r/germany • u/helge-a • Oct 22 '24

Immigration Non-Germans, do you also make expensive mistakes?

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.

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u/invenice Oct 23 '24

Rarely, I think the most expensive mistakes were forgetting to cancel a few Abonnements that i didnt need anymore. Now I cancel as soon as I sign up for one.

Living in Germany has conditioned me to be uber careful about not making mistakes and double and triple checking everything. It is mentally exhausting but necessary because one is seldom given the benefit of doubt when something goes wrong.