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.
"What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever heard teacher say in class?"
And Anyone With Such Closed Minded Views Shouldn't Be Teaching...
"Had the Head of the Department in college claim in class that anyone who actually needs accommodations for mental health issues should not be in college to begin with."
"This was while we were discussing 'Death of a Salesman' and the discussion had veered over to unhealthy pressure and social standards for success."- RavensQueen502
Wait what?!
"My very well-respected Biology teacher in college spent almost an entire lecture telling us that Jamie Lee Curtis was a hermaphrodite."
"It seemed oddly personal to him."- Urbane_Cowboy
Sad On So Many Levels
"Not heard but my freshmen year high school teacher once pulled a bottle of Jack out of his desk and took a shot during class."
"He was dying so towards the end I think he just stopped caring."- Mangothefello
Can't Take The Heat, Then Stay Out Of The Classroom...
"High school science teacher told my class that a kilometre was longer than a mile."
"Refused to budge when refuted and kicked out several students for doing so."- SupersonicDebris13
"5th grade teacher: 'Mount Whitney in California is the tallest mountain in the world'."
"5th grade me blurts out: 'No it isn't, Mount Everest is."
"Whitney is not even the tallest mountain in the USA, which is Mount McKinley in Alaska'."
"I got in trouble for 'contradicting the teacher'."- gtmattz
get out GIFGiphyIt's Not Just Students Who Are Bullies...
"I had a teacher ridicule a fat kid about his lunch choices in front of the whole class."
"He ran out crying as she was making fat guy blimp gestures and telling him he was going to be huge as an adult."- SnooOwls5859
Some Dramatic License It Seems...
"I had a literature teacher who told the class that he didn't believe in dinosaurs, because the universe is only a couple thousand years old."
"The bones were put there by Satan."
"Thank f*ck he wasn't a science or history teacher."- AllBadAnswers
of montreal dancing GIF by Polyvinyl RecordsGiphyEveryone Deserves Nice Acomodations...
"My English teacher told us that he genuinely believes that the Rothchilds own a hotel for aliens in the Bermuda triangle."- TroyLear77
Well, Then...
"We had this kid in our 6th-grade class."
"Very dark skinned kid from Africa."
"His name was Tajak."
"Every now and then when we'd line up to go to another class or lunch and the lights would go out some of his friends would go 'where Tajak at?'"
"Anyway one day we had a sub and we we're lining up for lunch, the lights went out and there went the 'where Tajak at?' and the SUBSTITUTE TEACHER who was also black went 'Boy you darker than night'."
"6th grade was f*cking wild."- 11221mikew
Sad Premonitions
"Psych teacher in high school told us that 1 in 10 of the people were friends with in high school would be dead within 5 years of graduating."
"At the time I thought it was hyperbole, but it turns out he was being conservative."
"3 of the people in my high school friend group were dead by the time I was 22."- Reddit
Do They Really Need A Reason?
"'Now girls, don't you let them boys touch your breasts'."
"'It'll give you cancer'."- jondru
Maybe Should Have Checked With The Geography Teacher?
"A teacher in Elementary school claimed during history class that the Colosseum was in Greece, as an Italian kid I was very confused, this was in Mexico."- Spascucci
So Much For Instilling Hope...
"Didn't hear this personally, but read in a book about a guy who recalled his teacher skipping chapters in a textbook and saying 'You will not need to know this when you are down in the mines'."- futanari_kaisa
The mark of a good teacher is that students will take everything they hear from them with them for the rest of their lives.
Though, the less-than-wonderful teachers may also say things their students will never forget.
Redditor RedditPenguin02 wanted to make a list of the best inquiries to make when starting a relationship, so they asked:
"What is a good question to ask before you start dating someone?"
From what I've learned in my past, always ask... "Are you into Buffy the Vampire Slayer? The TV show."
If it's a no, then it's a dealbreaker.
I Do
Shocked Schitts Creek GIF by CBCGiphy"Are you married?"
wrenchmonkey135
"I would ask that. If they said no, the next question was 'Would your wife agree?'"
