Losing money? My painful experience and lessons I've learned!

A lot of people have different life experiences, both good and bad, from which they learn a lot. However, the worst thing that can happen to someone is to repeat a mistake over and over after having first-hand experience with something. Indeed, experience is the best teacher, even though we might learn or perhaps have an idea from other people's stories through textbooks and find ways to avoid similar mistakes they made. Many people have learned a lesson from people's shared stories through written books, but one may not feel the impact as intended until he or she encounters first-hand experience.

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Take, for instance, a medical student who was being taught the theory of performing surgery in the theater. He or she may understand the steps of performing surgery, write a test about it, and pass, but he hasn't placed his hands practically on a human being to perform surgery and thus can't say much on that aspect practically until he has a first-hand experience. He must have heard his colleagues sharing experience on the same task, but until he does that himself, makes mistakes, and takes corrections, he won't learn much about performing surgery. Nothing beats first-hand experience. It's a sure way of learning to be better, and I hope everyone should always learn from their experience.

It's all about money 🤑💰. Yes, I have had other life experiences in the past, but this current one hurts me a lot, but do not worry; I have learned my lesson and no Jupiter can trick me on this aspect. Not even pressure from anyone or whatever should make us not do the right thing again.

When I relocated to my current place now, I had an encounter with the POWER HOLDING COMPANY (NEPA). These are the people in charge of the electricity supply in our country. So it's either you have a prepaid meter or a post-paid meter. Getting a meter is always a hassle here, even when it's not supposed to be. You also spend close to $200 to get one when it should be free. Paying the NEPA people an estimated bill every month after using the nepa light is so costly.. like very crazy expenses, so my husband and I made every effort to have our meter, which we got some years back. We just recharge and make use of light, but the relocation made things difficult. NEPA said that our meter cannot work in my current location because it is under a different local government than where I come from. They demanded that I receive their monthly bill until I am able to buy a new meter.

Somehow, I thought of seeking ways to make my meter work because it's still new, and I'm glad one of the NEPA officials said they can actually work on the meter... by changing my data online through their system and having it replaced with my current address. I was charged $60 for that, and after making payment, they denied me a receipt. I asked for this receipt, but the man said I shouldn't worry and that he would bring it to my house since it wasn't available. I asked for a written note signature showing that I paid, but he said it's nothing. To cut the story short, I lost that money with the receipt. The main NEPA officials came and charged me for the same thing I had done in the past because I couldn't present any evidence to show that I had paid. This was a terrible experience... so painful.

But a similar thing happened again, and I learned

I had overpaid my sister's school fees by $15 due to bad calculations from their school accountant. When I noticed it, I met with the school owner, but he promised to deduct it from my next term's bill. Well, the idea was cool, but since the conclusion was an oral one, guess what? This time around, I insisted on an official receipt or a written letter stating clearly my balance. The man insisted, but I insisted too! Finally, I got my request, and luckily for me, by the time it was time for next term fees, the man was nowhere to be found, but my receipt and written note saved the day. The new person on the seat received the written letter and did the needful.

Imagine if I hadn't had the other experience. I may have fallen for this second trick, thereby spending money unnecessarily. Of course, I know the importance of record keeping, but my firsthand experience played a big role for me.

This post is in response to the #hivelearners community contest on the topic "Experience or textbook."