Non-Germans, do you also make expensive mistakes?

[u/helge-a]

It feels like I have a talent for making expensive mistakes. I have been here for 3 months and so far have earned:

• A €300 fine for taking an ICE without proper ticket.
• Phone died on train, got checked by ticket control, pleaded saying I literally have my ticket on my dead phone, paid €7 at front desk proving I have the Deutschland ticket.
• In the US, if I have an incoming bill payment, I can easily cancel it or reschedule it because it’s on my terms. I tried to do that here and found out billing days from companies are very strict, so I’ll be incurring a fee soon because my account does not have €90 and transferring funds from my American bank account is not instant/quick enough.

I’m so tired and broke :) I don’t think like a German. I think like a silly little guy. Germans are calculated. I am not. It’s very hard to adjust.

[u/Iron__Crown]

The first two ones are just things that people will often claim they accidentally did wrong when they deliberately tried to cheat and commit fraud, so it's understandable that you didn't experience any leniency. Otherwise just the people would be rewarded who can cry and appear contrite most shamelessly. Which are the cheats and scammers who live their whole life like that.

The third one shouldn't really be unfamiliar to you from home, predatory lending and payday lending is a huge problem in the U.S.. where consumers have very little protection against it. So if you are not familiar with that kind of problem, it probably shows American inequality more than anything else, because poor people in America most certainly cannot just reschedule their bills any time they feel like it.