Money Saver’s Pain – Or How I Put My Foot In It!

Whilst preparing a blog post on all the freebies I’d managed to accumulate in 2012 and feeling very smug with myself, I kept getting flashbacks of all those other ways I’d lost money in a multitude of ways.

For a reality check, let me remind myself of how…

• A couple of years ago I arrived at Stansted airport with the family 4 hours before the flight thinking how we were going to get bored with all that time on our hands. When we went to check in two hours later, we were told our flight had already taken off half an hour ago! Upon rechecking the tickets (I thought I’d looked at them the day before) I realised I’d made a major (and costly) mistake. 4 brand-new tickets had to be bought and I am now known for my obsessive-compulsive disorder regarding plane tickets.

• Seeing a great 3×2 offer on expensive chocolate at an out-of-town supermarket, buying 6 bars, not checking the sell-by-date and finding out once back home that they were all out of date a month ago.

• After taking the kids out to a pizza restaurant and upon getting the bill handing over half the money plus a 2×1 voucher, only to be told it was for a different pizza chain (very red faced!).

• Seeing prime minced beef in Hipercor at only 7.99€ a kilo, buying a couple of packs to make lasagne and being charged 7.99€ per pack (my mistake for not looking carefully). Went home to make a very expensive lasagne.

There are lots more, but these are more than enough to make me eat humble pie. Maybe the next time someone refers to this site as a good source on how to save money in Spain, I ought to direct them to this post first!

I’d love to hear from you if you’ve had similar experiences.

Related post: Money Saving Moral Maze