"If they laughed, they were telling the truth. If they got indignant and pissed off that I thought they were lying…they were married."
"Worked every time."
Squibit314
We Lived!
"Do you clap when the plane lands?"
dont_u_know
"I swear people used to do this all the time when I was a kid (early 2000’s), and I don’t think I’ve heard anyone do it in 5+ years. I guess 9/11 really made people afraid of flying for about 10 years and then most folks decided they didn’t need to applaud when the plane landed safely?"
jmims98
Family Planning
"Do you want kids in the future? If one person wants kids and the other wants to stay child-free, then they are not compatible. And it is better to try dating someone else."
GoodAlicia
"It confuses me whenever some couples who disagree on this end up in a conundrum because one expected the other to change their mind. This is something I bring up early cause I see no future with someone who wants kids when I do not."
GoodAlicia
"You should always put childfree on your dating profile. It's not a small thing. Either you agree on it or not. If I had to date, I would put childfree on my profile too."
GoodAlicia
Carb it on...
"Do you like bread? That is the extent of my flirting skills."
HumpieDouglas
"Being German, bread is like a frickin' cultural phenomenon here, we have around 300 kinds of bread, there's a bread museum, every time I go on vacation I'm like yeah it's nice here but the bread ain't it yall, never as good as home lol. So yeah, valid question and the only answer to this is an enthusiastic yes."
Nayeliq1
Room Temperature
Frosty The Snowman Winter GIF by filmeditorGiphy"What temperature do you set the thermostat to throughout the year?"
OneFingerIn
"Haha this one always gets me as someone who needs low temps - you can always put on more clothes, I can't peel my skin off to get cooler."
djdante
The thermostat is a dealbreaker for me.
It's gonna be 60. Love it or move on.
Discovery
Blown Away Wow GIF by AminéGiphy"When was the last time you changed your mind about something?
"Opens a window to how they think."
youcantkillanidea
"If that was really early on in the dating I’d think it was a bit of a head-f**k question. I’d probably find that question a red flag, tone dependent, although I agree with the sentiment."
LivestockMarc
Personal Time
"Aside from major differences about finances, kids, politics, or religion, a big one is; What are your hobbies? If they don’t really have any, you may be the next hobby, which isn’t going to work unless you’ve got that kind of time. If the hobbies are time-consuming ones generally done with a SO."
"But you have no interest in them, that could be an issue as well. If only one of you likes camping, wanted to spend vacation lounging instead of exploring, didn’t like sports, etc either that partner is annoyed or the other feels like they don’t get to enjoy what they love."
Githard
Past Issues
"Ask them about their exes. If they think every single one of them is an a**hole... they are likely the real a**hole."
CantTakeMeSeriously
"I have mixed feelings about that - I've been in three previous relationships and all three were emotionally abusive towards me (one wasn't nearly as bad as the other two, though) in various ways. I know this is a common sentiment and it always makes me afraid that people won't believe me or something.
"I mean, I realize in your comment you said 'likely' and not '100% sure' and there's plenty of room for nuance."
phiore
Values
"I would try to take care of any dealbreakers. If I find out that she has different political values than I do, it's not going to work out in the long run, so I wouldn't bother. Same thing with other factors (religion, financial values, etc.). I would also ask how much cuddling she likes to engage in, as I prefer a lot."
SkullKrusher9000
Essentials
Tell Me More To Do List GIF by Disney ChannelGiphy"When I was dating my three essential questions were always kids, sex, and money. If you're not on the same wavelength for any of those three things, just don't even try."
KhaosElement
TRUTH PLEASE!!
"So, how much personal debt do you have?"
"Source: the guy who dated a woman with huge debts and was asked to pay for everything and then some".
"After that, I'd go with, 'Have you ever been diagnosed with borderline, narcissistic, or histrionic personality disorders?"
extracensorypower
The questions are basic.
Just ask for the truth.
Do you have any good Qs to add to the queue? Let us know in the comments below.
