma, and my first cell phone number. I've been married nearly five years and have no idea what my wife's phone number is."
AllModsEatSh*t
Tick Tock
"Being on time because you can't call and reschedule."
Sindertone
"I feel like you just always had an idea that plans could fall through, and were a little more excited when they didn't fall through."
"This is why there used to be more bars in restaurants, so you can wait for the rest of your party and have a drink or two, and I guess if they don't show your order there and enjoy a meal anyway or go to plan B. People also used to just meet at someone's and go from there, more so than they seem to now."
thatissomeBS
Classics
Vintage Read GIF by US National ArchivesGiphy"Using the Dewey decimal at the library."
FunStorm6487
"Still a relevant skill. If you search for a book, you're given a call number and you need to track it down."
heck-ward
Dewey who?
I have never fully understood any of it.
That's me though.
Developments
Looking Good Red Room GIF by BounceGiphy"I can develop and process photographic film and enlarge prints in a dark room."
Glade_Runner
"I took a class in high school that did this. Was fun!"
sjk8990
The Master
"Record to tape from the radio. Trying to make sure to not get the DJ/presenter talking sh*t or an ad."
Gankstajam
"I was a 'videotaping from TV' master! My anticipation of the end of commercial breaks was amazing, especially since you had to start the recording just a moment prior to having a cue that the show was coming back.
Of course, I was always screwed by those random late-night News commercials and the random extra-long pauses"
Maliluma
Hold On
"Using your shoulder to hold a telephone up to your ear while doing multiple other things at once. Now, the phones are so damned small I drop them."
Regular_Sample_5197
"Before cordless phones got really cheap, I walked around the house with a super long phone cord. My parents got sick of tripping over it, so they saved up and got me a cordless phone for Christmas."
"That phone lasted for so many years. They got it when I was a freshman in high school and it was still going strong when I graduated from college. I don’t know when or if it stopped working, but my parents switched to a phone with more features."
ZoraksGirlfriend
Glitches
"I outright destroyed Super Mario Brothers in almost no time flat very recently on Nintendo Switch after not having played it for probably 30 years. I did it totally from memory on just the second run-through. I even hit the multiple 1-up glitch on World 3-1. My kids thought I was a god (for just a few minutes)."
all4whatnot
"I grew up playing on the Super Nintendo. My son is old enough to play. The look on his face when I bomb through a level is priceless. Mama’s still got it, kid. He’s smart though. Kicks my a** in Mortal Kombat."
exWiFi69
SCORE!!
Sport Lol GIF by TikTok FranceGiphy"I can keep score in bowling."
sodangshedongerI
"took bowling as phy Ed in college. In the final exam we were given 10 lines of scoring and we had to score each line and add it up. 8 out of 10 was an A."
Qnofputrescence1213
Bowling is an art.
And keeping score is a gift... that I have never unwrapped.