He shared some stories of how his fans had learnt from costly mistakes in their post
Martin Lewis has urged people to check over the small print on some of their financial paperwork. He issued the word of warning as he shared some stories from his fans of costly financial mistakes they had made, that had eventually turned out for the good.
The consumer champion invited listeners of his BBC podcast to submit their stories of financial mishaps that ended up having a positive outcome. One person shared a story of how an apparent financial blunder had ultimately proved enormously beneficial.
The person said they had taken out a critical illness insurance policy on a 25-year term. They remained perfectly healthy throughout much of that period and never needed to make a claim. Several times they thought about cancelling the policy.
However, with just six months remaining on the policy, they received a cancer diagnosis and required an operation, after which they made a full recovery. Their insurer paid out £50,000, which they subsequently invested and which has since grown in value to £75,000.
Check the small print
However, Mr Lewis offered a word of caution regarding how critical illness cover actually works. He said: “Critical illness pays out when you’ve got a specified critical illness that is on the list of critical illness policies.”
He used the example of how a policy might cover one form of cancer but not another, making it essential to scrutinise the small print carefully. Mr Lewis said: “The problem with buying critical illness is you sort of need to be an independent financial advisor and a GP to really understand what is covered.
“I’m not saying it’s a bad policy. I’m just saying never assume that you’ve got something you think in your head is a critical illness.”
The mistake is the lesson
Another person wrote in with their tale of taking out finance to purchase a Jaguar car at the age of 32 that they “couldn’t afford”. They said they “felt sick” signing the paperwork and spent the following three years setting aside every penny possible to pay it off as soon as they could.
However, they said the experience had helped them “build habits that changed everything” when it came to managing their money going forward. The listener said: “Sometimes the mistake is the lesson.”
Mr Lewis wholeheartedly endorsed this sentiment. He said: “I properly love that one. I properly love the idea that you made a mistake, you had to suddenly become much more rigorous with your finances and then that paid dividends for years later, because you learnt that lesson of financial control.”
Those who took out finance to purchase a vehicle in recent years may want to check whether they are owed compensation. Motorists who are affected are owed £829 on average, after being mis-sold car finance between April 2007 and November 2024.
Mr Lewis has previously spoken on his BBC podcast about who could be entitled to a payout.
