WITH the cost of living crisis really starting to bite, losing even a couple of quid is painful. Here are some financial errors you can no longer laugh off:
Accidentally buying premium petrol
Twelve months ago, grabbing the wrong nozzle and filling up with 30 litres of the fancy, expensive stuff wouldn’t have been a big deal. A treat for the car, you would think, like buying it a glass of champagne. Now, this mistake leaves you weeping on the forecourt along with all the other motorists.
Leaving the lights on
In the halcyon days of 2021, you were cavalier about leaving the kitchen light on all evening, even if it did elicit mutters from your other half about ‘bloody Blackpool illuminations’. These days it costs three times the price so your laissez faire approach is likely to cause a marriage-shaking row rather than just an irritated tut.
Choosing a sandwich that’s not in the meal deal
Though you’ve always been fairly frugal, sometimes you’d allow yourself to live like a king at lunchtime and choose a Tesco Finest smoked salmon and cream cheese. Now, straying beyond the boundaries of the meal deal could possibly cost you your summer holiday, so you’ll stick rigidly to the ham and cheddar sub, probably until you retire.
Buying a pint
Unless you’re prepared to deal with the existential misery provoked by going to your local Wetherspoons, paying for a pint will bring sharply into focus the financial mess we are in. And forget buying a round, no one can afford to have friends anymore. Eking out a single pint alone is now your entire social life.
Getting a pound stuck in a trolley
Up until recently, losing a pound coin to a trolley was the kind of thing that would make you mutter ‘bastard’ under your breath. Then you’d get in your car and never think about it again. In these dark times, an incident like this will be followed by a tense conversation with supermarket staff and an act of criminal damage performed with a screwdriver.
